Taylor Brown

May 31, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

How is the Church Like a Body?

Taylor Brown

May 31, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

Mark 1:8 - I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Since I’m a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

I shouldn’t DOUBT the Part I Play (1 Cor 12:14-20)
1. Because That DENIES My Purpose (1 Cor 12:14-17)
2. Because That DISHONORS God’s Design (1 Cor 12:18-20)
I shouldn’t DOWNPLAY the Roles of Others (1 Cor 12:21-26)
1. By Acting Like I Don’t Need ANYONE ELSE (1 Cor 12:21-24)
2. By Exclusively Focusing on My NEEDS (1 Cor 12:25-26)
3. By Shining the Spotlight onto ME (1 Cor 12:27-31)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. Isn't it frustrating to witness someone not do his or her job correctly? Maybe you have an employee or a direct report who constantly comes late, makes excuses, or has a suspicious number of grandparents that he has funerals he has to attend.
01:06
How many grandparents do you actually have? You hire a contractor to carry out a project in your house and he makes huge mistakes. And he acts very inconvenient when you come, when you ask him to come back and fix those mistakes. Your waitress has a horrible attitude and never checks on your table because she is constantly texting. You know what's even more frustrating than that? Witnessing or experiencing someone else.
01:36
not allow others to do their jobs correctly. You watch your favorite team lose yet again because one key player can't get his act together and he messes it up for everybody. You have a boss who is an expert in incompetence. He expects everyone to do their jobs as well as his job. You have a co-worker who makes your job so hard you can't finish this project at work because she has constantly dragging your feet and she is not communicating with you.
02:10
And instead of accepting that blame, taking it on herself, she points the finger of blame at you and says that it's your fault.
02:19
You know what's infinitely more frustrating than all the examples I've given already?
02:24
Witnessing a Christian refuse to do his or her job in the church.
02:30
or experiencing another Christian attempt to hinder you from carrying out your job in the church. Instead of contributing to the team, this person backs away, tries to go solo and do his or her own thing. Instead of building others up and encouraging them, they tear others down and diminish them. Wasted potential is a sorry sight to behold. Misused talents are squandered resources.
03:02
Missed opportunities for ministry are to be grieved. As you learned over the past eight months in 1 Corinthians, the church is commanded to be unified and purified. Unfortunately, this unity is undervalued, ignored, and tested by many who should know better. This purity is jeopardized, abused, and cast aside by many who claim to know and love Jesus Christ.
03:30
Excuses are made and commitments are unkept. Complaints are spoken instead of genuine praise. Zooming in on me and what I want is far more common than focusing on us and what we need. Am I describing you? Am I describing your contribution to the church?
04:00
Ask yourself, am I contributing to the unity and purity of Harvest Bible Chapel, or am I subtracting from it? Are you neglecting to do your job in the church? Are you standing in the way of others and making it hard for them to carry out their jobs in the church? Take a moment to go before the Lord and consider those questions.
04:32
Quiet your heart and ask God to convict you today. Ask God to challenge you today. Ask God to change you today. Go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before you as your people for the most important appointment of the week. May we not be distracted. Or may we truly dial in to what what you want to teach us this morning. Lord, may you show us who you've called us to be and what you've commanded us to do. I pray we'd all walk out of this room with a different vision of the church and a different idea of what we are called to do individually in the church. I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We are in the Q&A section of 1 Corinthians. Paul is addressing questions that this congregation asked him in a previous And last week, Pastor Jeff showed us Paul's answer to the Corinthians' question about spiritual gifts. Every single believer is given at least one spiritual gift that is to be used to bless the church and advance the gospel. No one is skipped over. No one is forgotten. No one is left giftless. And these gifts are to unite, not divide.
06:00
And Paul continues to answer this question in chapter 12, verses 12 through 31, by providing a powerful illustration. He compares the unity of the church body to the unity of a physical human body. Check out what he has to say in verse 12 of chapter 12.
06:30
So it is with Christ. I'm going to ask you a very easy question, and I'm even going to let you cheat to get the right answer. So everyone, look down and give yourself a quick once-over. Come on, go do it. Are you ready for my question? How many bodies do you have? It's not your question. Just one, you got the answer right. Great job.
07:01
I'm asking you an easy follow-up question. You can look down again if you have to. How many body parts do you have? Do you have more than one body part? Yes, you have more than one. According to Dr. Google, which is never wrong, you have 78 organs, 206 bones, and 30 to 40 trillion cells. You have individual body parts, legs, feet, toes, toenails, arms, Arms, Hands, Hands, Fingers, Fingernails, Heart, Lungs, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Nose, Nose, Hairs, Mouth, Teeth, Gums, Tongue, Uvula.
07:41
And on the list goes. Sorry, Pastor Jeff's uvula was swollen this week, and you're talking about it a lot, so I had to add that.
07:50
He was sick. That was the reason why.
07:54
But these individual parts do not operate or function independently from one another.
08:00
Instead, they work together as one body. They serve different roles. They carry out the same mission to keep you alive and kicking. And Paul is saying this truth about your physical body applies to the church body as well. Yes, we all have different roles. We all have different functions. But we do not operate independently from one another. We work together as one body.
08:30
same mission to lift high the name of Jesus Christ by making disciples.
08:37
And you may be thinking, hold on a minute.
08:39
This illustration seems to break down a bit because I've always had my physical body.
08:44
It's the only one I've got.
08:46
How did I become a part of the church body?
08:48
When did that happen?
08:50
It's a great question.
08:52
Thankfully, Paul answers it in verse 13.
08:55
He says, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. You realize at one point you didn't exist. There was no you. Then you popped into existence and you grew in your mother's womb. And at one point you were born into this world with your physical But if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, if you have been saved and given new life in Him, you have experienced more than just one birth. According to God's Word, you've experienced a new birth. And on your spiritual birthday, you were brought into the body of Christ. You became a part of the body of Christ. And this second birth is a work of the Holy Spirit, who Paul That sounds really cool. What in the world does that mean? Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Well, 2,000 years ago, John the Baptist baptized men and women in water as a sign of their repentance. But John was up front. He was very clear that he was not the point. He was not the be-all and end-all. He came to point to someone greater than him. He says, He says, I baptize with water, but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
10:37
Who is this greater person?
10:39
Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit?
10:42
Jesus Christ Himself.
10:46
This has massive implications for my life, your life, and the life of this church body.
10:52
This means that I, Taylor Samuel Brown, wasn't just baptized in water on July 30, 2000 by Pastor Jesse Boggs at Northgate Church. Yes, that was an important day. That was an important baptism. But I experienced an even more important day, an even more important baptism years prior. Before that, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. I was saved from my sins.
11:25
I was made into a new person.
11:27
I was brought into the body of Christ.
11:32
My water baptism was simply an outward symbol of the salvation I experienced.
11:39
Of this baptism in the Holy Spirit that I experienced.
11:45
And Paul even says that I drank of the Holy Spirit.
11:50
Again, sounds great, but what in the world does that mean? Well, think about it this way. When you drink something, you are filled with that liquid, aren't you? Whether it's water, coffee, wild cherry, Pepsi, or kombucha. When you drink a liquid, you are filled with that liquid. When you drink of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. He lives within you. He takes up residence within you.
12:20
If you have trusted in Christ, you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit. In verse 13, Paul mentions different factors that would divide people back in his day. He mentions ethnicity and social status. In 2026, we live in a world where we are constantly being tried to be ripped apart because of our many differences. We have different backgrounds. We have different skin colors. We come from different financial situations. We have different careers. We have different personalities. We have different temperaments. We are different in so many ways. And as we'll discover soon, that is good news to celebrate. But we are the exact same in the most important ways. We have the same Heavenly Father. We have been redeemed by the same Savior.
13:20
been changed by the same Holy Spirit. We belong to the same body. Our differences may be great, but our unity in Christ and His Spirit is even greater. So after this long and theologically heavy introduction, you may be thinking, all right, this is all very interesting, but what's the point? I get it. I'm a member of the body of Christ.
13:49
Now, you need to be encouraged to do your job in the body of Christ. Now, you need to be encouraged to let other people do their jobs in the body of Christ. So on your outline, since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number one, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. I shouldn't doubt the part I play.
14:19
Some of you in this room and watching online struggle to truly believe that you have an important part to play in the life of this church. You may think to yourself, I mean, sure, this is my church and I'm involved, but if I left, nothing would change. No one would notice. I don't have an upfront role that matters. I don't play an instrument. I don't really matter here. And as one of your pastors, it deeply saddens me that some of you feel that way about you.
14:51
It deeply saddens me that you believe a lie about yourself instead of believing what God's word says about who you are. You do matter. You do have a part to play at Harvest. This church does need you and it wouldn't be the same without you. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel good. I'm saying that because that's what God's word says. Listen to what Paul says in verses 14 through 17.
15:19
For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
15:49
I didn't doubt the part I play. Letter A on your outline, because that denies my purpose. Because that denies my purpose. You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ because you don't have the gifting of another person is as ridiculous as your foot saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'm not a hand. I'll never be able to hammer a nail into the wall. I'll never be able to type on a keyboard, so I just give up.
16:18
I mean, sure, your hands can't do, your feet can't do what your hands can do. But your hands can't do what your feet can do as well, right? Walking is pretty important, right? Most of you don't agree with that. Walking is really important, right? Your hands can't do that. Okay, good. Man, you are sitting right now, but eventually you will have to get up and walk away.
16:45
You claiming that you have no part to play in the body of Christ is as insane as your ears saying, I have no part to play in the body because I'll never be able to look at the Grand Canyon. I'll never be able to stare up at a starry night. So I'm just going to tune out and call it a day. I mean, yeah, your eye is important, but your eyes can't do what your ears can do. Without your ears, you wouldn't be able to hear anything. Just imagine if your entire body was just just one feature. Eyes are beautiful, aren't they? I love my wife's eyes the most, and I could stare into her eyes for hours. But imagine if Kate was just a big eyeball and nothing else. There's a big eye bouncing around my house and sleeping in the bed next to me at night. That sounds like the premise of a horror movie. I mean, yeah, I'd still love her because I made a vow to her 12 years ago, but That'd be pretty rough. That'd be hard. A big eye has 20-20 vision, but it can't really do anything else. A big ear has great hearing, but it can't really do much else. Now imagine if every single person in this church had the same exact gifting and function. Would that be productive or disastrous? It would be a total and complete I have been in a room with thousands of preachers before.
18:20
Imagine if those thousands of preachers tried to carry out the same function in the same church.
18:27
There would be arguments about who does what.
18:29
The bills would never get paid.
18:31
The building would fall in disrepair and probably burn down.
18:34
Preaching is an essential function of the church, but is not the only function.
18:41
Some of you men in this room do have a preaching gift.
18:44
We are so thankful for you. You realize it's very different. It's very unique to have this many guys who can preach a message in a church. That doesn't happen everywhere. God has gifted this church. But others of you guys do not have a preaching gift. And that is not something to be upset about. That is not a bad thing. Not everybody has the gift of preaching. Not everyone has an upfront role.
19:14
If your part is behind the scenes, it matters. Maybe your part is in the AV booth. Without Mike back there, without all the AV team back there, no one would be able to hear the sermons. I'd just scream at the top of my lungs for you to hear me. Without Ben and Lincoln working on the sermons afterwards, people across the country and across the world wouldn't be able to hear it, which does happen.
19:43
Maybe your part is being on the prayer team. You show the rest of the body what it looks like to faithfully lift up the needs of the saints to the Lord. Maybe your part is security. You function as the antibodies of the church that keeps the rest of the body safe. Maybe your part is working at Harvest Academy or working as an adult leader in Arrow. You are training up the future generation in Jesus Christ.
20:14
is leading a small group. You are on the front lines of congregational care and discipleship. Maybe your part is on the relocation and building committee with Pastor Rich and the others. You help formulate the budget. You count on Sundays. I can keep going and going and going. Without a doubt, you do have a part to play. Stop believing that you do not matter. Stop being envious of others. Stop denying your purpose at harvest.
20:45
I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that denies my purpose. Letter B, I shouldn't doubt the part I play because that dishonors God's design. Because that dishonors God's design. Let's look at verses 18 through 20. But as it is, God arranges the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?
21:18
When you badmouth a team's starting lineup and strategies, who are you ultimately dishonoring? The coach who decides who starts and designs the place. If you pick apart every single detail of a restaurant and complain about it to everyone that you know, who are you dishonoring ultimately? The manager, the owner, who decides who to hire, who makes all the big decisions. If you complain about your gifting and part in the body, who are you ultimately dishonoring? God himself. He is the one who created you. He is the one who designed his church. Paul says that God arranges the members in the body, each of them as he chose. When you are discontent with your part in the church, you aren't just hurting yourself, and you are hurting yourself.
22:13
You aren't just shortchanging your fellow members. You aren't just making ministry hard for the pastors, elders, and other leaders. You are accusing God. You are saying something about Him that is not true. You are shouting this message to your Creator. God, you made a mistake with me. I deserve a do-over. You could have done better. Is that a great message to send to the most important and powerful person the universe. No, it is not. Because God doesn't need a do-over. Because he nails everything on the first try. God did not make a mistake with you. He designs you purposefully and puts you into his church with purpose and design. It's a complete waste of time, energy, and effort to resist the Lord. So cut it out. Get on board with his plans for the body. Lean into your God-given part instead of backing away from it. Do your job in the church because it was personally chosen for you. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, I shouldn't doubt the part I play. Since I'm a member of the body of Christ, number two on your outline, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others.
23:44
from sabotaging yourself to sabotaging others. It is foolish to stand in your own way, but it is wicked to stand in the way of other people. As we just talked about, many of you struggle with a low view of yourself and how God has gifted you. Others of you have the exact opposite problem. You have a low view of others and how God has gifted them.
24:13
In the next several verses, Paul warns you to not downplay the roles of others in the church. Listen to verses 21 through 24.
24:43
which are more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others, letter A on your outline, by acting like I don't need anyone else. By acting like I don't need anyone else. So Paul turns the tables on the Corinthians as well as you and me in these verses. He flips the scenario.
25:13
First, he says it's dumb for a foot or an eye to say that they're not a part of the body. Now he says it's dumb for the eye or the head to tell other parts of the body that they don't matter. This kind of attitude is arrogant. This game of comparison misses the point. You know, naturally, we all create lists of importance and systems of ranking.
25:43
a to-do list that you want to complete, right? Where do you put the items that you think are the most important? Top of the list, right? Where do you put the items that you think are probably the least important? At the bottom of the list. Several months ago, many of you took part in the college basketball brackets, right? You decided which teams you thought were the best and which teams you thought were the worst. If I were to ask you your favorite movies, you could list them very quickly. If I were to ask you to list your least favorite movies, you could do it even quicker. We naturally evaluate everything. We're constantly grading other people's performances. We form our own personal rankings. And this was happening in the Corinthian church back in the first century. There were the spiritual elite at the top of the charts who looked down on those they thought were weaker, less honorable, and even unpresentable.
26:45
Paul says those brothers or sisters who seem weaker are actually indispensable. Those who seem to have a less than honorable role deserve greater honor. Those who seem unpresentable should be treated with the utmost respect. You may be thinking, oh, Pastor Taylor, I'm not spiritually elite. I don't look down at other people. I don't act like I don't need anyone else.
27:16
Are you sure about that? Are you sure? Do you make excuses for why you can't be in community with other believers? Do you refuse to join a small group or be involved in other ministries that we offer here like fishermen, live, laugh, lunch, precepts, mugs and moms? You say you don't have time or energy for these things, but inwardly you know that's not true.
27:43
By not joining a small group or participating in any of these ministries, you are communicating a loud and clear message, I'm doing just fine on my own. I don't need anyone else. I am self-sufficient. Maybe you are a part of a small group of one of the other ministries that I mentioned, but as soon as you walk in, you put up your defense shields. You don't share a detail of your life with anybody. No one knows anything about what you're struggling with or how they can pray for you because you don't.
28:13
tell them. You don't want to trust anybody else because they might let you down. You were hurt in the past and so you think, well, it's going to happen again, so I'm not even going to try. Are you someone who comes in late and leaves early because you are terrified of knowing others and being known? You're acting like you don't need anyone else. Are there people in this room or the other service that you actively avoid?
28:45
Is there a guy in your small group that you intentionally leave out of conversations and hangouts? Is there a woman down the aisle from you who you are blatantly rude to face to face and make fun of behind closed doors? All of these behaviors are childish. All of these behaviors are reflective of the Corinthians, not Christ. All of those behaviors hurt the body and do not help the body.
29:14
I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. Letter B, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. By exclusively focusing on my needs. Let's read verses 25 through 26. That there may be no division in the body, that the members may have the same care for one another.
29:44
All suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.
29:53
Have you ever been walking around your house minding your own business whenever you stub your pinky toe on the bed or a bench or a chair?
30:01
Let me ask you, in that moment, is it just your pinky toe that reacts?
30:07
Does the rest of your body think, man, sucks to be pinky, too bad for him.
30:11
I'm just gonna kinda do my own thing for a little while he calms down. No, when you stub your pinky toe, the pause button is pressed on life and nothing else matters. Your whole body reacts, your face grimaces, your mouth yells out some things that you hope nobody else hears. Your back arches, your hands reach down and grab your damaged foot and you pogo stick around on the undamaged foot and then your eyes inspect the damage. Your whole body reacts to the pain.
30:43
You ever had a bad back problem? Or a nagging tooth pain? Are you able to compartmentalize that and not think about it? Now when your back hurts, it's game over for your day. If your tooth is throbbing, you have one all-consuming thought, end the pain right now. Your whole body feels the pain of even its smallest member.
31:12
The same should be true of the body of Christ. If one person is in pain, all of us should be in pain. If there is a need, we should all rise up to meet that need. If someone in your small group has a big surgery or a major medical issue, start a meal train. Go visit them in the hospital. Take care of tasks around the house.
31:41
If there's someone on your serving team who loses a family member, show up at the funeral. Show up at the visitation. Your presence will speak far louder than any words you could possibly share. Care about the pain of other people. Meet the needs of others. Care about what other people need, even more than what you need. If one member suffers, all suffer together.
32:11
If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Here's a question that's been nagging at me all week. Do I love to celebrate the victories of other people? Very often the answer is no. What about you? Do you love to celebrate the victories of other people? Do you rejoice with other Christians?
32:41
When something good happens to another Christian in your life, do you think, praise the Lord, what a blessing? Or do you think, man, when's it going to be my turn? Nothing good ever happens to me like it does to that guy. When there's a couple in this church that has a solid marriage and really great godly children, do you think to yourself, man, what a great example that I want to follow? Or do you think to yourself, when will my family get it together? I'll never be like Mr. and Mrs. Perfect. I wish they'd stop rubbing it in my face.
33:13
You have to understand that other people's success is not your failure. According to Paul, their success is your success because you are a part of the same body. Let's share in the pain together. Let's share in the joy together. Let's thank the Lord in the good times together. And let's trust the Lord in the hard times together.
33:41
I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by acting like I don't need anyone else. I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by exclusively focusing on my needs. Finally, I shouldn't downplay the roles of others by shining the spotlight onto me. By shining the spotlight onto me. Let's wrap up with verses 27 through 31. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, These verses are jam-packed with a ton of stuff that we cannot get into. We don't have the time right now.
34:41
But it's really important to see that Paul mentions an office that no longer exists today. The office of apostle. Some churches have not got that memo yet. God is not posting apostleship jobs on Indeed. He is not hiring or looking to fill that position in 2026. Paul also talks about the sign gifts like speaking in tongues, miracles, and healing. Thankfully, I don't have to wade into that controversial topic because Pastor Jeff did it last week and he'll do an even deeper dive this summer.
35:11
Sometimes it pays to be the associate pastor.
35:15
But for now, catch the principle that Paul is communicating instead of getting bogged down in the details.
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And the best way to do that is to answer the layup questions that Paul asks.
35:25
Let's go through the list.
35:26
And you have to participate.
35:27
You have to answer the question.
35:29
There's one obvious answer for all of them.
35:31
Are all apostles?
35:33
Good job.
35:34
Are all prophets?
35:36
Are all teachers?
35:38
Do all work miracles?
35:39
Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? What's Paul's point? God has given every single believer a spiritual gift or several spiritual gifts, but he has not given any believer all the spiritual gifts. That's not possible. You know, we have a lot of talented musicians and vocalists here at Harvest, don't we? Let's give them a round of applause and thank them for all they do for us.
36:13
You know, Jesse Hogan, he can sing, he can play the guitar, he can play the drums, he can play the piano. He can play three instruments and I can play none. I guess I shouldn't rank our abilities, right? I shouldn't compare. I'm sorry, I'm still learning that lesson myself. I shouldn't compare with Jesse. Jesse can play all those things, but he can't play every single instrument in the world of which there are over 1,500.
36:39
Also, Jesse can't play all those instruments at the same exact time. If Jesse tried to come up here and do a one-man band and try to run between the guitar, the piano, and run between the drums, he would make a total and complete fool of himself. Because prideful exaltation always leads to forced humility. Jesse needs the rest of the band around him.
37:09
He needs everybody else. He needs the vocalists who can't reach the notes that he cannot. He needs Chris or Jay on bass. Jesse needs everybody else working with him. You know, the Corinthians were experts in self-exaltation. Many in the church wanted to shine the spotlight onto themselves. Look again at verse 31. Paul says, On a first glance, it may look like Paul is commanding the Corinthians to seek after the biggest and best gifts, but that totally misses the point of what he's actually saying. If you pay attention to the context, he's saying the exact opposite. This word, earnestly, is most often used in the context of envy and jealousy. A better translation of this verse is, But you are jealous for the higher gifts Paul is not commending them He is not celebrating them He is correcting the Corinthians Because they desired the flashy and showy gifts Serving wasn't on their mind because they wanted to show off Paul is telling them You're not the point So stop trying to be You're not in competition with one another You are working together Be in sync with one another do your job and help other people do their job as well. And he concludes by saying, and I will show you a still more excellent way. What is that still more excellent way? It is the way of love, which Pastor Jeff will talk about next week. This whole topic of spiritual gifts and the unity of the body should be viewed the lens of love.
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The love of Christ for us, our love for Christ, and our love for each other. Otherwise, we'll miss the point of why God even gifted us in the first place. If you have been saved by Christ, never forget that you belong to Christ. Never forget that you belong to Christ's beloved body. Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't doubt the part that you Since you're a member of the body of Christ, you shouldn't downplay the roles of others. As this sermon concludes, some of you in this room may feel a bit left out because you're not a Christian. You are not a member of the body of Christ. As of now, you are a detached hand or foot that has no function in the church body. As of right now, you are a detached eye or ear that is not connected to anything greater than yourself. As of now, the life-giving blood of Christ does not flow in you and through you. I have to warn you, if you continue in this state of self-isolation, you will wither away and die in your sins. You will experience a life without purpose, and you will endure an eternity separated from the giver of life.
40:35
and the other recipients of his life. If that's you, I beg you to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. Place the full weight of your faith upon him, what he has done through his life, death, and resurrection. And then, and only then, will you be forgiven and given new life. Then, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be brought into the body of Christ.
41:04
you will be placed into the perfect role that you were made for. You will be given the high honor and responsibility of serving Christ and his body. We'd love for you to join us. Let's pray. Father, we come to you and we thank you for your word. We thank you for the encouragement and the conviction that we all experienced. Lord, if there is someone in this room who is currently not a member of the body of Christ, who is not saved. May today be the day where they finally say no to sin and yes to your son.
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And for the rest of us, Lord, may we do our jobs.
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May we let other people do their jobs.
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May we work together and encourage each other.
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Lord, we thank you for all that you're doing with this new building project.
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Lord, none of that matters if we can't work together now.
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May we be faithful now.
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May we work together now. We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Re-read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - What does it mean that we are baptized in the Spirit and drink of the Spirit? Why is this so important for church unity?
Do you ever doubt the part you play in the body of Christ? How can you fight against this discouragement?
How do you see professing Christians standing in the way of others and downplaying their roles in the church? How do you see this disturbing trend within yourself?
What does it look like to prioritize the needs, hurts, and victories of other members in the church body over your own?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 24, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What About Spiritual Gifts?

Jeff Miller

May 24, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

What About Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

Spiritual Gifts are FROM God and FOR Every Believer. (1 Cor 12:4-6)
Spiritual Gifts Are to Be Used to BLESS the CHURCH. (1 Cor 12:7)
Spiritual Gifts Come in Many FORMS. (1 Cor 12:8-10)

2 Corinthians 12:12 - The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

Hebrews 2:4 - while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miracles
Luke 9:1 – And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases
- Prophecy
- Distinguish between spirits
- Tongues
- Interpretation of tongues
Spiritual Gifts Are Given at the HOLY SPIRIT'S DISCRETION. (1 Cor 12:11)
1. SEEK God.
2. Consider the INTERSECTION.
3. Take an ASSESSMENT.

Take the Spiritual Gifts Test!

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:38
Open up your Bibles with me, please, to the book of 1 Corinthians 12.
00:45
While you're turning there, let's just pause for a second, and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me
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to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly as I should.
01:01
And I will pray for you to be open to receive what it is that God said. All right, let's pray. Father, sometimes we come to your word and I guess some passages seem to hit some of us more than others. And we're about to enter into a section that according to your word literally is for every single one of us. So I pray.
01:31
That Your Spirit would be the power behind the wisdom of Your Word and that You would continue to conform us into the image of Your Son, not just individually, but as a church body. Father, glorify Your name as we immerse ourselves into Your Word now. We pray in Jesus' name and all of God's people,
02:02
Amen. Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 1. Paul says,
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Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
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This section of 1 Corinthians has been a big Q&A section.
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They had sent Paul questions and he was responding with answers.
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And up to this point, we've mainly been dealing with earthly matters. We've been talking about liberty and marriage and gender. And now we're on to more, I guess you could say, spiritual matters. And he says, concerning spiritual gifts, look at that verse 1, I do not want you to be uninformed. I don't want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts.
02:58
Spiritual Gifts. Wow, that's a phrase that really describes the church today. Right? Because as always, church, we will go to either side of the extreme. When we talk about spiritual gifts, immediately you're going to have some people on one end of the spectrum that just completely neglect or ignore them. And think, oh, that's just like,
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Goofy, charismatic stuff, but we're like sober-minded people. You completely dismiss the role that the Holy Spirit has in the work of the church. They're just neglected. And we do church according to human intellect and creativity. And then you have people on the other end of the spectrum that don't neglect the gifts. You could say they misrepresent the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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And over on the other extreme, people are doing all kinds of goofy things in church saying that it's a work of the Holy Spirit. We're slain in the Spirit and we're hooping and hollering and barking and howling. It's a gift of the Spirit. Excuse me. Absolutely essential in your work for Christ. Absolutely essential
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in the health of the church, in the health of this church, you have to understand what spiritual gifts are, and you have to use your spiritual gift in the church. All right, look at verse 2. He says, you know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. What he's doing here is he's setting up a contrast.
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by idols.
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And we're going to see this as we go throughout this section,
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but the Corinthians in their former pagan lifestyle
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learned a lot of bad methods of worship.
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Pagan methods of worship.
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And they brought those into the church.
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Like, I guess this is how we worship.
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And Paul here is making the contrast.
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Like, look, no, no, no.
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You used to be led by idols.
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Now, now you are led by the Holy Spirit of God.
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The Holy Spirit. Somehow, despite how essential His role is in the church, He just doesn't seem to get the press that the other members of the Trinity get, right? I mean, we talk about Jesus a lot. His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. His resurrection from the dead.
05:58
We talk about God the Father a lot. But God the Holy Spirit, just is essential. The Bible says that every Christian, every born-again Christian receives the Holy Spirit. That's Romans 8 and 9, among other places. That's God's presence abiding in you. Why? Why does God's Spirit live in you? Well, there's two main reasons. One is for character, right?
06:28
The Holy Spirit manifests the character of Christ in you. That's the fruit of the Spirit. That's Galatians 5. That's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That's what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer manifesting those characteristics. So it's character. The other reason the Holy Spirit lives in believers is for service.
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And that's what we're talking about in this passage today. Every believer is given a spiritual gift to be used in the church. And you're like, wow, you know, how do I know that I even have the Holy Spirit? Well, look at verse 3. Paul says, therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says,
07:28
Jesus is accursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. So how do you know you have the Holy Spirit? Here's a foundational test. How do you regard Jesus? And I don't just mean what do you say about Jesus here in church on Sunday morning or at small group. I mean in your heart, in your innermost being privately,
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How do you regard Jesus Christ? In your heart, is Jesus Christ everything to you? Because your true heart disposition towards Jesus is manifest by the Spirit. If you're born again, Paul says, you cannot curse Jesus. And apparently some of that stuff was happening in the Corinthian church. That's a whole other study for another time.
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Paul says, if you have the Holy Spirit living in you, you absolutely will regard Jesus Christ as your Lord. The Holy Spirit. He's not just for preachers and missionaries, by the way. The Christian life, every Christian's life, is a Holy Spirit-led and empowered life. So the question that Paul's getting into here, and Pastor Taylor's going to be talking about this more next week, here's the question on the table.
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They asked. He's answering, so what about spiritual gifts? I mean, what are spiritual gifts? And how is it that the Holy Spirit uses spiritual gifts in the church? So on your outline, what about spiritual gifts? What about them? Paul's giving us a great foundational teaching on Holy Spirit gifts.
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Number one, write this down. Spiritual gifts are from God and for every believer. Look at verses four through six. He says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities,
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is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. He says there's many kinds of spiritual gifts, but notice he says they all come from God. And he really wants to make that point clear because you notice he mentioned every member of the Trinity as being the source of spiritual gifts. You notice that? He talks about the Holy Spirit in verse 4. He talks about Jesus Christ, the Lord, in verse 5. He talks about God, the Father,
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in verse 6. Spiritual gifts are gifts that come from God. Now, understand that spiritual gifts are different than talents. Okay? Like a skill that you have to play an instrument or to paint a mural. Spiritual gifts are different, but listen. I can show you biblically, and that's a study for another time.
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come from God. Absolutely.
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But here we're talking about ministry gifts.
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Church ministry must be Spirit-powered, not done in the flesh.
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Why?
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Because if we're just doing ministry in our power, in man's power,
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we're going to get man's results.
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But when ministry is done in God's power, we get God's results. So which do you want? At the end of the day, I want to see what God can do in this church, not what I can do. But you notice the end of verse 6, beginning of verse 7, to everyone, to each. Listen, because every Christian possesses the Holy Spirit, all Christians, all Christians are given a spiritual gift.
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It's so fascinating because every gift is a characteristic of Jesus Christ Himself. You realize He had everything perfectly. Think about that. Jesus, God in the flesh, who embodied every characteristic perfectly. You see the Holy Spirit giving us a spiritual gift. What's going on here? Here's what's going on. The church is called the body of Christ.
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And each member is given a gift so that collectively, we as the body of Christ become a sort of representation of Jesus Christ himself. It's absolutely mind-blowing. But God wants the church to be Christ-like, and this is how it happens. We each use our spiritual gift. We're collectively built up in all of the characteristics that Jesus Christ possessed perfectly in the Incarnation.
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So, spiritual gifts from God for every believer. All right, number two, spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the church. Look at verse 7. He says, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For the common good.
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It's kind of funny when you think about it. You're given a spiritual gift, right? But in a real sense, the spiritual gift given to you isn't even for you. Isn't that strange? God's given you a gift, but He goes, oh, that's not for you. That's for everybody else. You see, my spiritual gift is supposed to benefit you.
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benefit me.
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And that's why we believe in every member of ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel.
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If you're attending here, if you consider this your church,
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we're not shy about asking where do you want to serve.
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Not because we're like, we need help.
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We do need help.
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But that's not the primary reason.
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It's because if you're part of the church, God has gifted you to bless the church. Right? So I have to ask you, how is God using you in this church? How's God using you? If you've been given a gift that's for the common good, how is that working in your ministry?
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Now look, I've got to tell you, we are so blessed at this church. We were talking about this not too long ago, but we have a crazy high percentage of people who are actively serving in this church in so many ways. We're not there yet, but that number needs to be 100%. And if you're attending this church and you're not serving, please hear me.
15:26
I just want to lovingly tell you that God hasn't called anyone to warm a seat. Nobody's spiritual gift is attendance. We need you to be using your spiritual gift for the common good. All right? So spiritual gifts are from God for every believer. Number two, spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the church.
15:54
And number three, spiritual gifts come in many forms. Here's where we need to spend some time. In this section here, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Now, this list is not exhaustive, okay? Actually, we're not going to look there today. We're going to stick in this passage as is our custom. But you can see also Romans chapter 12. You can see Ephesians chapter 4. There are other gifts than the ones that are listed.
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here. This isn't exhaustive. This is more just representative. Spiritual gifts come in many forms. Let's look at verses 8-10. Paul says, for to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.
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To another, faith by the same Spirit. To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation.
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of tongues.
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Alright, so with spiritual gifts there are two categories.
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There are speaking gifts and there are serving gifts.
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But there are also two kinds of gifts.
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There are permanent gifts.
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There are gifts that were given that will be active in the church until our Lord returns.
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And there are gifts that are temporary that were only for a time and purpose.
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And this is where we get controversial.
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Because this is where a lot of people have a lot of different opinions. But are you ready to go to Sunday school for a few minutes? Three of you? Okay. Thank you. Tristan always has my back. Always. And some of you are like, I don't know if I want to get out of here.
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this road. Well, we're going through 1 Corinthians. This is next. And we receive God's Word as presented, right? So let's do it. But I want to talk about temporary gifts. And please hear me out before you storm out. That door's hard to slam, but it can be done. Before you storm out, before you throw anything at me, I would like you to please hear me out for a few minutes, all right?
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Because this isn't my opinion. This is what the Bible says if you read it straightforwardly. Temporary gifts, sometimes they're called sign gifts. Those are the more miraculous type gifts. Please hear me because this is where I'm going to be misquoted, but not you. Listen, those gifts are not normative today.
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Do I believe that they still happen? 100% I do. But they are not normative. Okay? So if somebody's like, well, what is Jeff's position on some of these sign gifts? I do not believe that they are normative today. I'm going to show you why. Can God do them? Yes. But, listen close. These sign gifts, are these spiritual gifts
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that are possessed by people in the day of Paul and the apostles. And the answer is no. They're not possessed by people as they were in Paul's day. God still does them on occasion, not normative, but they're not possessed by people. I want to talk about miracles for a moment. Pastor Taylor and I were talking about this last week.
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I think when we read the Bible, we get this idea that miracles were just like happening all the time, right? Like Moses woke up and like before his oatmeal, he like fired off five miracles. Boom. Not a man a meal, not oatmeal. But actually miracles in the Bible were actually very rare.
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And apart from Moses' day, and apart from the day of Jesus in the apostles' ministry, miracles performed through men were actually very rare things. So why did we see so many miracles, especially in Moses' day, and especially in Jesus' and the apostles' day? Because this is why.
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God performed miracles through people to verify or prove when new revelation was given. That's why it was normative in Moses' day. That's why it was normative for the apostles. Because God was giving new revelation, and that was the way He verified it. Any knucklehead can run around and say,
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this is the new word of the Lord. And like, how can you prove that? Anybody can say that. God would verify what is actually revelation from him by backing it up with people who were giving not just this message, but performing these miracles. That's why you see that in Jesus. Why did Jesus perform so many miracles? Why did Jesus perform miracles? He's putting on a show, right?
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He wanted to dazzle people, right? Hey, check this out. Check out what I can do. Anybody got two fishes, five loaves? Let me show you a trick. No! Jesus wasn't an entertainer. Why did Jesus do all the miracles? Actually, He referred to them as signs. Why? Because they were done to prove He is who He said He is. He's like, I'm God in the flesh. And of course, you're going to have people that were like, pfft.
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I'm not buying that. But when you see this man raising the dead, healing the sick, feeding multitudes, you're like, there's something more to him. Right? Jesus' signs proved he is who he said he is. You're like, awesome, but what about spiritual gifts? Well, same principle here. Listen, to back the apostles'
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while the New Testament was completed, was being completed, God authenticated the gospel with sign gifts. That's what the Bible says. You're like, where does the Bible say that? Many places. I'll give you a couple. Okay? Like 2 Corinthians 12. Look, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience with signs and wonders and mighty works. You see?
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the true apostles were performing miracles. It was to authenticate the gospel message. Same thing in Hebrews 2.4. It says, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. Same principle as God was giving us the New Testament. You see, in those days, they didn't have the New Testament completed yet.
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was being worked on by the Holy Spirit. So when somebody got up and said, let me tell you this message from God, how do we know it was from God? He backed it up with miracles. That's why when you go through the book of Acts, you see miracles less and less and less and less as you go through the book of Acts. We spent like three years in Acts, and that's what you see. In 1 Corinthians here, the book that we're studying, it was one of the earliest
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written. So sign gifts were still very much a thing when Paul wrote this, but they were on their way out and they were ending as normative spiritual gifts when the New Testament was completed. That's why in none of the other epistles you see any talk about the spiritual gifts of miracles or healings or tongues or interpretation of tongues. You don't see that in any other
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book in the New Testament.
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Because it was phasing out.
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We have God's word complete in written form,
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so we don't need to verify it with a miracle.
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God wrote it all down for us.
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All right?
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So, with that backdrop, I'm going to go through these quickly.
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Each one of these could be a sermon,
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and that's not the intention.
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Interestingly, Paul does not explain them. He just lists them. I want to give you a little definition for each, a little understanding. So look at your spiritual gifts here, starting in verse 8. The first one is wisdom. What is wisdom? That's just skill in applying the Word of God. Do you know who typically possesses this gift are people that are counselors, whether it's formally or informally, people that are able to say, I understand how to incorporate God's truth.
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into my life.
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I can help you incorporate God's truth into your life.
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It's applying the Word of God.
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That's wisdom.
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Next is knowledge.
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That's understanding the Word.
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It's somebody that can see Bible facts and knows how they fit together.
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You know what's amazing?
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Did you ever see these Christian authors?
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They take like one subject and they write a whole book about it.
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That's always amazing to me.
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Like, how do they do that? They wrote a whole book about one subject? Well, I think a lot of them have the gift of knowledge. Right? Next is faith. Gift of faith. Now, obviously, this is faith beyond believing to get saved, because every follower of Christ has that kind of faith. Right? But you ever notice that there are some Christians that you meet that just seem to have a deeper,
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Confidence in the Sovereignty of God. You know what I'm talking about? There's some Christians you meet, they could be going through just the worst trials a human being can go through, and they're just like, you know what? God's in control. He's got this. And they're just completely unflappable. They have the gift of faith. Those people are typically the best prayers. Right? Next on the list.
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is healing.
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Now again, I believe that this is one of the gifts
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for people that was phasing out at this point.
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But what is healing?
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Well, it's just supernaturally healing a physical illness.
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I wish I had that gift.
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I wish it was still a thing.
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And you might say, well, Pastor Jeff, I think it is still a thing. Because I saw this guy on TV. He was slapping people on the head deaf and they were getting up with full hearing. Interesting about those people, they never go to the cancer ward or the children's hospital. I mean, if I had the gift to heal people, that's the first place I'd go. You're like, oh, so you don't believe in healing? Oh, yeah, yeah. Look, listen.
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Let's be clear. God still heals. I believe that 100%. And I have seen in this church God miraculously heal people. I believe that God heals. I'm not convinced that Benny Hinn ever did. All right? So next is miracles. Miracles. Like, wait a minute. What's the difference between miracles and healing? I'm not going to bore you with the long systematic Thompson Chain reference.
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But here's the thing. That word for miracles, when you trace it through the New Testament, was most often connected with casting out demons. That's the difference. That's the distinction. See, that's what Jesus was talking about. Look at Luke 9.1. We'll have it on the screen. It says, and he called the twelve together, look, and gave them power and authority, here it is, over all demons and to cure diseases. So miracles.
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In the New Testament referred to casting out demons. Again, I believe that was an apostolic era. Do I believe God still does that 100%? Absolutely, yes, He does. Normative? That a person has the gift and is running around doing that? No. All right, next is prophecy. Prophecy. Now, when we think prophecy, when we hear that word, what's the first thing we think of? Like future stuff, right?
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Tell us the future. Well, sometimes, actually rarely, that's part of it. But you realize that's not what prophecy literally means at all. Do you know what the word prophecy is? It literally breaks down to a compound word that means speak before. You're like, speak before what? Speak before an audience. That's what prophecy is. It's somebody that stands in front of a group of people and says things.
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Before Them. That's prophecy. It's the public speaking of God's truth. That's what happens when I get up here, Taylor or Brian or Justin or whoever stands up here proclaiming the Word of God. That is prophecy. We are speaking before. Right? Next is distinguishing between spirits. If you're interested, we did a whole sermon series on this.
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A couple years back, this is what we more commonly call discernment. It's the ability to evaluate if something is from God or not. And in that sermon series, I'm not going to preach it all now, but I'd just like to remind you that that is something that we are all called to do. We are all called to discern what is from God and what is not from God. And again, I'll remind you that we live in a day that it is more crucial than ever because we live in a day where we have access to more information.
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than we've ever had. You open up your phone, you're going to have 10,000
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preachers giving you contradictory
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message about
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thus saith the Lord. How do we know
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what God actually said? Discernment
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is the gift to be able to
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tell, he's not saying what God
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said, but this guy definitely is, right?
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Right?
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Some people have that gift.
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Alright, next gift is tongues.
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Next gift is tongues.
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You're like, are tongues for today?
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People ask that, are tongues for today?
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Yeah, tongues are for today.
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How would you eat your ice cream otherwise, right?
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Listen, I'm not going to go too far into this.
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Oh, you're scared? No, not at all.
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We're actually going to be doing a very deep dive in this. We're spending four weeks on this subject. But what is tongues biblically? Tongues is the ability to speak in a foreign language unknown to the speaker. It's a known language, by the way. It's not gibberish. It's somebody speaking an already existing language that that person doesn't know. They're just speaking it. Like I said, we're going to spend so much more time on this. And then interpretation of tongues is just simply that.
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a person that was gifted with the ability to translate what the tongues speaker says. Many forms. One spirit. Oh, speaking of the Holy Spirit, number four. Spiritual gifts are given at the Holy Spirit's discretion.
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Look at verse 11.
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He says,
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All these are empowered by one in the same Spirit
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who apportions to each one individually as He wills.
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As He wills.
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The Holy Spirit, in His sovereignty, determines who does what. That's the Holy Spirit's job. Understand, as your pastor, I did not get to choose your gift. Like, oh, you want to be a part of our church? All right. Prophecy. Okay, how about you? You want to join the church? All right. Healing. You're like, you totally didn't listen to that sermon, did you? I don't get to determine that gift.
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get to determine that gift. You know what? Preaching looks like a lot of fun. I think I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit for the prophecy gift. He is the one who determines the gift. It is a gift. And the gift giver determines the gift that he wants to give you. The gift giver determines the gift
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that he wants to give you.
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And I know this is a hard sell in our day.
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I mean, Murph, you get it. You go back. We get it.
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The gift giver determines the gift he wants to give. We get it. The younger people don't get that.
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Like, why not? Because you know what we do in our day?
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You know what we do in our day? We have a big event.
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We have a baby shower, a wedding, little Joey's birthday party. He's turning five. Going to have his party at the Chuck E. Cheese. Do you know what we do today? We tell people what gifts we want, don't we? We do that. Little Joey's turning five. He's registered at Target. Right? Right?
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Or, yeah, I'm getting married. Yeah, I'm getting married. Yeah, I'm registered at Target. We tell people the gifts that we want. I'm getting married. I want this toaster. I want this knife set. I want this vacuum. And then, I mean, we've done it. Aaron and I will go and be like, okay, this is the vacuum they want.
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and we buy it and we wrap it up. And then they act surprised when they open it. They open it up and they're like, oh, you got me exactly what I was asking for. Oh, you shouldn't have. But you go back a generation, the gift giver determined what gift you got. Don't try that with the Holy Spirit, okay? You're baptized.
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I'm registered at Target.
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Well, we don't get a say in it.
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It's His gift, right?
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It's His gift.
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Do you think I would have signed up for this?
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Oh no.
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Oh no.
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He'll make a better choice than we would anyways.
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Alright.
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That's all well and good.
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But that's really not the question
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that we're asking right now.
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The question that we're asking right now is how do I know what my spiritual gift is right I mean it's clear he's given all of us each of us a gift to represent the body of Christ and we're to use it in the common good we saw the kinds and you're like awesome what is my spiritual gift how do I find out what my spiritual gift is all right I'm going to give you three things we're going to close with this three things how do I know what gift I've been given letter A seek God
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You're like, that sounds like a cop-out. No, look. If you make your life about on-your-face praying and in the Word and just get serving in the church, the Spirit's going to do what the Spirit does. He's going to be at work through you. You're going to figure that out real quick. So just don't worry about seeking a gift. Seek the gift giver. He'll do what He does.
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That's what he does. Seek God. All right? Letter B. Consider the intersection. Like, what's the intersection? I was studying for this this week. I came across something. I thought it was super helpful. It's one of those diagrams where everything intersects. What do they call that? A Venmo diagram?
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Venn. Not Venmo.
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What's a Venmo?
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Oh, that's giving money.
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Also a spiritual gift. Right!
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So you could Venmo your...
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Alright.
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I just feel like I had like an inception moment here.
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Alright.
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Consider the intersection.
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Yeah.
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All right. So I came across this Venn diagram. And I thought it was helpful. I'm going to try to recreate it here. But there's three things here. First of all, this circle here, we're going to call that, we're going to call this one ability. We're going to call this one ability. What is it that you seem, not complicated,
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You seem like you're able to do this. Right? Of all the gifts. You're like, you know what? That's something that I seem like I'm able to do. I mean, I'm not boasting or anything. It just seems like something that I'm able to do. Okay? And then, with this one, we're going to call this one affinity. That's an idea. Okay. That's affinity. Like, well, that's an idea. Like, what do
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I enjoy doing.
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If somebody was like, you can do whatever you want in the church, whatever you enjoy most,
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what would be the line I get to the front of first?
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What's my affinity?
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And then the third thing here, my circles are getting less and less circle-y, but I think you get the idea.
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This one we're going to call affirmation.
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You know, you have people maybe in your small group or other people in the church that are, they say to you, you know what? You seem like you have a real gift for teaching. You really seem like you have a gift for praying with people. So the point is this. Consider the intersection right here.
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This is very likely your spiritual gift. I would say extremely likely. What you're able to do, what you love doing, and what people affirm that it seems like God has equipped you to do, that is very likely your spiritual gift. All right? Then letter C, assessment. Seek God, consider the intersection or assessment. We have a QR code.
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Go ahead, take your phone out and give that a scan. Pastor Rich sent this along. But this is an online assessment. And really, I think between seeking the Lord, considering the intersection, doing the online assessment, I think that's going to get you all on your way to giving you a deeper understanding of what your spiritual gift is. So go ahead. Go ahead, do the...
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Either scan that or Venmo me some money. Since you have your phone out and I just learned what Venmo is. Do I have a Venmo? Never mind. Aaron says I don't have a Venmo. All right. Our worship team would make their way up. While they're coming, you know, when I was in high school, I played soccer.
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In my junior high year of playing soccer, the coach didn't like me. Why? Because I was unlikable. So I sat on the bench most of the season. Now, I knew I had the ability.
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senior year, we had a new coach, and I didn't sit for one minute that entire season. In fact, I was co-captain of the team. But I got to tell you, I think back to that junior year of playing soccer, and I just remember feeling incredibly frustrated because I felt incredibly useless. You know, you put your shin guards on, you put your cleats on, you put your
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your soccer uniform on.
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And you just, I just sat there and watched the whole season.
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Just sat there.
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So many times I thought, why am I even here?
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Why am I even here?
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What am I doing?
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I want to tell you, you don't have to worry about that with God's team
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because there are no bench warmers.
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God doesn't tell any of His children, you know what? You're nice and all, but you go sit over there. We don't really need you. Or you just wait, and if we decide there's a place we can squeeze you in, we'll see if we can do that. No, no, no, no, no. God's Word has made it very clear that He has called and He has gifted every single one of you.
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this church. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, so often we get a gift and we don't say thank you, but Father, we thank you not just for the gift of your Holy Spirit himself who lives within us, but the gift that he has given each of us to serve you and your church. For some people here, Father, this is probably brand new teaching.
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Never really considered this. And for some people here, Father, maybe we've known this and have sort of strayed from it. But I'm asking today, Father, that your Spirit would grip every heart in this church and grip the church collectively so that we truly, as the body of Christ, might represent the person of Christ.
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as these spirits are at work in us. So Father, I pray for the person here who maybe has been coming to this church but just hasn't stepped up. Remind them, Father, it's not just a matter of the elders and pastors and ministry team would value your input. Remind them, Father, that you have equipped them to serve your church.
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We do so to your glory and honor. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What does it mean that spiritual gifts are for the common good (1 Cor 12:7)?
Are sign gifts such as healing and miracles still possessed by people today? Why or why not?
Why is it important to understand that the Holy Spirit is the One Who chooses what gifts believers receive (1 Cor 12:11)?
How do you know if a ministry is done by the power of the Holy Spirit, or done in the flesh (that is, just by “human power”)?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 17, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper?

Jeff Miller

May 17, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper? 3 Things You'd Better Get Right: (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

PURPOSE. (1 Cor 11:23-26)

What is the Purpose of the Lord's Supper?
1. REMEMBRANCE. (1 Cor 11:24-25)
2. PROCLAMATION. (1 Cor 11:26)
3. ANTICIPATION. (1 Cor 11:26)
Luke 22:15-16 - And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
POSTURE. (1 Cor 11:27)
PREPARATION. (1 Cor 11:28-34)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Open up your Bibles with me please to the book of 1 Corinthians. So 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and let's just bow our heads and I'm going to ask that you would please just take a moment to pray for me that I would be faithful to do nothing but clearly communicate the Word of God as presented. And I will pray for you to have your hearts open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us today in this passage. Let's pray.
01:07
Father in heaven, we are talking today about something that is very serious to you and therefore should be to us. So I pray we would all be dialed in. That we would, as Pastor Taylor prayed earlier, our hearts would be ready to receive what it is you want to tell us and that we would, respond accordingly.
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Thank you, Father, for being a God of truth, being a God of grace, the love that you've shown us, Father.
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We praise you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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All of God's people said, Amen.
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1 Corinthians 11.
02:01
Many, many, many years ago at a previous church, before our Wednesday night kids activities, one time a month, we would have a potluck. And somehow, this particular potluck Wednesday snuck up on us. And Erin was like, oh no, tonight's the church meal thing. And she was running around the house trying to find something.
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to take over. And lo and behold, Mother Hubbard's cupboards were bare. And she goes, what are we going to... Well, she found in the cupboard that once upon a time, she bought a whole bunch of rice bowls from Big Lots. They were on clearance. She bought a whole bunch of these. They were like these individual serving thing, you know, you put water in it and throw it in the microwave and ta-da, cheap lunch.
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So she bought a whole bunch of these on clearance. And she's like, this is all that I have to share at the meal. So she made a whole bunch of rice bowls. And by the way, they were all different flavors. She's like, I'll just make them all and just mix them together. Like I said, it came in several mouth-watering versions.
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So we had jasmine and teriyaki and salmon and I don't know, chocolate caramel. And anyway, she took all of these rice bowls and put them like in a casserole dish. And she goes, all right, now here's what I need you to do. She says, I need you to get over there early and sneak this in so that nobody knows where it came from. And I'm telling you this because you need to know that I was an accessory to this crime.
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So mission accomplished. I snuck the bowl in. I was poof gone like a ninja. Nobody knew where that dish came from. So we had our meal. We had our kids program. And at the end of the night, I went to sneak back to get our casserole dish. And inside the dish was a note. And the note said, whoever made this, please give me the recipe.
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So today we're going to be talking about a good old-fashioned potluck because Corinth had a fellowship meal. Sort of like the one we had that one Wednesday night a month. And they would have this fellowship meal. They'd have their potluck and then afterwards they would take the Lord's Supper together and they made it a Real Seen.
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Look at verse 17.
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Paul says, But in the following instructions, I do not commend you.
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Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse.
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Paul's like, You guys, you're ruining worship.
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You're ruining your worship time.
05:30
And that's a theme that goes through chapter 11, 12, 13, 14. Paul's like, you're ruining it. Look at verse 14. I'm sorry, verse 18, excuse me. He says, for in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I believe it in part. Divisions. We spent a whole lot of time talking about that. There were cliques. Everybody had their favorite preacher, and there were divisions.
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Literally, the word divisions means arguing over opinions. And there was a lot of that. Paul says, yeah, I certainly believe it. Verse 19, interesting side note, he says, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. As I said, we spent a lot of time talking about the factions.
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the cliques and the divisions in chapters 1-4.
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But Paul points out here, you know, there is one good thing about factions.
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He says all of the fighting has a way of showing you who is genuine.
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Who's an authentic, mature believer and who's not.
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But Paul says, you want to learn who's spiritual?
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You want to learn who is unspiritual and probably unsaved? Paul says, just watch how people handle disputes. And that is 100% true. Watch how people handle disputes, and you'll see how spiritual they are. But he goes on. Verse 20, he says, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat, For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. You see what's going on here? Paul says you're making the Lord's Supper into something that is not the Lord's Supper. At their fellowship meal, first of all, we saw there's cliques. Everybody sit with their people.
07:59
Don't sit with anybody else. Make sure you sit with your people. And Paul pointed out some of them were, they were showing up early and just eating all the stuff that they brought to share. They're showing up with their casserole dish full of the hodgepodge rice bowls, and they're just sitting and eating it all themselves. They got their tuna noodle casserole or their beef stroganoff that they meant to share with everyone.
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and they're just hogging it down themselves.
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He says, you're not sharing.
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And as a result, some of the poorer people were going hungry.
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Oh, and if that's not enough, some of them were showing up early, not only eating too much, but they were drinking too much.
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He says, some of you are drunk.
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I mean, can you see this scene?
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You're showing up for church for a fellowship meal before the Lord's Supper is even served. Some people were drunk. Paul was rightly outraged. Look at verse 22. He kind of lets them have it. He goes, what? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate?
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those who have nothing. What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. Paul's like, what are you doing? Can't you be a hog at home? Like, what's going on here? Do you hate the church? Is that what's going on here? Do you get happy about being cruel to poor people? Paul's like, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to say?
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I'm not going to say that.
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It's a serious rebuke.
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Because there's a serious problem.
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They were making a mockery of something that should be absolutely sacred to the church.
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And that's the Lord's Supper.
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What is the Lord's Supper?
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You read about the Lord's Supper in all the Gospels.
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But it was Jesus' last meal with His disciples before He died on the cross. They were Jews celebrating the Passover meal. So what is the Passover meal? Well, that was a sacred observance that God gave the nation of Israel to remember that they were hopeless slaves in Egypt and God saved them. He sent someone to deliver them from bondage.
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The Passover meal would have four different cups at different intervals in the meeting. You would eat bitter herbs together. There would be a retelling of the Exodus story. They would eat unleavened bread. They would sing some of the Psalms. That's what the Passover meal was. And in the Lord's Supper, when Jesus had it with His disciples, He made it new. You see, it went from, remember, the Exodus to remember that Jesus Christ came to save you from your sins. And you can trace this in your Bible. The early church did it on a regular basis, Acts 2.42. And at some point, the early church started doing it weekly, apparently, from Acts 20.7.
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But in Corinth, the Lord's Supper was tacked onto a meal of gluttony and drunkenness and selfishness. So in the section we're looking at today, Paul says, you, Corinth, are greatly dishonoring the Lord with your conduct. And he says, if you're coming together to take the Lord's Supper as a church, you better get a clue as to what the Lord's Supper is about.
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All right, so on your outline, how should I receive the Lord's Supper?
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This is something that we do as a church.
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We are going to do it in a few minutes.
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So I think this is something that we should really tune into.
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How should I receive the Lord's Supper?
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Well, there's three things you better get right.
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All right?
12:50
I alliterated them for you so that something not just for today, but every time we take the Lord's Supper together, these three things, you've got to get these right if you're going to do this. Number one is purpose. Purpose. What is the purpose of the Lord's Supper? Why do we do this? Well, Paul, That's where he starts. He goes, maybe you need reminded. Maybe you've been so off base you just need reminded of what this is about. Look at verse 23. He says, for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. That the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. Stop there for a second. Most scholars believe that 1 Corinthians was actually written before the Gospels were completed. So this information that Paul is giving is directly from Jesus. So Paul says, let me remind you what the Lord's Supper is about, the purpose. On your outline, what is the purpose of the Lord's Supper? It's really about three things he's going to show us here. Letter A, why do we take the Lord's Supper? Letter A, R is for remembrance. Remembrance. Look at verse 24.
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He says, when Jesus, the night He was betrayed, He took bread, verse 24, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. The body, the bread represents the body.
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The bread represents the body of Christ, the incarnation, the glorious mystery that God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, became a man. But notice in verse 24, Jesus said, this is my body which is, what are those last two words? I'll give you another run at that. This is my body which is for you.
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You should have that underlined in your Bible for you. Do you realize everything that God did in the incarnation was for you? Why did God become a man?
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It was for you. Why did he suffer the way that he suffered? For you. Why was he willing to lay down his life as a sacrifice? For you. And he says, do this. Do this. That's a Do this. Why do we receive the Lord's Supper? We're commanded to do that. Do it, church. Do it, small groups. Do it. This is something that we are commanded to do. Verse 25, he says, in the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
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It's a new covenant in the blood of Christ. What is a covenant? It's just a promise. It's an agreement. There was an old covenant where sins were atoned with the blood of animals. But this is the new covenant. This is a new promise where Jesus said, I will take away all of your sins forever with one sacrifice.
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It's the covenant of blood. See, blood speaks to the violent death that Jesus endured. It made the new covenant possible. But notice both the body, the blood, the bread, the cup, and both do this in remembrance.
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on this because we talked about this three weeks ago. But in the Jewish mindset, remembrance was more than just recalling something. You know, it's not like we come to church like, wait, who are we worshiping? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus, that's right. Now I recall. Remembrance is so much more than that. We saw this back in chapter 10, verse 16, where Paul said, taking the Lord's Supper together as a church is participation.
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That's what remembrance is about. It's embracing everything that the body and blood means.
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See, the Lord's Supper isn't just about reminding ourselves of an event that happened so long ago. This is about our life right now. This is who God is. This is how He has revealed Himself. This is what He has done because of His love for me. He laid out his life for me.
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He calls me to carry my cross and follow him daily.
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The Lord's Supper brings us to that place where we're engulfed with all of that.
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It's remembrance.
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What's the purpose of the Lord's Supper letter B?
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It's proclamation.
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Look at verse 26.
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He says, For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
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As often, He says that again in verse 25, there's no magic number.
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As often, some churches do it weekly, some monthly.
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As often as you do it, what are you doing?
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He says you're proclaiming the Lord's death. You realize when you take the Lord's Supper, you're giving a sermon. It is a beautiful and profound thing that when we take the Lord's Supper together, church, it is as if we together are giving a sermon together. Every time you take it, you're preaching a sermon. You're like, well, what's the content of my sermon? When you take the Lord's Supper, you're saying, I believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
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I believe He is the Son of God.
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I believe that Jesus died for me.
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I believe that my sins are forgiven, not by anything that I can do, but by everything that He did on my behalf.
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I believe that.
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You're preaching a sermon every time you do this.
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You proclaim the Lord's death.
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So the purpose of the Lord's Supper is remembrance, His proclamation, letter C.
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It's anticipation.
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You proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
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Do you see that? Until He comes.
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We believe that Jesus is returning.
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Do you believe that?
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Do you believe Jesus is coming back?
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Well, when you take the Lord's Supper, you're saying that you believe that.
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Right?
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That we are going to...
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When we take the Lord's Supper now, We are communing with Jesus. We are participating in this together. But do you realize what we're saying? We're saying that we believe that someday we will commune with Him personally at the marriage supper of the Lamb. You know that's how the Bible describes heaven. That's how the Bible describes the return of Christ and the The Bible describes as the marriage supper of the Lamb. Have you ever been to a wedding? Have you ever been to a wedding reception? They are a real hoot. It's a big party and there's so much laughter and joy and celebration. And that's exactly how the Bible describes our ultimate reunion Jesus Christ when the church is brought into His presence and glory.
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Jesus talked about this.
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Luke 22 verses 15 and 16.
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And He said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
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Look at this.
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For I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
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So we are communing with Christ spiritually.
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now in the anticipation that today's going to come when we are communing with Christ in His actual presence. Can we grasp how sacred this is? Do you see why this is such an important remembrance that the Lord has given us?
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One of them we celebrated last week in baptism. This is the other one. Do you see why this is so important? And that's where Paul starts. He's like, remember the purpose of the Lord's Supper. It's remembrance. It's proclamation. It's anticipation. So how should I receive the Lord's Supper? Well, three things you've got to get right. The first one is purpose. This is why we do it. Number two is posture.
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Posture.
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Talking about the posture of your heart.
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What is your heart's attitude in going into the Lord's Supper?
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Because it matters.
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Look at verse 27.
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Paul says, Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Unworthy manner. Did you realize that you can take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner? Did you realize that? That's what the Bible says. Let's be clear. It doesn't mean sinless. The Bible is crystal clear on that. If you had to be sinless to receive the Lord's Supper, none of us.
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would take it, right? We just leave the trays up here and look at them. None of us could do it. Well, so how can we take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner? Well, there's really two ways. One way you can take it in an unworthy manner is being unrepentant. First of all, the Lord's Supper is not for unbelievers.
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And if you're here, and we are so glad that you are here, but if you're here and you're like, you know what, I have not personally received Jesus Christ. I think I'm seeking right now, and I'm trying to understand, and we're so glad that you're here. But if you are not a born-again believer in Christ, you absolutely should not take the Lord's Supper. This is for His people. Okay? But, If you are here, and you say that you are a born-again believer in Christ, but you have resolved yourself to some sin. Meaning this, look, we all sin, but we're talking about being committed to the sin. You know what I'm talking about. It's, I'm not committed to seeking repentance right now. There is a sin in my life right now that God has been speaking to me through his word his spirit has been bringing great conviction in me there's the sin in my life and i have just been telling god no i have been just flagrantly disobeying god and i know what he wants me to do and i've refused to do it if that describes you you should not take the lord's supper you should not take the lord's supper if you are in a state of being unrepentant flagrant Rebellious, Unrepentant Sin. The second way you can take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner is being not just unrepentant, but being irreverent. Meaning, you don't receive it in an attitude of worship. And church, I think we can be so prone to this, that it's time to take the Lord's Supper, we just mindlessly go through the motions. That we line up, we take the elements, we have our seat, we bread, cup, done, and we've given like no thought to it. We never really stop to think about what was happening. That's just what we do. We go through the motions. That's irreverent. And when you do that, notice he says, you're guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. When you do that, when you take the Lord's Supper, unrepentant or irreverent, you are dishonoring Jesus and all that He's done. Because you didn't receive the Lord's Supper in a posture of worship. You understand the gravity of that? Imagine I brought an American flag up here. And I just threw it on the ground and stomped all over it. I'm not going to. But I just threw it on the ground and stomped all over it and wiped my feet on it. Would you be outraged by that? You should be. And I said, well, what's the big deal? It's just a piece of cloth. You're like, the big deal is what that represents.
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That's the big deal. And an even bigger deal is what stomping on that represents. You see, it's the same principle with the Lord's Supper. That's why we are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord when we do it irreverently. It's like stomping on the flag. It's stomping on Jesus. Because God takes this very seriously.
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If you're in sin, that you haven't confessed to God, you haven't turned from, you sinned against a person, and you haven't made things right with them, you haven't sought horizontal forgiveness, you should not take the Lord's Supper. You should just quietly abstain. All right? And look, if your heart isn't in it, if you're like, you know what, if I go do this today, it's just going to be a mindless ritual. It's not going to be active worship.
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for me, then you should not take the Lord's Supper. You should just quietly abstain. But we are in a room of peer pressure, right? Where you're like, but if everybody gets up to take the Lord's Supper and I don't, what are people going to think? Who cares? Who cares what people think?
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By the way, no one's noticing. No one has a scorecard. Well, you didn't get up and take communion today, but I'll write that one down for the record. Nobody cares. All right? What matters isn't what people think. What matters is what does God think? Because if you take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, you're guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and you should be way more concerned with what God thinks.
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You should receive this in a posture of worship.
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So, number three, how should I take the Lord's Supper?
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Well, we saw the purpose.
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We saw the heart posture.
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Three, P is for preparation.
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Because of the seriousness of this, We should prepare ourselves. Look at verse 28. He says, let a person examine himself then. And so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Examine yourself. You should do this before church every Sunday anyways. But especially before you take the Lord's Supper, you need to take time for personal inventory. You need to ask yourself right now in my life, am I personally, actively, seeking the Lord.
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Have I prepared myself to commune with the Lord?
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And if you refuse to examine yourself, look at verse 29.
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He says, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
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If you take this irreverently, you're bringing judgment on yourself. Now the word judgment is literally chastisement or discipline. Okay? And understand, he is talking to believers here. Like, well, what kind of judgment am I going to face if I irreverently take the Lord's Supper? Well, he tells us, verse 30, he says, that is why.
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Many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. If you're a believer who takes the Lord's Supper in an irreverent way, God will discipline you physically. Do you see that? All levels. Some end up weak, just not feeling great.
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Some are ill, like really not feeling great. And Paul says, and some have died. Like done feeling anything. Right? There are so many prayer requests that have to do with health things. Do you notice that? Anytime somebody says, hey, does anybody have any prayer requests. Very rarely do we hear the, hey, I have an unsaved neighbor, pray that the Lord opens the door to share the gospel, or pray that I can better disciple my kids. Those are more rare. It seems to me like 90-some percent of prayer requests, we just drag out all these health things. And there are so many people here dealing with health issues.
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And I have to ask you, in light of this verse, could it be that your health issues have been brought on by God for taking the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner?
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You're like, does God do that? Yeah. Yeah, He does. Now, obviously, listen, listen close. Obviously, no one is saying that that is the cause of all sickness and death. Nobody's saying that. But if you call yourself a Jesus follower and you take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, you are a candidate for God's discipline.
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And for some of you, that might be exactly why you are sick. That might be exactly why you've had this physical thing going on that you just can't get over. For some of you, that's why. Look at verse 31 and 32. He says, but if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.
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But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. Paul just basically here says judge yourself or God will. Either take an honest assessment of your heart and act accordingly or disregard the state of your heart. Take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner and God will act accordingly. You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
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Are you saying I could lose my salvation? Oh, absolutely not. Absolutely not. In fact, he clarifies that in this verse. God will discipline you, even let you die. He says so that you won't be condemned with the world. But that's how serious this is to God. God will remove you from the earth before he allows you to discipline.
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honor him in the way that you take the Lord's Supper. I'm going to last two verses. He says, so then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for judgment.
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About the other things, I will give directions when I come. Okay, so easy application for the Corinthians, right? Paul's like, so here it is, Corinth. When you have your potluck, can you just wait for everybody to show up? Can you do that? Like, oh, Paul, that sounds so un-American. Wait to eat? We don't do that.
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I just laugh sometimes I'll hear people say, you know, I got stuck at such and such place. I had to go six hours without eating. Like, wow, I can't believe you're alive to tell the tale. Look, you can wait. You can wait. Right? Paul says, he says, are you hungry? You can't wait.
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Why don't you just eat at home instead of being drunken hoggers at church before the Lord's Supper? How about that? But you see, there's a principle for them and for us. The Lord's Supper should be worshipful. Prepare yourself for it. Poor worship team would make their way back up.
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to apply this right now.
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I'd like you to just bow your heads.
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I'd like you to just bow your heads and close your eyes.
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I just want you to focus on your own heart.
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Because in just a few moments, if our communion servers also would come up, in just a few moments, we are going to take the Lord's Supper.
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And I want you, first of all, to just, in light of this passage, is to remind us why we're doing this. This doesn't save you. This doesn't make you into a more spiritual person. Paul tells us exactly the purpose of this. We are remembering. We are proclaiming. We are anticipating. That's why we're doing this. Also, your posture. This is a sacred act of worship.
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And I have to ask you, is that the posture of your heart right now? Are you here to worship? Or have you been checked out even before you walked in the door? How is the posture of your heart right now? In preparation, examine yourself. Is there unconfessed sin that you have committed yourself to?
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Look, believer, you are forgiven in Christ. You need to live like it. Are you genuinely seeking the Lord right now? Father in heaven, we're about to come to your table. And I don't know of any other teachers in your word that's more serious about this event than this passage that we just looked at. Father, this is a very serious thing to you. So Father, I pray that none of us would take this in an unworthy manner, that we would have the faith to stay in our seats and pray rather than invite discipline on ourselves.
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Father, we thank you for this meal and everything that it means.
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That God, you so loved us.
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And you so wanted our sin removed from us that you came and did the job yourself.
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So Father, as a church, let us, in receiving this, proclaim the excellencies of your grace as we anticipate the day that we get to sit down with Jesus personally at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-11:34

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
How would you explain the Lord's Supper to a brand new Christian, who is completely unfamiliar with the ordinance?
Jesus said to take the Lord's Supper “in remembrance” of Him. What exactly does that mean? How does this relate to the concept of “participation” (1 Corinthians 10:16)?
What are some ways a believer can take the Lord's Supper in an “unworthy manner” (1 Cor 11:27)? Does this mean you have to be sinless? Why or why not?
1 Cor 11:28 says “examine yourself”. What exactly are you examining in yourself before you take the Lord's Supper?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 10, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What About Gender Roles in the Church?

Jeff Miller

May 10, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

Authority & Submission: God's Plan for Order. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

God's Plan For Order Must Be UNDERSTOOD. (1 Cor 11:2-3)
God's Plan for Order Must Be APPLIED. (1 Cor 11:4-6)
God's Plan for Order Started at CREATION. (1 Cor 11:7-10)
God's Plan for Order Brings BALANCE. (1 Cor 11:11-12)
DECISION TIME: Are You On Board with God's Plan for Order? (1 Cor 11:13-16)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Open up those Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians 11.
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And as you do so, just please take a moment to pray for me to faithfully and clearly communicate the Word of God.
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And I will pray for you to have a heart that is open to receive what God said.
00:59
Alright? Let's pray.
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Father, we once again just ask for Your Spirit to be at work with Your Word in a supernatural way that we can't fully describe, but it always brings about life change when Your Spirit works that way. Father, I pray that You would help us to eliminate any distractions and to just take this time to laser focus on your word and what you've communicated to us here, Father.
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We pray in Jesus' name and all of God's people said, amen.
01:50
Amen.
01:51
Amen.
01:53
When I was in college, I worked at Walmart.
01:56
This was in Ohio.
01:58
And one of my jobs at Walmart was when a customer bought something heavy, like a trampoline or an anvil or whatever Walmart sells, it was my job to get it in their car.
02:13
And I remember this one lady in particular, I was putting something heavy in her car, and she said, Are you married?
02:24
She wasn't proposing to me, by the way.
02:26
She was much, much, much older. And I was much, much, much younger. She goes, you married? And at the time, I was not. I said, no. She said, if you were, would you let your wife wear pants? And I got to tell you, I was young and a brand new Christian. And I was like, as opposed to what?
02:59
I just wasn't sure that I had a say in that matter. Is my wife going to wear pants? I'm like, that's a thing? I didn't know that was a thing. Well, it's a thing. It is a thing. In Corinth, it is a thing even more than ever today.
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talking about, and I later discovered what she was talking about, gender roles, attire, what is appropriate, what is a woman? God created them male and female. We're going to talk about gender roles today.
03:56
And in this section, it's kind of a Q&A section. And here, next question up, we're going to see is what about gender roles? We're going to give you a little background here so you understand why Paul was writing what he wrote. But the church in Corinth, they had a lot of problems. And one of the problems they had was they had issues with feminism.
04:28
Now listen close because this, you have to understand this to understand why Paul is saying the things that he did here. But in that culture, in the Corinthian culture, married women would wear a veil or a head covering as a sign of modesty and submission to their husbands.
04:56
When a woman wore a veil, it was her way of saying, I'm taken. I'm not interested. I'm not available. You know, sort of like in our culture, we wear the wedding ring. That's your way of saying, look, I have been claimed. I'm not looking for someone else. All right? Some cultures today still use head coverings or veils in a similar custom. It was a sign of modesty and submission.
05:26
Well, some of the Corinthian women, in the name of liberty, would protest the traditional male and female roles. And they would make a statement that they're liberated women. They'd make the statement by throwing away their head coverings. And some would even take it a step further than that. And say, I'll show you how liberated I am. They would shave their heads.
05:57
and protest.
06:02
Now in past time and going through 1 Corinthians, we talked a lot about the prostitution in Corinth.
06:10
And let's just say prostitutes didn't wear veils.
06:15
Because prostitutes were going around saying, I'm available.
06:21
And you see some of the liberated Corinthian women were like, throwing their veils away too. Women rejecting their roles. Men abdicating their roles. It's an issue as old as the human race. Like, well, what about today? Well, obviously veils really aren't a thing in the American culture.
06:58
I'm not great at mincing words here, okay? But let's just be honest. In our culture, there are clear signs of masculinity and femininity, right? There are clear signs of that, right? Don't you dare leave me up here. There are clear signs in our culture of masculinity and femininity, right? I don't judge.
07:24
Okay, so if you come across a woman who has a purple crew cut, a skull tattoo on her face, and she's wearing combat boots, would you immediately think to yourself, that's very feminine? Would you? Would you? Okay. Or what if you came across a man, who was wearing mascara, and he had his fingernails painted pink, and he's wearing a pink mesh half tank top. Would you say, that's masculine? Would you? No. There's obvious signs of what's feminine and what's masculine. You're like, so this passage today is about clothes. Yeah.
08:26
And more than that, it's about men being men and women being women living the roles as God designed them to be lived out. And these roles for men and for women must be reflected in attitude, they must be reflected in conduct, and they even must be reflected in appearance.
08:53
This passage is about the fundamental way that God is at work in everything in the universe. It's a divine order that Satan would want to disrupt. Here's the real issue on the table in this passage. It's the issue of authority and submission. Now, as soon as you say the dirty S word in church, people get their guards up. Like, submission. Submission.
09:23
People get their guards up. There's already this like animosity. Submission. Really? This is the sermon you went with on Mother's Day? Submission? I do the preaching calendar in July. I did not see this coming until about like two weeks ago. And then I was like, oh dear. Here's the problem though with submission. You know what the problem is with submission?
09:53
Submission is people don't understand it.
09:57
I want to give you a couple biblical truths about submission to help us set up this passage.
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It's an acronym, SOFT.
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Listen, ladies, it's okay to be soft.
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That's how God designed you, soft.
10:14
So what is submission?
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S. S is for strength.
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Listen, you know why people don't like to hear submission?
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Because they think submission is weakness.
10:23
Submission is strength. I'll prove it very easily. Who was the most submissive person to ever walk the planet? Do you know? Jesus Christ. Jesus did not do one thing that wasn't in complete submission to his Father's authority. Jesus never had a day where he's like, well, the Father wants me to do this, but I don't feel like doing that. He never had a day like that. Jesus was He was completely submissive to the Father's will every second of His life, and He loved it. Okay, another question. Who was the strongest person to ever walk the planet? Jesus. The most submissive person ever somehow is also the strongest person ever. So is submission weakness? Submission is strength.
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O.
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Soft.
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O.
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O is for order.
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Listen, when we talk about submission and authority, it's just the way God made everything to function.
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It's just the way.
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Everything that we see, everything that's unseen.
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Submission, authority.
11:40
Authority, submission.
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That's the way God structured the universe.
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It's in the spiritual realm.
11:48
All right, we'll talk about that in a few minutes.
11:51
It's all over the earth.
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The government, your workplace, the church, the home, authority and submission in every arena of life. It's everywhere. Authority and submission. The focus here in this passage has to do with men and women. Men and women are equal, but we're different. That's okay.
12:23
some roles for men and some roles for women. It has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority. It has nothing to do with that. It's your workplace. You are under your boss's authority, but that doesn't mean he's better than you or she is smarter than you. It's just about the structure that's been established. It's about order. It's about order. Somebody has to make decisions.
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decisions out. It's just the way it works. Everywhere. All right? S, O, F and T go together. Faith and trust. Faith and trust. Do you have faith? Do you have faith? Well, one of the key ways faith is expressed is by submitting the authorities that God has placed over you. So long as the authority is not asking you to sin.
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We express our faith by submitting to the authorities God has over us at our workplace, in the church, in the home. Faith says, God, I trust you by submitting to the authority that you placed over me. That's an act of faith. And it takes an incredibly strong person to be able to trust God to that degree. So here's the principle for this passage. Please really tune in here.
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because this is the principle of this passage. And I was very careful I worded this. I'm going to read this to you twice, okay? But here's the principle of this passage. Christians should, in the name of laying down their rights, as Brian talked about last week, Christians should conform to their gender-specific patterns of dress and appearance that their culture identifies with being male, and female because God wants these roles embraced because authority and submission in these roles is God's plan for order. Let's say that again. This is the short version. If you want the long version, stick around. Christians should conform to their gender-specific patterns of dress and appearance that their their culture identifies with being male and female. Like, why? Because God wants us to embrace those roles. Why? Because authority and submission in these roles is God's plan for order. All right? That's the short version. Now, let's take a look at the text and see what exactly God said on your outline. Authority and submission, God's plan for order. That's what this is. This is God's plan for order.
15:22
This is the way God orchestrated everything. Authority and submission, God's plan for order. Number one, write this down. God's plan for order must be understood. It must be understood. Look at verse 2. Paul says, Now I commend you, because you remember me in everything, and maintain the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
15:52
Paul is front-loading a very hard topic with praise. Paul says, you seek my counsel on everything. I appreciate that so much about you. You hold the traditions. Literally, that word is translated doctrine in other places in Scripture. Paul's like, you're people that care about the truth and harvest. Let me commend you. Listen, I know that this is a controversial topic. I get that.
16:22
And I know that this is an extremely unpopular topic. But you know what else I know about this church? That you come here because you want to know what God said. You come to this church because you believe that we want nothing more than to represent the Bible in our sermons, right? Check the record. That's all any of us have ever tried to do is just reflect God's truth. And I commend you for that.
16:51
Even when it's hard. Look at verse 3. Verse 3 is the thesis of the whole thing. Paul says, but I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ. The head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. You see, here's the thesis. Authority and submission is God's design.
17:22
He says the head of man, the head of every man, is who? Christ. You're like, Jesus isn't the head of every man. Wait 15 minutes. Every knee will bow, okay? But the head of every man is Jesus Christ. Man, we better get on board with that sooner than later. Okay, the head of the wife is what?
17:56
You are so much more reluctant to say this one, aren't you? The head of the wife is the husband, right? And the head of Jesus is God. You see, Paul's just giving the thesis here. There are roles that have been established. And I love how he puts the hard one sandwiched between two very obvious ones. Do you see that?
18:25
It's obvious, right? The head of man is Christ, obviously. And the head of Jesus is God, right? Jesus completely submissive to the Father in all things, right? John 14, 28. Jesus regarded the Father greater than Him. And He says the head of every wife is the husband.
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that men are called to have authority. There's the problem. Another problem that we have with submission. Because we don't get what authority means either. People get this idea that authority means man sits on the throne and chop, serve me, everything for me, my way, my preferences. That's not what authority means at all. Do you know what authority means. Biblically, authority is I have to make decisions that are going to bless and protect the people that God is entrusting to me. That is true in my home. I have to make decisions to bless and protect my family. That is true in the church. I have to make decisions in this church, and our elders have to make decisions in this church that's going to bless and protect the congregation, the people who come to this church, the members, the sheep of this fold.
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That's what authority is.
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And you see, Paul lays out this thesis.
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You can't deny any of these things.
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If you look very close, in every case, it's about trusting God by submitting, right?
20:10
How does man trust God?
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Well, man trusts God by submitting to Christ.
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I want to jump to the last one.
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How did Jesus trust his Father?
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He trusted His Father by submitting to Him. So how does the wife trust God? Right there in the middle, by submitting to her husband. Also, the other side of that, the authority in every case is not dominating. It's lovingly leading. Do you see that? How does Christ lead man? Lovingly. How did the Father lead Christ?
20:51
Therefore, how should the man lead his wife? Lovingly. So if you believe this universal law of authority and submission, then you're going to get the rest of the passage. All right? Number two, God's plan for order must be applied. God's plan for order must be applied. Look at verses 4 and 5.
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He says, every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
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But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
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So Paul is applying this principle here.
21:45
He's talking about prayer and prophecy.
21:47
What's that?
21:48
It was just talking about women preachers, right? No. No, the women as pastor thing, Paul makes that very clear in just a couple of chapters. You can write it down. Chapter 14, verses 34 and 35, Paul talks about women as pastors.
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about that in this passage. This passage, he's focusing on the head covering customs, and later, like the pastor thing, we're going to get into the other gender issues. Chapter 14. So, he says, men, when you pray, when you prophesy, wherever that is, he says, your head should be uncovered. And women, you should have your head covered. Why did Paul say that?
22:48
because in Corinth, again, this is a culture-specific tradition, but in Corinth, if a person covered their head, that was a sign of being feminine. That was a very effeminate way to present yourself. And what Paul's simply saying here is, men, don't do that. Men, in Corinth, hey, don't cover your head.
23:18
Don't do it.
23:20
You're like, well, what about the Jewish men?
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Because, you know, the Jewish men covered their head when they pray.
23:27
Yeah, that is a Jewish custom.
23:29
Came from the rabbis, not from the Bible, because of Moses being veiled after he talked to God.
23:36
So what about the Jewish men in Corinth?
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Paul's like, no.
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Jewish men, don't cover your head.
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Why?
23:44
Because if people in Corinth see you praying with your head covered, they're going to think you're effeminate. Right? And you're like, all right, is this for all churches? I mean, is this for us today? I mean, tell me, Pastor Jeff, should I go home and throw away my Yankees cap? Are people going to think I'm effeminate if I wear that? No. Look, this is obviously, obviously, it's a Corinthian-specific issue.
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Because, you know, Paul only addressed gender and veils in Corinth.
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You don't see this anywhere else in the New Testament, not to any other church.
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So what Paul is saying to the Corinthians is this.
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Accommodate yourself to the customs of the Corinthians.
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In other words, church, here's the principle.
24:45
Here's the principle that does apply to us. Don't violate customs that have significance in your culture. That's what he's saying. Don't violate customs that have significance in your culture. Meaning this, men should do what men do, and women should do what women do. Don't try to make some statement of liberation by taking on the appearance of the other gender.
25:18
In verse 6, he addresses the feminists. He says, For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. Again, Paul here is speaking to the feminists. What he's saying here is this. Ladies, you want to protest?
25:44
Okay, you're making some kind of statement. You refuse to act like a lady. Is that what you're going for? Then just, okay, just shave your head. How about that? Because the response for these Corinthian church ladies would be like, shave my head. I'm not going to do that. That's like, that's disgraceful. Paul's like, then put a veil on Miss Corinth. Paul's being very facetious here. He says, look, you've got to go with the cultural norms.
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when it comes to being male and female. You've got to know what's happening in that culture and you've got to go with it. Right? Like when we go to Thailand, some of the churches in Thailand, many of the churches in Thailand, when you go to church, the men sit on this side and the women sit on this side. They don't have a middle. All right? So when I go to Thailand, I don't just go strutting into the church like, I'm free in Christ. I'm sitting with the ladies. Because all the men are going to be like, that American guy. Is he a little weird, isn't he? Like, no, we sit with the dudes. Because that's just part of the custom. That's part of the culture. Right? That's what Paul's talking about here.
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He's saying, look, boy, this is a hard sell. This is such a hard sell. When I got into ministry, I never imagined this would be a hard sell. But now that we live in a day of drag queen story hour and transgender stuff, the Bible just here says, embrace gender distinction. You know what it is in the United States in 2026. Your look, the way you act, your role.
27:43
If you're a man, be a man. If you're a woman, be a woman. That's what Paul's saying here. You've got to apply God's plan for order. Thirdly, authority and submission, God's plan for order. Thirdly, God's plan for order started at creation. Look at verse 7. He says, for a man to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. Stop there. Paul's saying, men, you are to lead. Not abdicate that role in submission. If too many men that just aren't stepping up, being the servant leader in the home that God has called them to be, that's a problem. There's a problem in Corinth. It's a problem.
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in our day today. Man, you've got to step up and lovingly lead your family.
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That's what Paul's saying here. Stop shrinking back.
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He says, man, you're the glory of God. Then he says, woman, you're the glory of man.
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This is how authority and submission was established. Man is the glory of God, means man was made to manifest God's will.
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And woman being the glory of man means that woman was made to manifest man's will. You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Since when? Since creation. Look at verses 8 and 9. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.
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Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. Stop there. Authority and submission. The Bible says very clearly here and in Genesis 2 that woman was created to help man. And we need all the help we can get.
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says the woman was made from man for man. Do you think God could have created men and women at the same time? Do you think that's possible? I think he could have if he wanted to. So why in the world did God create man first and then take woman from the man? Why did he do that? Why didn't he just create them both?
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at the same time. And the answer is right here. He's establishing his plan for order.
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Because look at verse 10.
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He says, that is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.
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Paul's saying, so, if you accept God's plan, authority and submission, God's plan for order, if you accept God's plan, show it by dressing the way that's reflected in your culture because of the angels. What? Whoa, what? Because of the angels. Yeah, obviously, duh, because of the angels. What do the angels have to do with any of this? Here it is, listen.
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God's plan for order, authority, and submission. Do you know who gets that more than anybody? Do you know if you scoured the universe and you were looking for someone who understood this more than anyone, do you know who you would get? An angel. They get God's plan for order. They get it. They're like, okay, there's authority, there's submission. God's my authority. He says to do something, I do it.
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They get how it works. Do you know what else they get? Angels get that rebelling against God's plan is a very bad idea. Speaking of angels, look at Jude, verse 6. And we studied Jude a few years ago. You can look up this whole sermon online. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, God has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. You see that? Because of the angels, Paul is pleading here. He goes, ladies, look, as soon as you talk about these matters of men and women and authority and submission, there's a lot of women immediately want to throw the whole thing out. And Paul is pleading here. He's like, ladies, look, God's plan is good.
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And if you're not on board, learn from the angels who weren't on board that God takes it very seriously when his plan for order is rejected. God was serious about his plan for order at creation, at Corinth, and at Harvest Bible Chapel today. God's plan for order started at creation. Number four, God's plan for order brings balance. Look at verses 11 and 12. He says, nevertheless, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman. For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.
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God's amazing plan of order to work. We all have to do our part. We all have to work together. We're not independent. That's what he's saying. We're not independent. God designed us to be interdependent. That's how order works. The home, the church, understand.
34:37
Neither were designed to function just by man. The home, the church, neither was designed to function just by woman. In order for the home and the church to be at their absolute healthiest, both men and women have to be faithful to the roles that God established in creation.
35:07
Let's look at verse 12 again. This is so beautiful and so profound at the same time. He says, for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman, and all things are from God. Yes, man is called to have authority. And moms, moms, You have the responsibility and privilege to make your son a man who is going to serve God faithfully in his role. That's what Paul's talking about here. Yes, woman was taken from man at the beginning, and ever since then, man has come from woman, and man has been shaped by woman. Meaning, those of you who are moms of sons, listen, you made a son and now you are making a man. So moms, you hone your son into a man who's going to lead with love. You hone your son into a man who's going to lead with kindness, who's going to show respect. Moms, you make your sons into men of humility and self-sacrifice. Because moms, your impact on your son will ultimately exponentially manifest throughout the whole world with the impact that he's going to have when you send him out of your house. So you see there's balance. Every role fulfilled God's way advances his kingdom and glorifies the name of Jesus Christ. That's why Paul says, All things are from God. Number five. Decision time. Are you on board with God's plan for order? Look at verse 13. Paul says, judge for yourselves. Is it proper for a wife to pray to God, with her head uncovered. Judge for yourself. Paul's saying, in other words, is it appropriate for a woman to fight being feminine? Is that proper? Verse 14, he says, does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is a disgrace for him? But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory, for her hair is to her for a covering. Judge for yourself, Paul says, authority and submission. Embracing God's gender roles. Is that proper? Is that appropriate? I think it's right back on the hair thing. Paul's like, hey, even beyond the Corinthian culture, he says, nature teaches men shouldn't have women's hair. He says, but it's It's right on a woman, though. So interesting. Paul says that the veil they wore, the head covering, it was just sort of an accent for the hair that God designed the woman to have anyways. Tradition came from somewhere, didn't it? And you're like, oh, all right, fine. Man doesn't have long hair. Woman should have long hair. All right. Here's where we get legalistic, right?
39:06
You ready for the legalism? We've got to define what's long hair. Four inches? Five inches? I don't know. Maybe the standard is just this. Every dude has got to shave their head. Women have to be tripping over their hair. It has to be that long. How about that? You guys, I'm not interested in legalism because God's Word certainly isn't.
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Look, in our culture, men don't need to have a crew cut to look manly. In our culture, women can look extremely feminine with shorter hair. All right? Because in their culture and in our culture, it's about the heart. And that's why Paul says, judge for yourself. Look, be honest. If you've chosen a hairstyle because you're trying to be rebellious. That's a hard thing. If you've chosen a hairstyle because you're trying to make a statement with it, that's a hard thing. That's what he's addressing here. And if you're trying to make some kind of feminist statement with your hair or whatever, I just want to say this as lovingly as I can. If you're trying to make a statement with some feminist thing. Nobody here really cares about your statement.
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But, God cares about your heart.
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That's the bottom line.
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That's the bottom line.
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And probably my favorite verse in the whole passage is the next one.
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Paul says, If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
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Paul says, because he knows, look, nothing's changed. He knows writing this, people are going to be like, I'm sending Paul an email. And I'm sure there are people thinking that about me. And this is what God says. He's like, look, if you want to fight about living out and representing your gender role, you're not going to sway the church. Because God made a distinction between men and women.
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We are God's church, so we're going to keep the distinction. Because God has a plan for order. For men, for women. And it's godly authority. And it's godly submission. Our worship team would make their way up. That was the introduction. Now here's the sermon. Men.
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Act like a godly man. Women. Act like a lady. Act like a godly lady. This is God's plan for order. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I pray that you would give us understanding.
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Because our whole culture would just rail against this passage today. We live in a culture that can't even define what a woman is when you have made it very clear that you want us to be the people that you've created us to be. Father, I pray that we would find great joy and fulfillment and contentment and contentment.
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And finding our identity in Christ.
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And living out the role, whatever that is, wherever you have us, however that looks, God.
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Let us be a people that are shaped by the truths of your word.
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We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 11:2-11:16

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Explain 1 Cor 11:3. What does this say about authority and submission pertaining to God's plan for order?
Is this passage teaching women should wear head coverings at Harvest? Why or why not? How does this apply today?
Read 1 Cor 11:10. What do angels have to do with women understanding the roles of authority and submission? See also Jude 6.
Why do you think this topic is such a source of contention (1 Cor 11:16)?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

May 3, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What if My Conviction Offends Someone?

Jeff Miller

May 3, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

What if My Conviction Offends Someone? (1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1)

CHOOSE to CONSTRUCT. (1 Cor 10:23-24)
CONCEDE for the CONSCIENCE. (1 Cor 10:25-30)
CELEBRATE our CREATOR. (1 Cor 31-11:1)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Morning, Church. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10.
00:41
We're going to start in verse 23 and go through the first verse of chapter 11.
00:48
Have you ever had one of those moments where you walked away from a conversation and immediately thought, well, I really stepped in it on that one?
00:59
You know the feeling. You say something and at first you think it was just something harmless, right?
01:07
But then you notice the silence. Where you see the look on someone's face and the room gets just a little awkward, right? And suddenly there's this chill in the air and you start replaying the conversation in your mind and you start thinking, well, what did I just say? Most of us have had a moment like that, right? I remember one time in particular when Elizabeth and I were a young couple before we had any kids.
01:35
We got invited over to a dinner party. And we didn't know one of the couples in particular very well. And so we were brought together and they were trying to do some, you know, friend matchmaking kind of a thing. It was nice. We had a good dinner and a good time and we were just chatting with one another and telling funny stories and whatever. And I seized on the opportunity to tell a really, what I thought was funny story about an experience that Elizabeth and I had had just a few days prior.
02:05
And Elizabeth and I had gone to a high school band concert. You remember this? Yeah. Of course she does. We had gone to a high school band concert just a few days before. And I'll just tell you that it was not the greatest concert ever. In fact, it was, in my opinion, it was pretty bad. And I thought it would be a great opportunity to make everybody laugh. So I'm telling about how the trumpets are squeaking and how the trombones were just a few notes, a little off and you know the the kid playing the triangle got a little too excited and you know i'm getting laughs and it's it's a great time we're all yucking it up i did notice there was one couple though the couple we didn't know too well they weren't really engaged in my story and so you know i just bore in i'm telling it a little more getting a little trying to get some more laughs so i finished my story and then uh the husband of the couple that was quiet that we don't know very well he kind of leans in and raises his head and says I'm the band director at that school. That's a true story. That one hurt. That one really hurt, you know? Maybe you've been there. I don't know. Maybe I'm the only one. Maybe that's the worst example in the room. But I felt awful. You know the Homer Simpson meme where he just backs up into the shrubs? You've seen it, right? You've sent it, right? Yeah, that was what I wanted to do. I just wanted the earth to open up, swallow me whole, and I just wanted to be gone. But you know, honestly, they took it really, really well. They were very gracious. And we laughed about it. And I think they got over it. We never got invited over for dinner again. But you know, I think they got over it. At least that's what I tell myself. You know, in most circumstances like that, most social mistakes, they're just accidental. I didn't mean to offend them. I thought I was just being funny. And they're awkward, but eventually we get over it and we work through it and we laugh and we kind of move on.
04:06
But sometimes that sort of thing, that can even happen here in the church, right? You know, some of the hardest conflicts that we find ourselves in in the church and in our lives, sometimes they're not accidents. They happen when we are absolutely convinced that we are right about something, and we need to get that out of our heads.
04:35
It can happen when our personal convictions, our preferences, and what we believe, that we have every right and good purpose to say, begin to collide with someone else's preferences or someone else's conscience or conviction. And that is a much, much harder problem. Because now it's not just, oops, I misspoke, I didn't realize. Now it's, I believe I am right. I believe I have the freedom here to say what I think I need to say and to express myself.
05:05
And so, what do we do in that instance? What do we do with that conviction if it offends someone or if it's going to offend someone? Maybe just to make sure you understand, maybe it's a situation like this. Maybe you're in a group, even here at church, right? And you're having a conversation and you say something like, I just, for the life of me, I can't really understand how people can send their kids to public school. I mean, it's just a terrible place.
05:35
Do they know what they're doing? And then someone in that group goes to public school. Or is a school board member. Or is a teacher, right? Or how about you're expressing that absolute correct conviction that anyone who goes to a non-Christian concert or, heaven forbid, takes their kids there, right? They're doing a terrible disservice to their family. Or how about expressing the very strong and, of course, correct that anyone who chooses not to follow the right vaccination schedule for their kids, they're just a looney tune, right? Or anyone who lets their kids participate in Halloween in any form, they're just inviting their children to be overcome by evil spirits. Or one more, maybe you have a strong conviction that you know that someone who is not a five-point Calvinist, right? They know what all the tulip letters stand for.
06:34
Maybe they're destined for help. And you know that you're right. You know that your purpose is to declare your conviction in these circumstances. And you don't really have to have much regard for the people around you. And this is where 1 Corinthians 10 brings us this morning. I mean, we all have convictions, of course. These strong opinions.
07:04
And if it's not one of the ones I listed, maybe it's the idea of drinking that Jeff talked us, walked us through with that example in the small group, right? We had a few months ago or heaven forbid politics or dress standards or social media. So the question then becomes, what do I do with these convictions? What do I do with my convictions on a non-essential, non-salvation issue that offends somebody else?
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thinking.
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Because I know you.
07:37
Some of you right now are thinking, I'm a black and white kind of a person.
07:41
I'm right.
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The rest of the world, they're wrong.
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So what do I do?
07:47
What do I do?
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If I have this strong conviction, do I stand my ground, defend my rights?
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Do I prove my theology?
07:54
Do I push harder because I know I'm correct and it's just going to require a little more convincing?
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You might be thinking, of course I do.
08:01
That is my role in this world.
08:04
Why else would God put those things in my head or on my heart? Paul has some things to say about this issue, and that's what we're going to dive into. So before we get into Paul's instructions, let's pray. And in our normal harvest tradition, I would ask that you take a moment and pray for me, and I will pray for you.
08:33
Holy Father, I pray that your word would speak loudly this morning. I pray, God, that the wisdom that our brother Paul brings us in the Holy Scriptures, God, would convict us where we need to be convicted and would encourage us where we need to be encouraged. And God, that we would leave a changed people in whatever way you know that we need to be changed. It's in Christ's holy and precious name we pray. Amen. So Paul has been building us up. We've been in 1 Corinthians for a while now, right?
09:02
And Paul has been building us up to this point. In chapters 1-4, in this letter to the Corinthians, he's correcting their wisdom. He's saying, are you following human personalities or are you following Christ and the cross? Remember the sections we had Taylor and Jeff and Rich? He's saying, who are you following? And then in chapters 5-7, Paul is correcting their conduct. He says, how do Christians, how are we supposed to handle these topics of sexuality, marriage, holiness? The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
09:33
And then in chapters 8 and 9, he spends some time correcting their rights. He says, knowledge without love is pretty dangerous, actually. The Christian liberty is real, but liberty without love, it can become really destructive. And then here we are in chapter 10. Paul is going to show us how to actually live this out. This is the practice of this liberty that Paul has been talking to the Corinthians about. Because he acknowledges you have rights, you have freedoms, you have convictions.
10:02
But how do we use them in a way that helps people instead of hurting people or pushing them away? How do you handle these convictions in a way that is honoring to Christ? So let's look at three clear responses from Paul for us on this particular topic. If you look at verse, starting in verse 23 and we'll look at 24, Paul begins by saying, all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.
10:32
All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Apparently this phrase, all things are lawful, it had become kind of a favorite slogan of the Corinthians. So much so that you might remember that Paul already talked about this and used this same language back in chapter 6. And back in that chapter, Paul was using this rhetorical argument, This rhetorical technique to say to the Corinthians and now to us, freedom isn't just what you can do, but rather what you should be looking at what you should do. This idea that we all have this freedom in Christ, Paul asks us, how are you using it in light of what is good and what is helpful to do? See, the Corinthians were saying, and you might remember from a few weeks ago, or maybe you don't, so I'll remind you, I'm free, I'm under grace, I have rights, I can do this. And in some sense, they were right. But actually, Paul is talking about a term that some theologians will use. It's called adiophora. It's really just getting to this idea of these matters of indifference. These things that are neither clearly commanded nor forbidden by God in Scripture. They're not sin. Not holiness issues.
12:00
with explicit commands, but you might call them gray areas. Questions like, can I eat this? Can I eat that? Can I go here, participate in this, celebrate that, enjoy this freedom? So Paul doesn't deny Christian liberty and Christian freedom at all. He doesn't say actually nothing is lawful. Instead, he applies two simple, profound filters. Yes, it may be lawful, but he says, but is it helpful?
12:31
Yes, it may be permitted, but does it build up? And that is a completely different standard, isn't it? It's not, what am I allowed to do? Whether or not something is lawful, that is really the bare minimum for a believer. Instead, whether something is helpful should be our standard, and that's what Paul is calling us to. So I want to focus a little bit on this word build up, this two-word phrase build up.
12:59
In the Greek it literally means to build a house. And Paul is saying your liberty should function like a construction project, not demolition work. Christian freedom is not a license for self-gratification. It's a tool. It's a tool for church building, for people building, and disciple building. So the question is not what can I get away with? The question is what helps build up the people around me.
13:29
And that's our first point this morning that Paul is bringing to us. What do I do if my conviction offends someone? You choose to construct. You choose to construct. If my freedom tears down a brother, then my freedom has actually become selfish. Paul then takes it in a slightly different direction than he did back in chapter 6 when he says, Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Boy, that's really hard, isn't it? Because what's our natural tendency? Do you naturally seek your neighbor first? Probably not. Probably not, at least most of the time. We think about my preference, my conviction, my right, my comfort. But Paul says, with all this freedom, with all this liberty, start with your neighbor instead of yourself. That is the way of Christ. Let me illustrate it to you maybe this way. Maybe this will help. Drive home the point. Let's just say I decide to do a renovation project in my house. Actually, you know what? Better yet. Let's say I have a neighbor who calls me up and says, hey, you know what? I want to do a renovation project in my house. Would you help me? I'm a good neighbor, right?
14:55
This guy lives next to me, Larry. He's a pastor. He's a good guy. So he gives me a call and I say, you know what? Yeah, I'll help you out, Larry. I'll come over. I'll help you with your renovation project. Well, what's the first step in any good reno job? Demo day, right? So Larry calls me up and I decide, okay, yeah, I'm going to go help Larry and I go grab my sledgehammer like a good neighbor and I walk over there and I am prepared. I am ready to help him do some demo.
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I have every right to be there, don't I? I mean, he invited me. So legally, I'm allowed in his house, and I brought the right tool. I brought the sledgehammer, right? And Larry, I mean, he knows. He knows how I feel about demo. He knows that I'm really excited about this, and I'm going to have some skill, and I'm probably going to have some, maybe some opinions, too. So Larry invites me over, and we're maybe talking a little bit about the project. He gives me some of his opinions and some of his thoughts, and I'm thinking, you know, and I'm like, yeah, you know, okay.
15:55
Larry knows me. He knows I've done some demo in my day and I've got some things to offer here. And I'm thinking, you know what? I heard his ideas, but there's this one wall. It's right in the middle of the house. And I have a very strong conviction that that wall, it's got to go. I mean, for the good of his family, for the good of Larry and Kimmy and their girls and grandbabies, that wall, it's going because I feel very strongly about this. In fact, I feel strongly enough that my sledgehammer, I take it.
16:25
And I just knocked that wall down. That wasn't Larry's idea. That was my conviction. Well, that wall just so happened to be very structurally integral to the house. So what happens when I take that wall down? The second story of that house is now directly on the first floor. But it didn't just fall on me. It fell on Larry and his wife and their girls.
17:00
See, my exercise of my freedom in that instance, it became destruction. And Paul says that's exactly how some Christians handle their own personal liberty. They swing the sledgehammer of personal rights without asking what they're hitting, without thinking about it. They say, I'm free, I'm right, I can do this, I feel very convicted about this. In a sense, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I That's okay. That's true. But are you building the house or are you collapsing it? With your conviction. Because in the church, just like in Larry's house, it's not just you. There are other people under this roof. There are younger believers watching. There are weaker believers learning. There are unbelievers observing. There are hurting people trying to heal. And your liberty, it affects them too.
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So the application here, it's simple, but it's kind of uncomfortable. Ask yourself, am I more interested in defending my rights or protecting the structural integrity of my brother's house? And in this week, instead of swinging a hammer, a sledgehammer of your conviction, maybe choose to lay a brick of encouragement. Maybe instead of proving your point, you protect a person. And maybe instead of demanding liberty, you ask, what would help them the most? So what do I do if my conviction offends someone? I choose to construct. And then Paul goes on to take it even further because sometimes this issue, it's not just about general building up or edification. Sometimes someone else's conscience is actually involved. And that leads us to Paul's second point. Look at verses 25 to 30. Paul goes on to say, eat whatever is sold in the meat market.
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without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. You can pause there. Paul maintains a very high view of God's creation. Paul's actually quoting King David here from Psalm 24 and he's telling us, listen, this is similar to back in chapter 6. He says, meat is just meat. The earth, all of this, it belongs to the Lord. An idol, it's nothing. Food itself is morally neutral.
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So Paul tells strong believers, stop turning everything into a theological investigation. Go buy the meat. Eat dinner. Don't interrogate the butcher. You do not need to walk into the meat market saying, excuse me, before I purchase this ribeye, I need a full spiritual background on this cow, please. No. Relax. That is not Paul's point at all.
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He says, enjoy the meat, enjoy God's provision without unnecessary anxiety.
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And He goes on to say, if one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
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He says, if you want to go to the unbeliever's house and have dinner, if you think it's a worthwhile time, if you think it's going to be good, it's a good opportunity, then go and eat.
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And don't worry.
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He says, without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
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Concede your conscience on this non-essential and non-sin issue and go.
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But then the situation changes somewhat.
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Verse 28, look at that.
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It says, But if someone says to you, This has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it.
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So now there's an informant at the dinner table.
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A believer sitting next to you who says, he points out that this meat, it's been sacrificed to idols.
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It's tainted, right?
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He says, now someone's conscience, now someone else's conscience is involved in this scenario.
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And now the issue is no longer about the meat.
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It's now about the person.
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Paul then says, stop eating.
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Stop.
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For the sake of the one who informed you and for the sake of their conscience. Not yours, but their conscience. Not because the meat is suddenly bad. Not because the conscience of another person is at stake. This is where we Christians get it wrong so often. We think the goal is to prove, that we have to prove that we are theologically on this non-essential issue. That we think we have to convince the weaker brother that we are totally right on this issue. And if we don't, then we've done something wrong. But Paul says the goal is to protect the person. For the weaker brother, eating that meat would have been a violation of his conscience. Even if the act is objectively fine, which Paul has already told us, it is.
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If he believes it's wrong, but does it anyway, he's training himself to disobey what he believes God wants him to do. It's kind of like what Paul says in his letter to the Romans in chapter 14 where he says, But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. The issue isn't just about the external act.
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of eating.
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It's about the intent of the heart on these negotiable issues.
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These negotiable convictions.
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If this guy were to go ahead and eat the meat.
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And go against his conscience.
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His conscience guided conviction.
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He would actually be sinning.
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Because as it says in Romans.
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This man's faith.
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Or in that context.
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Faith means a conviction or an assurance.
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His assurance is that eating the meat does not honor God.
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So would he be honoring the Lord? And Paul says to concede. To yield. Not because your theology has changed. Not because your conviction has disappeared. But because the love of your brother matters more than proving your point. So we have to concede for the conscience. That's our second point. Concede for the conscience.
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So to drive this home a little bit, why don't we reverse the scenario a little bit and say, imagine the believer goes into the marketplace and he starts just making a total scene. He's flipping tables over. He's tossing meat away. He's tossing it on the ground stomping on. He says, this whole place is compromised. This meat, it's pagan. Everyone here is wrong. You're all going straight to hell.
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None of us would ever do anything about a particular issue we feel strongly about on social media, right? But what does that accomplish? What would that accomplish in this scenario? Would that help to reach anyone? Or does it simply create noise and disagreement? So continuing on in Paul's scenario, imagine that you get invited to dinner by an unbeliever and you say, yeah, I'll come over. I'll come over.
24:50
But only if... Fill in the blank. I'm only going to come over if there's no alcohol there whatsoever. Or, you know what? I'm only going to come over if everyone agrees with my political... No MAGA hats, please. There's not going to be any MAGA hats, right? Or everybody's vaccinated, right? Everybody's had the COVID and the double and they're wearing the masks, right? You remember those days? Or I'm only going to come... You know what? You guys only read from the ESV version of the Bible, right?
25:21
Okay, good. And I'll come over then. Or, you know, there's no evolution or there's no old earth people at this dinner, right? We're all seven-day young earth people, right? I'll come over if your family does things my way. Is that building a bridge to the gospel? Is it building a wall, isn't it? And then continue on, right? Imagine that someone at the table, they're struggling with the conscience issue of, eating whatever's in front of them for whatever reason, instead of gently stepping back, the stronger believer, maybe you in this case, you actually launch into a theological debate. You are going to convince this guy why he is wrong about his conviction. Nobody gets helped in that scenario. In fact, the dinner becomes a courtroom scene, right? Everybody gets exhausted, and Paul says, stop trying.
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to win all the arguments in the moment all the time. You've lost your focus when you're doing that. He says sometimes, or we can say that sometimes, that weaker brother's conscience, it's not an invitation for debate. Maybe it's a check engine light on our liberty or on what we think. The Holy Spirit might just be saying to you, you know what? In this instance, slow down. This is not about you. This is not about your rights anymore. This is about your witness.
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of me.
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So, is there a non-essential issue where you could maybe take a step back?
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Not because you're weak.
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Not because your convictions are wrong.
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Maybe it's in your family.
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Maybe it's in your small group.
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Maybe it's in your workplace or with a newer believer or somebody you're trying to win for Christ.
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If your conviction on a non-essential issue, on a non-salvation issue, is consistently resulting in people being pushed away or being hurt. Maybe your knowledge isn't the problem. Maybe it's your pride. Because sometimes the greatest display of spiritual maturity is not just standing your ground in a confrontational way. It's actually being willing to take a step back and concede to the conscience of someone else. Now I know, Again, because I know you, because I know myself. Some of you are out there saying, Brian, I cannot, I can't, I can't believe Jeff and Taylor are letting you stand up there and say this. I mean, I have strong convictions. Is Paul telling me to just take them all and just set them aside? Set them on fire over here? They're useless? Isn't that a violation of my own conscience? That's not what's being said here at all. Our convictions are important.
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And do you really think Paul, a guy who has a fair amount of pretty strong convictions on issues like sex, marriage, gender roles, spiritual gifts, etc., do you really think he would tell us your personal convictions, they don't matter at all? No. And in fact, I would say that discussing your convictions with believers or non-believers in a non-confrontational way, it can be really helpful. That's where iron sharpening iron can come, right? You can help a believer with your convictions. But remember, like Jeff told us last week or two weeks ago, we should all be believers in legalism. But what kind? Personal legalism, right? We should be very strict on ourselves according to conviction from Scripture, but to have that be general legalism to everybody else, that's where we get in big trouble. And all of this, that leads us to Paul's final and biggest point.
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Why do all of this? Paul goes on to ask a couple of questions. He says, For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced? Because of that for which I give thanks. In other words, why do this? Why lay down my rights? Why surrender preferences? Why choose people over liberty? Why choose to concede for the conscience? Is it so that people think we're nice?
29:48
Is it so they think that we're really winsome and non-argumentative and non-confrontational? We're just go along to get along people? Is it so we can fill every seat in this auditorium two Sundays a week? Is that why we do this? Let's see what Paul has to say. Go ahead and look at verse 31. Paul lands this entire argument when he says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. Just try, just as I try, to please everyone in everything I do. Not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. This is the center of everything. Glory to God alone.
30:43
If you eat the meat, do it, give thanks, and go. If you abstain in order to protect your brother's conscience, do it to the glory of God alone. Not just in the big spiritual moments either, not just church and missions and all that, but in the mundane. The eating, the drinking, posting, talking, working, walking. Because every ordinary moment Paul is sharing with us can become an opportunity to put the character of God on display. And he is most with His people when we value Him and His family more than our own freedoms and our own right to express those convictions. So this is the how. How do we keep our conviction from becoming barriers? Or what do we do when our conviction offends someone? Our third point is that we celebrate our Creator. We celebrate our Creator.
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We need to ask, does this make God look amazing and beautiful? Does this glorify Him and bring honor to Christ? We need to celebrate the Creator. Because if eating the meat, if it creates a scandal and confusion and makes your neighbor think that Christ is compromised, then it doesn't matter how correct your theology is, you are not glorifying God.
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Verses 32 and 33 just shows us how broad this responsibility is. Paul says again, give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. He's got all the bases covered there. Jews, they were people with religious history and pretty strong convictions. Greeks, people outside the faith who are watching Christianity and seeing what it looks like. And the church, fellow believers who have different and may have different maturity levels than we do. And Paul is saying, be a universal witness to them all. Don't put any unnecessary obstacles in front of them. I've got to pause one more time and say, I think I know what you're thinking. This is just not right. We can't be this way. I know those kinds of Christians. The ones that are so agreeable, so winsome that they stand for, nothing.
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They're just a bunch of people-pleasing, gospel-compromising weaklings.
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Guys, this is not, do not misunderstand Paul or me.
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This is not about people-pleasing.
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Because people-pleasing, what is it?
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It's self-centered, right?
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It's me controlling all your perceptions of me.
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That's not what's going on here.
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Paul is talking about being a person who is strategically on mission for Christ always.
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He is saying, I will gladly set aside my negotiable preferences and hold my convictions personally at every opportunity I have if it removes barriers between someone and Jesus.
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And that is radically different than a washed down or watered down, unoffensive gospel.
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That is not what we're talking about here.
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Paul says, he goes on to say, be imitators of me as I am of Christ.
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And he's pointing us to Christ.
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He wants us to celebrate Christ.
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and to celebrate the Creator. There might be someone here this morning who doesn't usually come to church. Or maybe you've been to church a lot, but you know the truth in your heart is that you've never trusted Christ as your Savior. And maybe all of this hasn't really resonated with you for that reason. Well, this point, Paul's point here, our Creator, that's to you. It's to all of us. But I want to make sure that you tune in here. Because he says, look at Jesus. Jesus as God's Son, who was with Him from the creation of everything, had every right, every freedom, every authority, all power, and yet what did He do? He laid it down. Philippians says that Christ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, But he emptied himself. Christ didn't cling to any of these divine rights, divine privileges that he had as the Son of God. Instead, he moved toward sacrifice. His entire earthly life was a steady march to sacrifice. Toward death on the cross so that he could overcome death and become the perfect substitute for spiritual death for all of those who choose to follow him.
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And if that's not something you've done yet, if you haven't trusted Christ as your Savior, if you've never looked to Christ as your only refuge and strength, please talk to me. Talk to Jeff or Taylor or go to the prayer corner after church. We'd love to talk to you more about that. Because Paul says, look to Christ. And he says, watch me do the same. Paul says, I'm just a regular guy following Christ.
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If I can lay down my rights for the sake of the gospel, then you can too. And honestly, that is where we probably need, I know I need sometimes, the strongest correction. Because so much of our culture and in our mindset, it sounds so often like Corinth, right? We say, I know an idol is nothing. I know Halloween is pagan. Democrats are evil. Republicans are selfish. Drinking is wrong. Drinking is right. Whatever. You fill it all in. Maybe sometimes we're right, but Paul is saying, hear me on this.
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there's a better question. Do you know what your neighbor needs? Do you know what your neighbor needs? He needs Christ. That's the point. We say, I have all these freedoms. Yes. But you also have the power through Christ to abstain from freely expressing all of those convictions that you have all the time to everyone.
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Or even better yet, perhaps, you have the power through Christ to be patient. To be patient with someone else, a weaker brother, to come to a better understanding of their faith. And to grow in their own convictions. So do you have the patience to allow the Holy Spirit to work in your brother's life in that moment? Or do you feel like you have to be the Holy Spirit in their life?
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for them.
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That is maturity.
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Having that patience.
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In the Corinthian way that Paul is pushing back against says, my goal is personal liberty.
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I am free.
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I am independent.
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I am a Corinthian.
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I'm an American.
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The way of Christ says, my goal is to win people for Jesus.
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The way of Christ is self-denial for the good of others.
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The way of Christ says it is not about me. It's about Him. It's about people's eternal souls and the gospel and God's glory. Our worship team can make their way on up as I finish up. Because the Corinthian way, which is oftentimes our way, it produces pride and it produces division.
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Christ's way produces humility and unity and brings glory to our Heavenly Father, but I've got to ask you this morning, which way will you choose? The Corinthian way or Christ's way? So what if my conviction offends someone? Choose to construct. Use your liberty to build people up and not demolish them.
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What if my conviction offends someone? Concede for the conscience. Value the person more than proving your point. What if my conviction offends someone? Celebrate the Creator. Let your highest goal be the glory of God, not the defense of self. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you, God, for your word. We thank you that, God, that it answers all of our questions.
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God, that it so clearly cuts into all of our circumstances. God, and we just, we think of this word from Paul this morning, and God, I pray that our hearts would be looking to our neighbor. God, that through the power of your Spirit, that we would be turned away from ourselves, from selfishness. God, and that we would look to the needs of those around us. God, that we would seek to build others up.
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God, and that we would follow the leading of your Holy Spirit in those moments when we're wondering, do I say what I feel strongly about? Or do I hold back? Do I concede on this issue or do I push in? God, I pray that your Spirit would work strongly in each of our lives, God, and that we would hear Him. Lord, and most of all, I pray that our goal would be to bring you glory, to look to you in all things. To celebrate you as our Heavenly Father. And to look to Jesus as our one and only Savior. We love you and we're grateful for all you do for us. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
In what area of life are you most tempted to defend your “rights” or personal convictions instead of asking, “Is this actually building others up?” What would it look like to choose construction over demolition there?
Can you think of a time when someone’s conscience, weakness, or spiritual maturity should have mattered more than proving your point? How did you handle it, and would you handle it differently now?
Where is God calling you to “concede for the conscience” of someone else right now—maybe in your family, friendships, workplace, or at Harvest? Why is that so difficult for you?
Paul says, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” How can you tell when your convictions are truly about God’s glory versus when they are really about pride, preference, or control?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

How is the Church Like a Body?

Introduction:

Since I’m a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

What About Spiritual Gifts?

Introduction:

What About Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper?

Introduction:

How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper? 3 Things You'd Better Get Right: (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

What is the Purpose of the Lord's Supper?

What About Gender Roles in the Church?

Introduction:

Authority & Submission: God's Plan for Order. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

What if My Conviction Offends Someone?

Introduction:

What if My Conviction Offends Someone? (1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1)

Upcoming Small Group Questions CLICK HERE

How much of the Bible have we covered since 2011?

Introduction:

Since I’m a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

What About Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper? 3 Things You'd Better Get Right: (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

What is the Purpose of the Lord's Supper?

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

Authority & Submission: God's Plan for Order. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

What if My Conviction Offends Someone? (1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1)

Audio Transcript