First United Methodist Church
February 12, 2023
Rev. Lauren Hall
God Gives the Growth
Have you ever taken the time to observe the kids who gather at the local skate park? I noticed that we have one located near the entrance of Centennial Park. Unlike organized sports, like basketball or tennis, most towns don’t have an organized skateboarding or BMX league to teach kids the basics of the sport and I’ve always been intrigued with the way the kids teach themselves how to do it. They observe what other kids are doing, work on a skill over and over again, watch the more experienced kids, and then try again. Rather than taking formal lessons, kids learn their stunts by watching and taking the advice from others who have already mastered the skills. Their ability to skate or do BMX stunts is directly connected to the other kids who spend time with them. They get better because they are around “masters” who continually push them to set higher standards for their performance.
Christianity is mastered in much the same way. Pastors, church leaders, Sunday School teachers and many other loving Christians have served as our mentors over the years, and our lives have been shaped according to our master, Jesus Christ. Like the kids at the skate park, we get better because we are continually surrounded by people who are “masters” and push us to set higher standards for ourselves.
Over the past several weeks we have been exploring the different ways that Jesus urges us on to live a little differently than we are accustomed to. He has told us that we are blessed, and said things like, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world.” In other words, you can change the environments that you inhabit. You are blessed so be a blessing. You can do great things for God, and your very presence is the salt and light of the earth.
Those who follow Jesus flavor the world with love, truth, justice, and peace. If we neglect to be Jesus’ flavoring for the world — if we lose the purpose for which we are made — we are no longer “good for anything.” When this happens, others outside the church, including many young adults who ask if the church is relevant to the world, say that they won’t be bothered with it.
On the other hand, a church that is filled with Jesus’ flavor — and that shares the light of God’s love — can make a profound difference in the world.
In our Corinthian’s text this morning, Paul speaks of growing things. He moves us from babies who drink milk and are not yet ready for solid food to fields that need planting and watering. The image of a garden is a wonderful one. God wants growth in us. That growth comes when we look beyond ourselves and our own interests to the needs of the hurting world around us. But then at the very end, he throws in a building. It seems odd at first, but when you think about it, babies, gardens and buildings all have things in common.
First, they grow and change. And they are labor intensive. As they are built or grow, they develop into something else. The starting place is not the ending place; the originating state is not the ending state. Paul mentions all three, so we don’t get bogged down with just one image, and we are able to form a complete picture of what of what he is trying to tell us.
However you want to describe it, Paul is stressing that there was more to come. And he wants you to grow. He wants the church in Corinth to grow, certainly. That’s why he’s writing.
Paul goes back to the beginnings, remembers when he first arrived and there was so much he wanted to say, but couldn’t because they were infants in Christ. But he met them where they were, feeding them milk, the “abc’s” of the faith, knowing that they would progress to more substantial matters. Even now, he argues, they are still not ready, because they are acting like, well, children, quarreling, being jealous.
Here is a good description of what Paul means when he speaks of being in the flesh. It isn’t necessarily a specific sin or types of sin. But it is doing that which hinders the growth of faith in the individual or the community. These selfish behaviors, even if done for good reasons, are of the flesh because they work against the common heart and mind of the body focused on the mission of the church.
So, then he turns back to the dividing issue as he sees it: this allegiance thing. Would it be fair to say that his response is basically, we don’t have time for that? Maybe that’s a bit simplistic but given that he then moves on to the mission field, it seems not too far off the mark.
There are those who argue that Paul is all about grace; grace and not works. And certainly his theological center is on salvation by grace through faith. But there is work to be done, of that he seems clear. There is work not to earn our place but work because our place has been given. We serve because we’ve been served. We love because we’ve been loved. All that we do is in response to what Christ has done in us and for us.
The life we are called to live is an active life. We are workers in God’s field. We are laborers on God’s building. That’s what binds it all together. It is God’s. We are God’s. Dividing up, choosing sides, setting up opposing camps only hinders the mission, says Paul. There is no room for “us and them” in a church that is at work in the field of the God.
Of course, this is more easily said than done. The church in Corinth struggled with it. And we struggle with it today. It’s no secret that our denomination is divided – there are many reasons that keep us apart, and as a result our ability to carry out ministry has been compromised. Paul argues that our unity is in our shared mission – the mission given to him by Jesus Christ, to love God and love neighbor. Our divisiveness handicaps our ability to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Maybe we’ve tried to do it ourselves, our own way, long enough. Maybe we need to let God give the growth. Do what we can where we can as we can, but trust that God will take what we have and what we can do and make it flourish. We need to trust that God will break through and open doors to new hopes, dreams and possibilities for our church as well as in our own lives. And when that happens, we need to surrender and faithfully follow Christ into whatever new and unknown future lies before us.
I think Jesus’ words in the passage we read today contains one of the most important messages we can master about being Christian.
Like Paul, Jesus encourages reconciliation above everything else. We can be imperfect in many things, but we can move toward a perfect life by speaking honestly about our mistakes, confessing our sins, and working on repairing our broken relationships. Yes, we can trust God and the path of reconciliation will reveal itself.
Jesus does not desire for our lives to remain broken. He wants to forgive our sins, heal our wounds, show us how wonderful, unique, beautiful, and peculiar we are, and how we can be used to change the environments we inhabit for him.
Jesus wants his disciples to be people of integrity, people who are faithful to their promises. For the church to claim Jesus’ message that the Kingdom of God is here, it must strive to be the kind of place that reflects God’s reign. Every time Jesus encounters a person and reaches out with compassion, Jesus provides another glimpse of what God’s kingdom should look like. Our presence in the world should be the same.
Jesus challenges us, creating this higher standard, not in the hopes that we would strive hard enough to attain it, but that we would allow our hearts to be touched by him so that he could change us into different people, people who can recognize the difference and look forward to life in the Kingdom of God.
There is no easy path to mastering everything that Jesus asks of us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount. But we move closer to Jesus and his way when we speak with honesty about our sins and shortcomings, and when we take steps to repair relationships with the people around us.
Let us pray:
Loving God, may your will break through, change history, usher in and accomplish in us new hopes, dreams and possibilities both in the life of our church and in our own lives. We surrender our wills for yours, in order to fully follow you. Amen.
Have you ever taken the time to observe the kids who gather at the local skate park? I noticed that we have one located near the entrance of Centennial Park. Unlike organized sports, like basketball or tennis, most towns don’t have an organized skateboarding or BMX league to teach kids the basics of the sport and I’ve always been intrigued with the way the kids teach themselves how to do it. They observe what other kids are doing, work on a skill over and over again, watch the more experienced kids, and then try again. Rather than taking formal lessons, kids learn their stunts by watching and taking the advice from others who have already mastered the skills. Their ability to skate or do BMX stunts is directly connected to the other kids who spend time with them. They get better because they are around “masters” who continually push them to set higher standards for their performance.
Christianity is mastered in much the same way. Pastors, church leaders, Sunday School teachers and many other loving Christians have served as our mentors over the years, and our lives have been shaped according to our master, Jesus Christ. Like the kids at the skate park, we get better because we are continually surrounded by people who are “masters” and push us to set higher standards for ourselves.
Over the past several weeks we have been exploring the different ways that Jesus urges us on to live a little differently than we are accustomed to. He has told us that we are blessed, and said things like, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world.” In other words, you can change the environments that you inhabit. You are blessed so be a blessing. You can do great things for God, and your very presence is the salt and light of the earth.
Those who follow Jesus flavor the world with love, truth, justice, and peace. If we neglect to be Jesus’ flavoring for the world — if we lose the purpose for which we are made — we are no longer “good for anything.” When this happens, others outside the church, including many young adults who ask if the church is relevant to the world, say that they won’t be bothered with it.
On the other hand, a church that is filled with Jesus’ flavor — and that shares the light of God’s love — can make a profound difference in the world.
In our Corinthian’s text this morning, Paul speaks of growing things. He moves us from babies who drink milk and are not yet ready for solid food to fields that need planting and watering. The image of a garden is a wonderful one. God wants growth in us. That growth comes when we look beyond ourselves and our own interests to the needs of the hurting world around us. But then at the very end, he throws in a building. It seems odd at first, but when you think about it, babies, gardens and buildings all have things in common.
First, they grow and change. And they are labor intensive. As they are built or grow, they develop into something else. The starting place is not the ending place; the originating state is not the ending state. Paul mentions all three, so we don’t get bogged down with just one image, and we are able to form a complete picture of what of what he is trying to tell us.
However you want to describe it, Paul is stressing that there was more to come. And he wants you to grow. He wants the church in Corinth to grow, certainly. That’s why he’s writing.
Paul goes back to the beginnings, remembers when he first arrived and there was so much he wanted to say, but couldn’t because they were infants in Christ. But he met them where they were, feeding them milk, the “abc’s” of the faith, knowing that they would progress to more substantial matters. Even now, he argues, they are still not ready, because they are acting like, well, children, quarreling, being jealous.
Here is a good description of what Paul means when he speaks of being in the flesh. It isn’t necessarily a specific sin or types of sin. But it is doing that which hinders the growth of faith in the individual or the community. These selfish behaviors, even if done for good reasons, are of the flesh because they work against the common heart and mind of the body focused on the mission of the church.
So, then he turns back to the dividing issue as he sees it: this allegiance thing. Would it be fair to say that his response is basically, we don’t have time for that? Maybe that’s a bit simplistic but given that he then moves on to the mission field, it seems not too far off the mark.
There are those who argue that Paul is all about grace; grace and not works. And certainly his theological center is on salvation by grace through faith. But there is work to be done, of that he seems clear. There is work not to earn our place but work because our place has been given. We serve because we’ve been served. We love because we’ve been loved. All that we do is in response to what Christ has done in us and for us.
The life we are called to live is an active life. We are workers in God’s field. We are laborers on God’s building. That’s what binds it all together. It is God’s. We are God’s. Dividing up, choosing sides, setting up opposing camps only hinders the mission, says Paul. There is no room for “us and them” in a church that is at work in the field of the God.
Of course, this is more easily said than done. The church in Corinth struggled with it. And we struggle with it today. It’s no secret that our denomination is divided – there are many reasons that keep us apart, and as a result our ability to carry out ministry has been compromised. Paul argues that our unity is in our shared mission – the mission given to him by Jesus Christ, to love God and love neighbor. Our divisiveness handicaps our ability to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Maybe we’ve tried to do it ourselves, our own way, long enough. Maybe we need to let God give the growth. Do what we can where we can as we can, but trust that God will take what we have and what we can do and make it flourish. We need to trust that God will break through and open doors to new hopes, dreams and possibilities for our church as well as in our own lives. And when that happens, we need to surrender and faithfully follow Christ into whatever new and unknown future lies before us.
I think Jesus’ words in the passage we read today contains one of the most important messages we can master about being Christian.
Like Paul, Jesus encourages reconciliation above everything else. We can be imperfect in many things, but we can move toward a perfect life by speaking honestly about our mistakes, confessing our sins, and working on repairing our broken relationships. Yes, we can trust God and the path of reconciliation will reveal itself.
Jesus does not desire for our lives to remain broken. He wants to forgive our sins, heal our wounds, show us how wonderful, unique, beautiful, and peculiar we are, and how we can be used to change the environments we inhabit for him.
Jesus wants his disciples to be people of integrity, people who are faithful to their promises. For the church to claim Jesus’ message that the Kingdom of God is here, it must strive to be the kind of place that reflects God’s reign. Every time Jesus encounters a person and reaches out with compassion, Jesus provides another glimpse of what God’s kingdom should look like. Our presence in the world should be the same.
Jesus challenges us, creating this higher standard, not in the hopes that we would strive hard enough to attain it, but that we would allow our hearts to be touched by him so that he could change us into different people, people who can recognize the difference and look forward to life in the Kingdom of God.
There is no easy path to mastering everything that Jesus asks of us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount. But we move closer to Jesus and his way when we speak with honesty about our sins and shortcomings, and when we take steps to repair relationships with the people around us.
Let us pray:
Loving God, may your will break through, change history, usher in and accomplish in us new hopes, dreams and possibilities both in the life of our church and in our own lives. We surrender our wills for yours, in order to fully follow you. Amen.
