Introduction:
The Faithful Worker... (1 Corinthians 16:5-12)
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Prepares for MINISTRY . (1 Cor 16:5-9)
James 4:13-15 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
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By EXPECTING the UXPECTED (1 Cor 16:5-7)
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By viewing OPPOSITION as an OPPORTUNITY (1 Cor 16:8-9)
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Plays well with OTHER BELIEVERS . (1 Cor 16:1-12)
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By supporting their EFFORTS . (1 Cor 16:10-11)
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By respecting their CONVICTIONS . (1 Cor 16:12)
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Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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Well, as Kelly just read, please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses 5 through 12. 1 Corinthians 16, verses 5 through 12. And as you turn there, I want you to consider a question that I have been considering all week. I have my own answer. I'd like to hear your answer. Are there more lazy slackers in the world, or are there more faithful workers?
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Are there more lazy slackers? Or are there more faithful workers? What do you think? Slackers seems to win the day. Yes, there are a lot of hard workers out there, but they seem to be outnumbered by the amount of lazy slackers that exist. There are a lot of people who don't want to do much besides relax and take it easy. And my wife encountered a lot of these lazy slackers at her old job when she was in human resources at a clothing company that is now bankrupt and no longer exists.
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But she would come home with the craziest stories of people who worked hard to not work hard.
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But there was one lazy slacker who stood above the rest.
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There was a woman who was fired and denied unemployment because she was found dead asleep in a dressing room, RESTING ON A BASKET OF CURLY FRIES AS A PILLOW.
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I mean, you can't make that up, right?
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But this woman claimed it was made up. It was false. Her boss just howled it out for her. It wasn't true.
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Unfortunately for her, there was photographic evidence of the curly fry nap incident.
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There was unavoidable proof that this woman was a lazy slacker.
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She slept on the job.
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She was not a faithful worker. As I look out across the landscape of the American church, I see a lot of lazy slackers. I see an abundance of people who want to take and take and take, but are not willing to give much back. I see a large number of church consumers and not many ministry producers.
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I see many unfaithful workers. But let's not spend too much time talking about people who are not here. Let's instead focus on you. Are you a faithful worker? Don't worry about the person who's not here. Don't worry about the person next to you. Answer for yourself. Are you a faithful worker? Men, are you a faithful worker?
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at home.
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Are you faithfully loving your wife?
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Are you faithfully discipling your children with the word of God?
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Or are you being passive rather than active in these roles?
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Ladies, are you faithfully respecting your husbands and training your children in the ways of the Lord?
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Or are you unfaithfully disrespecting your husbands and allowing the culture to raise your children?
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Are you a faithful worker in your community? Are you faithfully shine the light of Jesus Christ and faithfully sharing the good news of Jesus with unsafe family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors?
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Or are you slacking because your schedule is packed with good activities that crowd out what matters the most?
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Are you a faithful worker at harvest?
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Are you faithfully serving in ministry and participating in the life of the church? Or are you stiff-arming your church family and your church responsibilities? And I know exactly what some of you are thinking right now. Here we go. It's time for a lecture. Fine, Pastor Taylor. Tell me how much I stink. Tell me how much I am failing at everything. Go on, give it to me. I have no interest in doing that. I have no interest in giving you a lecture because that will not help. That will not change you at all. I'm not going to lecture you because I need to hear this word as well. I can be a lazy slacker. I can fail to be a faithful worker. I'm not someone who stands above you as someone who has figured it all out. I am with you in this struggle. This morning we will continue through the final chapter of 1 Corinthians and discuss some final business items from the Apostle Paul. In chapter 16, verses 5 through 12, we receive the ministry schedules of three faithful workers, Paul himself, Timothy, and Apollos. We get a sneak peek of their personal calendars, and we see how they ordered their lives around serving the Lord and serving others. To be honest, this is the part of the book that seems unimportant, but it isn't.
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This is the part of the book you are tempted to skip over, but you shouldn't. In these eight verses, Paul clearly shows you what it looks like to avoid being a lazy slacker and to embrace being a faithful worker in every single area of your life. So before we continue, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Please pray for me that I will faithfully proclaim God's word, and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word.
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Father, we come before you as your people to acknowledge our many failures.
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We thank you that we stand in the victory of the only one who has perfectly obeyed you.
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The only one who has perfectly been a faithful worker.
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We thank you for your son and all that he has done for us.
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Help us to hear this message, to hear this passage in light of what your son has accomplished on our behalf.
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Lord may we not be motivated by guilt. May instead we be motivated by love for you and love for others. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen. So on your outline we're talking about the faithful worker. First up the faithful worker prepares for ministry. The faithful worker prepares for ministry. In verses 5 through 7 Paul opens up his day planner and he tells the Corinthians as well as you and me that he has a lot scheduled in the future and again this may seem boring at a first glance but these verses are absolutely life-changing once you understand how paul arranged his life how paul arranged his schedule let's read verses five through seven i will visit you after passing through macedonia for i intend to pass through macedonia and perhaps i will stay with you or even spend the winter so that you may help me on my journey wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits. In these verses, Paul is booking his ticket to Corinth. He wants to visit them. He wants not only to visit them, he wants to help this church and be helped by this church. Isn't it amazing that Paul wants to be with the Corinthians?
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and I've given him a spiritual headache. If I were him, I would have written, you know what guys, I intend to pass through Macedonia and go far out of my way to skip Corinth. Good luck with all those problems I've been writing to you about. See you never. Have a nice life. But that is not what Paul writes. That is not Paul's heart. That is not Paul's plan. Paul has a plan to visit Corinth. Paul has a to-do list that he wants to check off. He has destinations.
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that he wants to reach. Paul wakes up every single morning with a purpose. With a goal in mind. Paul plans ahead for ministry. This isn't just something that Paul did in the first century. This is something that you should do as well. Right now in 2026. You should plan ahead for ministry. We all know the saying, if you Fail to plan, you what? You plan to fail. This is especially true when it comes to the task that God has entrusted to you. If you never plan ministry ahead of time, you will never do ministry. If you are not planning to do ministry, you will never do ministry. Thankfully, I know that there are many people watching online and in this room who have plans to do ministry.
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Your schedule is packed out with ways that you are serving the Lord. You plan to serve at church next week. You plan to serve at church the week after that in the AV booth. Back in Harvest Academy on hospitality. You plan to lead or co-lead a small group. You plan to disciple your children tonight by going through family devotions after dinner or before bed. You plan to work with local organizations like Like urban impact. Like life choices. Or life wise. You plan to go on a missions trip next year. It's already blocked off in your calendar. You're going with Vision Appalachia. Think missions. The list goes on and on. You know there are girls in this church from Harvest Academy who plan every single month to raise money for missions. They plan to head to do that. Many of you are faithful workers because you're Prepare and plan ahead for ministry like the Apostle Paul. But sadly, there are others in this room who are not faithful workers because you do not prepare for ministry. You do not plan ahead for ministry. You have no plans to lead your family in devotions tonight or any other night this week. You have no plans to serve this church.
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You have no plans to disciple anyone. You have no plans to share the gospel with anyone in your life. You have no plans to serve your community or spread the gospel in other parts of the world. Your schedule may be full, but it is missing your most important appointments. If you were to place your calendar next to the calendar of a non-Christian, would you see any difference?
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Or would they look exactly the same? Remember, if you do not plan ahead for ministry, you are planning to not do ministry. And maybe you're skeptical right now. Maybe you're thinking, I don't know about all this, Pastor Taylor. This seems way too rigid. This doesn't seem very spiritual. Shouldn't I just wake up and see what happens? Shouldn't I just follow the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit?
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Depending on the Holy Spirit is always an in the spur of the moment kind of experience. You have to wait till the very last moment and then he'll show up. I would contend that the Holy Spirit works both ahead of time and in the moment. For example, I spent a lot of time working on this message. I read the text dozens of times. I read several commentaries. I made a lot of notes. I created an outline. I wrote out what I wanted to see.
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I planned ahead of time. I prepared.
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Should I not have done that? Was that wrong? Was that unspiritual of me? Was that me not trusting in the Holy Spirit?
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Should I have just gotten up here and winged it and see what happens?
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Listen, you may not like this prepared sermon very much, but I guarantee you that you would like the unprepared version a lot less.
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I truly believe that the Holy Spirit met me in that time of study. He helped me to prepare ahead of time so I could be faithful and clear in the moment. I am convinced that spirit-led preparation brings about spirit-led presentation. At the same time, I don't just read my manuscript word for word like an emotionless robot. I pray and ask God to bring to my mind the things I studied earlier this week.
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I also pray, God, bring to mind things I never even considered earlier this week. There are parts of my messages and Pastor Jeff's messages as well that bless people. They're the parts that we never even considered ahead of time. The Holy Spirit gave us that in the moment. But there are other times that people are blessed by what we thought of ahead of time. And again, the Holy Spirit gave us those things as well. The Holy Spirit helps you in the preparation for ministry.
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and he helps you in the execution of ministry. This is a both and experience. There is a tension that exists in ministry. Sometimes your plans are executed down to the very last detail and other times the Holy Spirit totally blows up your plans and you just have to go with it. But the main purpose of preparation is that you intend to be faithful. You intend to be used by the Lord. You intend to be productive.
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you intend to work hard. And this kind of preparation includes you acknowledging your lack of control over the future. This preparation includes you acknowledging your vision for your life is so tiny while God's vision is massive. This kind of preparation includes you expecting the unexpected. That's actually the next part of our outline. The faithful worker prepares for ministry.
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letter A, by expecting the unexpected. By expecting the unexpected.
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I'm going to read verses 5 through 7 again, and this time around, I want you to feel the tension of how Paul prepares for ministry, both with confidence and with flexibility.
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How Paul lays out his personal plans, but he also leaves room for the Lord's plans, which may not line up with his own. Paul says, I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia. And perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so you may help me on my journey wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now to some passing. I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits.
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Do you feel the tension here? Do you see the both and nature of Paul's ministry? On the one hand, he says, I will visit you. On the other hand, he says, perhaps I will stay with you. I hope to spend some time with you. If what? If the Lord permits. Paul isn't presumptuous. He isn't saying, here are my plans that are definite and nothing and no one will change that. No, instead he says, this is the plan I hope will happen, but I do trust that God will make his plan happen. Paul makes his plan with an asterisk. And next that asterisk is the words, if the Lord permits. If the Lord permits. And we see this same exact message, we see this same exact asterisk in James 4, 13 through 15.
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to town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, if the Lord permits, we will live and do this or that. Here's a hard pill to swallow. You cannot control tomorrow. You do not know what is going to happen tomorrow.
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You don't even know if you're going to get a tomorrow.
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No one thinks they know more about marriage than an engaged couple that is not yet married.
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You're all laughing because I'm assuming you know that.
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I remember before I got married to Kate, oh, we're always going to go to bed the same exact time.
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That's really, really important.
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Guess what?
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That almost never happens.
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All that went right out the window as soon as we got married.
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No one knows more about parenting than a couple expecting their first child. Oh, we'll never do this with our kids. Guess what you end up doing? Exactly that thing you said you would never, ever do. The child arrives, whoa, the parenting books didn't prepare me for this. None of the videos told me about this. So often, you and I can be like those know-it-all parents. Those know-it-all engaged couples. We think we know exactly what we're talking about with tomorrow.
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But then tomorrow arrives, and we realize how little we actually know. You have such little control over your life. Well, God has absolute control of your life. You have no idea what to expect for tomorrow. But it's not unexpected to God. You may be clueless, but He is not. So instead of being a control freak, let go of your Tight grip on the control that you think that you have. Let go of your preferences. Let go of your timetables. Trust the Lord. Be a faithful worker. Faithful workers are flexible. Faithful workers expect the unexpected. What does this look like in action? Well, last year there was a team of guys from our church, including Russ and Ross Howes, James Murphy, who went to Nepal for ministry. They had a plan.
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They had an itinerary. And as soon as they got there, God totally upended that with His own plans. They were targeted by the government, brought in for questioning, and unable to carry out a lot of the plan that they had ahead of time. Those guys didn't pout. They didn't whine about it. Instead, they praised the Lord, and they trusted the Lord. And why is that? Because they knew that God was in control, that His plan was even greater than their own, even if they couldn't fully understand.
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that. Would you say that trip was a failure? No. Would you say those men were unfaithful workers? No, they were faithful workers who planned for ministry ahead of time, but they also planned ahead by expecting the unexpected. And you should do the same as well. The faithful worker prepares for ministry by expecting the unexpected. Next up in the text, the faithful worker prepares for ministry, letter B, by viewing opposite as an opportunity.
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Check out verses 8-9.
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Paul says, But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
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Paul has his ticket book for Corinth, but in the meantime, he is going to stay in Ephesus.
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And why is that?
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because there is a wide door open to him for effective work, for effective ministry.
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And who opened that door? Was it Paul? You say no to that. Was it Paul? Was it the Ephesians? Very good. Was it God? Yes. God opened that door for effective work and Paul willingly stepped through it.
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God wanted Paul to stay in Ephesus, so Paul wanted to stay in Ephesus.
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Have you ever experienced a wide open door for effective ministry? Has God ever put an opportunity right before you that you couldn't say no to? That's happened to me many times in my life. While I studied for ministry at Geneva College and then down in Louisville, Kentucky in seminary, I must have uttered this stupid statement at least a thousand times. I will never be a youth pastor.
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Side note, be very careful what you say you'll never do, because you'll end up doing that thing, most likely. In late 2014, Kate and I planned to move back to Pittsburgh from Louisville, Kentucky, so I applied to various church positions, and I thought I was applying to a discipleship pastor job in Wexford, but ended up being a youth pastor job. And as soon as I found out, I told Kate, I'm just going to pull my name from consideration. I don't want to do that. And Kate was emphatic. She said, no, don't do that. See what the Lord does. See if the Lord keeps that door open. And guess what? As usual, my wife was right. The Lord opened that door for effective work and he kept that door open throughout the entire process. I kept passing every round of interviews. Pastor Jeff told me to take that job. My family told me to take that job. My friends told me to take that job. My wife told me to take that job. The wide open door for ministry was right in front of me and I willingly walked through it.
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I worked as a full-time youth pastor at this other church for seven and a half years, and I've helped lead the youth group for two years in this church. It shames me to say that I used to say I will never be a youth pastor because now I love being a youth pastor. I'm so glad I walked through that open door instead of trying to open the closed doors that God didn't want me to walk through. At this point, you may be thinking, well, I'm so glad that worked out for you, Pastor Taylor, but how can I tell if there's is a wide open door of ministry for me. What are the signs of a wide open door? Well, thankfully, Paul gives you a sign in verse 9. It may not be the sign you expect, though. He says, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. Paul is saying that it's obvious that this work in Ephesus is from the Lord because there are many opponents in Ephesus. There are many who will stand against in Ephesus. The presence of enemies signals the presence of God's power.
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God-given ministries are so easy to spot because God-given ministry opportunities never look easy.
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They always look hard. They always look challenging. They always look intimidating.
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Isn't that the exact opposite of how we usually think?
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We often believe that the sign of a wide open door for ministry is the total absence of any struggle, any strife. We want the easy way out, but that is not the way our God rolls. Because there is no other way to become like Jesus and serve like Jesus. God the Father opened a wide door for effective ministry that His Son willingly walked through 2,000 years ago.
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And this wide open door led to rejection, led to suffering, pain, and death upon a cross. Jesus willingly walked through that door even though it led to a hard way because it was the only way for you and I to be forgiven of our sins, for you and I to be saved from eternal punishment in hell. Jesus endured opposition in this life so that you could be accepted in his presence forever.
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Who am I to say we are exempt from experiencing the opposition that our Lord and Savior experienced? Jesus shows us that faithful workers are also faithful sufferers. Suffering led to your salvation. Suffering will lead to your sanctification. When I took that youth pastor job many years ago, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I knew there were going to be challenges. I knew there was going to be opportunities.
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The guy before me bailed after eight months.
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And the fill-in youth worker was fired for inappropriate behavior.
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There was a member of that church who killed two of her children.
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And many in the church were reeling from that trauma.
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Trust was in very short supply from parents and from students.
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Within two weeks, I received an email from a volunteer accusing me of things I didn't do, accusing me of lying.
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For the first year and a half, every single Sunday night when I locked the doors, I'd walk into the parking lot and just look up in the sky and say, God, I can't do this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore. Every single time I said that, I felt the conviction I couldn't quit. I couldn't leave. God had called me here. And this opposition, this struggle, which is another sign of that? As one pastor says, if you have no opposition, in the place you serve, you're serving in the wrong place. If you have no opposition in the place you serve, you're serving in the wrong place. Is there a wide open door for effective ministry in front of you right now? Do you see on the other side people who will stand against you? Situations that will frustrate you. That's fantastic. That is a sign that you should walk through that door, not a sign that you should back away.
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Walk through that door willingly without being afraid. Trust the Lord and He will sustain you. View that opposition as an opportunity, not an obstacle. I challenge you to come up with even one major accomplishment in your life that didn't require blood, sweat, and tears. I bet you can't even think of one because they don't exist. Don't take the easy way out because the easy way out leads nowhere good.
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Maybe you've already walked through that wide open door for ministry. It was months ago, years ago, maybe even decades ago. And ever since then, you've been soul slammed with trial after trial after trial. That's great news. That means the forces of darkness are gunning for you because you are doing something worthwhile for the Lord. That means that God is fighting for you and He is forming you more and more into the image of His Son.
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There is no other way. Do you want to be like Jesus? There is no other way but through opposition. It's impossible. So don't retreat. Don't surrender. Be a faithful worker and keep going even when you feel you can't go even one more step. The faithful worker prepares for ministry by expecting the unexpected. The faithful worker prepares for ministry by viewing opposition as an opportunity.
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Up until this point, we've been focusing on your plans, your preparations for ministry. We're going to end by quickly focusing on how you should help other faithful workers with their plans and with their preparations for ministry. This is so important because the faithful worker isn't a solo act. The faithful worker is a team player. Next on your outline, the faithful worker plays well with other believers. The faithful worker plays well with other believers.
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So Paul moves on from his own personal schedule to the ministry plans of his protege Timothy. Verses 10 through 11. When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. Simply put, Paul is instructing the Corinthians to not be a jerk to Timothy.
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Don't treat him the way you've treated me. He's going to come back and tell me how you treated him so he better give me a good report. He is a faithful worker. Respect him. Don't think little of him. Help him. You see Paul's fatherly nature pop out here. We've seen other parts of the New Testament that Timothy is like a son to Paul. You know, you can make fun of me and mistreat me if you want. Please don't do that. But if you do it, I can take it. I'm a big boy.
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But if you mistreat or mock my son, we're going to have a big problem.
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That's what Paul was saying here. Don't make fun of my son. Don't mistreat my son. Don't drag him through the mud.
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Paul is saying faithful workers do not hurt other faithful workers. Faithful workers help other faithful workers.
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How are you dealing with that?
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Are you faithfully helping other Christians?
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Or are you unfaithfully hurting other Christians? Are you supporting them? Or are you undermining them? That's the next part of your outline. The faithful worker plays well to other believers by supporting their efforts. The faithful worker plays well to other believers by supporting their efforts. So again, I have to ask you, are you faithfully supporting other men and women?
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in this room.
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Are you faithfully praying for other men and women in this room?
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Are you faithfully encouraging other men and women in this room?
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How often do you pray for members of your small group?
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How often do you reach out to encourage one of your elders or one of your pastors?
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How often do you reach out to encourage other people in this room?
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Are you showing genuine love and support for other believers?
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It's so simple. You should reach out to someone else and say, Marina, thank you so much for serving my children faithfully at Harvest Academy. You are making such a big difference in their lives. Thank you. Bob, thank you for leading a small group. Thank you for being faithful and being there for me when I was going through a hard season. Jay, thank you so much for faithfully playing bass every single week for the past 15 years.
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The Lord has used you in great and mighty ways. Andrew, thank you for faithfully leading our finance team. Thank you. Thank you for faithfully stewarding what the Lord is doing here. Wouldn't you love to hear that kind of support from the mouths of other people about your ministry efforts? Then faithfully share your love and support for their ministry efforts. Let Harvest not be a place of competition. Let Harvest be a place of unifying The faithful worker plays well to other believers by supporting their efforts. Finally, the faithful worker plays well to other believers by respecting their convictions. By respecting their convictions. Now to my favorite part of the entire passage. Verse 12. Paul lays out the ministry plans of his friend Apollos.
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to visit you with the other brothers. But it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. I love that. It was not at all his will to come now. Another translation puts it, he was quite unwilling to come now. Wouldn't you love to be able to pull an Apollos and people invite you to something that you do not want to go to? You get a Google invite to a meeting at work and you send back, I am quite unwilling to go to that. Thank you, but no thanks. Your friends invite you out for something you do not want to do and you say, it is not at all my will to do that. Have fun, but I will not have fun with you.
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This seems like a rude response, right? This seems unfaithful. But this is the response of a faithful worker. At first, Paul tries to convince Apollos to head to Corinth right away, but Apollos is convinced that there's a wide open door for ministry where he is, and he will come to Corinth once that door is closed. And notice that Apollos doesn't keep badgering Apollos.
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He doesn't drag him down. He doesn't make fun of him. He doesn't get mad at him for disagreeing. Why is that? Because faithful workers respect the convictions of other faithful workers. Paul doesn't know the specific plans and timetables that God has in store for Apollos. Paul doesn't even know what tomorrow holds for himself. So how could he possibly know what tomorrow holds for Apollos?
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to learn the lesson that I can't make anyone do anything.
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When I started in ministry, I thought I could be clever enough.
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I could be smart enough to make people change and make people do something.
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I can't do that.
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I cannot want something for someone else that they don't want for themselves.
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Other Christians are going to serve the Lord in different ways than you are.
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And guess what?
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That's okay.
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That's a good thing.
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Other Christians are going to serve the Lord in different places than you do.
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And guess what?
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That is a great thing.
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That's okay. On the day of judgment, you will give an account for yourself and your ministry, and others will give an account for themselves and their ministries. In the meantime, instead of forcing your will and your agenda on others, pray that their will and their agenda would be submitted to God's will and God's agenda. Faithful workers do not need to look just like you.
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to look just like Jesus. To respect their convictions. Respect where God is calling them. As we close, I want to return to the question I asked at the beginning of this sermon. Are you a faithful worker? Are you a faithful worker? You've had a lot of time to think about your answer. What have you come up with? What is your answer? Maybe your answer is a Yes, I think I am a faithful worker, but I have so much room for improvement. If that's you, well done. Good work. Keep serving the Lord faithfully. Don't let up. Keep the pedal to the metal. Do not take a break. Keep being a faithful worker. Keep going in the right direction. Maybe your answer to the question of, am I a faithful worker, is no. And your answer is no, because you know that you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. You can't be a faithful worker in His kingdom because you haven't truly believed in Him. All that can change today. Stop trusting yourself. Start trusting Jesus. Throw yourself at His mercy and His grace. Believe in Him for salvation. The job of a faithful worker is being held out to you today if you simply apply.
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by faith.
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Maybe your answer is no to the question of are you a faithful worker?
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Because you know that you're a Christian.
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You know you're a follower of Christ.
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But you have been anything but faithful lately.
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Again, it's not too late.
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You can start being faithful today.
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You can wake up from your spiritual nap and stop being lazy right now.
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God has so much joy.
37:16
God has so much blessing in store for you if you simply get to work. I hope and pray that you will. Pray with me. Father, we come before you and we thank you so much for the privilege of working with you, of partnering with you, of doing ministry with you. Lord, we're so sorry for the times where your plans for us don't seem exciting. Where the things you've called us to don't seem worthwhile. Lord, capture us afresh with the the amazing responsibilities you gifted to us. Lord, we get to work with the God of the universe. We get to work alongside our Heavenly Father. We get to work and see men and women come to a saving knowledge of Christ. We get to see destinies changed, family legacies transformed. What an awesome calling you've given to us, Lord. May we be faithful workers at home. May we be faithful workers in our community. May we be faithful in this world. May we be faithful workers right here at Harvest.
38:27
We thank you that you never leave us or forsake us.
38:32
You promise to be with us to the end.
38:37
For may we be faithful to the end as your son was.
38:40
We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 16:5-12
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why is it so important to prepare/plan ahead for ministry? What happens if you don’t?
What would it look like for you to be a faithful worker at home, in the church, and in your community?
How can you go out of your way to support and encourage other believers this week?
Breakout
Pray for one another.