1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Sermon Reflections

"More Than Just An Ending"

Discovery: During my grandfather's memorial service, my mom mentioned to me that my grandfather did not leave a will or inheritance. He had lived off his social security check for over 30 years and his life insurance pretty much covered the cost of the funeral. She said how everyone in the family thought it was so wonderful that he did this. I really struck me how this is so different than the norm. The normal preoccupation in life is to gather as much earthly treasures as we can. And yet we forget that we came into this world with nothing and that we will leave with nothing.

1 Corinthians 15 confronts our obsession with life with a challenge to consider the things beyond this life as well. In verses 3-4 Paul states, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." But he continues in verses 5-8 to talk about all the specific post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Paul wants the Corinthian church to know that the resurrection of Jesus is foundational to our faith. I strikes me that as moderns Christians, we have a very full theology of Jesus' life and death and yet we have a very weak understanding of his resurrection. For Paul the resurrection is of the "first importance" and it should be for us as well.

Application: I will explore the implications of the resurrection in the following two weeks as Paul get more into it but my initial response is that my understanding of the resurrection is weak because my understanding of life beyond death is weak. I know that we have eternal life in Christ Jesus but it isn't very concrete or tangible in my everyday life. Yet I know that the resurrection is powerful, real, and gives us the victory.

What is amazing is that Jesus allowed the world and Satan to take their best shot at him and seemingly "defeat" him. And yet the resurrection of Jesus testifies to his victory as he rose again on that third day. In fact, the resurrection was more than just a victory it also confirmed Jesus' deity. He was not a wise teacher or sympathetic martyr but he was God who has power and authority over death itself. For me, life itself is hard enough with its challenges, battles, attacks, and defeats. The only hope that I have in this life and beyond is found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Job 19:25 "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth."

Prayer: Help me look to you Jesus for hope and victory over the battles and challenges of each and every day.

Remembering My Grandfather

Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

I decided to change the format of my weekly blog this week because of the death of my paternal grandfather last Friday. We had our youth retreat this past weekend and I did not preach as I normally do. The retreat was wonderful and there are plenty of incredible things that happened this past weekend that really encouraged me. God is good and the evidence can be found in all the ways that our youth really experienced Him in a deeper way. But this entry is dedicated to my grandfather. I want to tell you a few stories about him because that is the best way that I can remember him.

I remember when I was around 5 years old. I was living in Salinas with my parents and my grandparents. I had gotten into trouble with my father and I knew that if he found me that I would get a pretty serious spanking. I ran and hid in the backseat of my parent's big blue Oldsmobile. I heard the front door open and someone sat down in the front seat. I thought I was in big trouble. I heard my grandfather's voice tell me, "Stay down and don't move." My father eventually came by and I heard him talking to my grandfather. I don't remember what they said but all I know is that my dad eventually went away and it was only my grandfather and I in the car. He told me it was okay to come out and had me jump in the front seat with him. I remembering feeling so safe as I sat there with him.

My grandfather loved to fish. When I was 10 years old, we went down to LA to visit my grandparents who had relocated there. My grandfather, father, and I went fishing one day off some pier in LA. I used to think my dad was a fast walker but my grandfather was something else. Even though he was over 70 years old at the time, he was in such a hurry to get on the pier to fish. He was walking yards in front of us while my dad and I struggled to keep up. I remember my dad telling me that grandpa was a strong and proud man who never waited around for the things that he enjoyed. As I looked over at my dad as he talked, I could sense the pride in his voice as he spoke those words. It turned out to be an amazing day to catch fish. We would literally get a bit within seconds of throwing out our line. We easily caught over 100 fish that day. My dad and grandfather were so excited by the amount of fish that we caught but my fondest memory is just being there with the two of them.

My grandfather passed away peacefully in his sleep last friday morning. He was 101 years old. He lived a long and prosperous life and I will certainly miss him.

1 Corinthians 14:1-40 Sermon Reflection

"Fitting, Orderly, and Downright Amazing."

Discovery: v. 12 "So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church." A few things stand out to me from this verse. Paul makes an accurate statement when he says that we desire to know our spiritual gifts and to exercise these gifts for Him (especially for pastors and people in ministry). I want to know my spiritual gifts and to have some sort of spiritual impact in the world around me. But unfortunately, these are mixed motives at best. I genuinely desire for the Kingdom of God to go forth but I also desire to seek things for myself (i.e. a sense of accomplishment, boost in self-esteem, etc.). The corrective word for me is to redirect my mixed motives to the singular motive of edifying the church. It may seem so obvious but it is so much harder than it appears.

Application: This theme of edifying the church runs throughout 1 Corinthians 14 and much of the previous chapters. After a long week and a full weekend of ministry and events, I find myself wanting to rest and relax. I fight this sense of entitlement that tells me that I "deserve" to rest this week. After all, this little voice tells me, I need to get ready for next weekend's youth retreat. Taking a break from meetings and people, is the best thing I can do for myself this week. But as I reflect on my own message notes from this past sermon, I realize that there is a greater desire in me than simply relaxing. It is a desire to participate in the amazing work of investing in peoples lives. I shared this past week the principle behind Google's 20 percent time for their engineers. Simply put, it is part of Google's innovative culture to allow their engineers to spend up to 20 percent of worktime on things that will better themselves, the company, or the world. Gmail is the most famous of these innovations. I asked the congregation and I now ask myself, what would it look like this week to set aside a small percentage of my time to do something outside of my normal routine? Specifically, who could I encourage this week that I don't normally get around to encouraging? As I think about the possibilities, it gets me really excited. A small act of kindness can make a real difference in someone's life. This is much more inspiring than lounging around and doing nothing.

Prayer: Let Your desires Lord overcome my own petty desires. Let your aspirations invigorate and breath new life into my own.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Sermon Reflection

"Love Is Not You!"

Discovery: Verses 1-3 really stood out to me this week in my sermon prep. The "If I" versus "I am" contrast that runs throughout this section was very interesting to notice but challenging to apply. These are the instances of the "If I" statements are:

v. 1 "If I speak in tongues of mean or of angels"

v. 2"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge"

v. 2 "If I have a faith that can move mountains"

v. 3 "If I give all I possess to the poor and [if I] give over my body to hardship that I may boast..."

"but have not love" (v.1) or "but do not have love" (v. 2 and 3)

v. 1 "I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal..."

v. 2 "I am nothing..."

v. 3 "I gain nothing..."

Clearly, it doesn't really matter what we can do, say, or accomplish. Love is preeminent. Without it, nothing else really matters.

Application: I shared this past Sunday the illustration from Al Pacino's halftime speech in the movie "Any Given Sunday." He talked about how football and life was a game of inches. The goal in both is to "fight" for every inch. When I apply this to my life, especially in the context of loving God and others, I have to admit that I don't fight to love God or others with this sort of tenacity. I can be very tenacious when it comes to trouble-shooting my computer or other things. I can also be tenacious when it comes to correcting a misunderstanding or conflict with someone. I know I can be tenacious in certain areas of life because I see the evidence of it. But when it comes to loving God and others, I find myself sorely lacking. I am much better at coming up with reasons (i.e. excuses) to why I can't do something versus why I should do it. My weakness boils down to my own selfishness and apathy.

Recently, I was challenged in my quiet times to think seriously about the focus and nature of my job. The very definition of pastor seems to run the full spectrum from a care-taker/shepherd to a leader/visionary. I am not going to even attempt to discuss this whole issue right now but in light of this Sunday's passage, I am challenged to think about my daily attitude and actions. I want to be a pastor (and a person) who is tenacious in "fighting" for the things that matter. In this case, I simply want to focus on loving the people that God has put before me. I want to make sure that this is the motivation and heart behind what I do as a pastor each and everyday.

Prayer: Help me be tenacious for the things that matter to you Lord. Specifically, lead me this week to take practical steps to love the people that you put on my mind and heart.