Follow Well Together

No divisions (v10)

Further-be of same mind

Follow Christ

Can follow the one following Christ

Earthly titles are dangerous

Leader need to be humble

The Gospel not presenter

Opening Prayer, dedication

Music ministry

Everywhere I Go

425 In The Garden

Lord, You Have My Heart

Word of God - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 [Patsy]

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Message: “Follow Well Together”

Last week we spoke about the transition from “Fallen to Fellowship”

How we are to come together

Each of us knowing that we are imperfect

Yet the righteousness of Jesus covers and changes us

And it is in THAT spirit that we can have true fellowship with Christ first, then with other Believers

Along this journey of life we are all following someone

Actually, we each follow more than one person at some level

The message today has a foundation of leaders and followers

If we don’t get this relationship right, then we-the church and us personally, are going to have problems

The Greek philosopher Aristotle correctly once said:

“He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” (— Aristotle)

There a significant relationship between leaders and followers

A good leader should help to create additional good leaders, not just more followers

And if the followers and leaders are not on the right page, then we will have problems

Remember 1 Corinthians 1:10 (a) [through “you,”]

1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Paul clearly wants the Believers-brothers and sisters in Christ to agree and have no divisions between us

We’re going to use this as our first takeaway

Takeaways:

No division between Believers

Remembering that Paul is writing to the church of Corinth

A church only a couple of years old

A church where the Gospel of Jesus was taught

In a time when the culture was very much against the church

Did Paul really think “NO division” was an option?

However unlikely or difficult, Paul’s DESIRE was for there to be NO division

This was not a natural thing, but supernatural

Like Paul, I call on the name of Jesus Christ that we could be a body of Believers who are so focused on Jesus that we don’t leave room for division

Then like now, focus matters

If you have ever seen blinders on a horse

They are designed to give the horse tunnel vision essentially

Or like looking through a telescope at a favorite constellation

If there is a shooting star even a little bit off to the side, you can’t see it

Likewise, Paul calls on the Corinthian Church then and our church now in the second part of 1 Corinthians 1:10 (b) [“, but…judgement”]

How do we come to be “united in the same mind”?”

Paul gives us more in Philippians 1:27

Philippians 1:27 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Now THAT is counter-cultural

For most people, if they want to become of the same mind with someone they think about how they can convince them that their way is right or best

We think in terms of proof and persuasion

Scripture is clear that we are supposed to becoming one with Christ and that means others who are becoming one with Christ will become of the same mind

It’s not me wanting you to be like me

It’s us-the church working to be more like Christ

That’s what makes the body of Christ stronger and grow

So, the answer is in our second Takeaway

Takeaways:

No division between Believers

Follow Christ

We have an individual and corporate responsibility to follow Jesus

To follow the Word of God

Which puts our focus in the right spot

Do any of you remember playing the game “follow the leader” when you were a kid?

One child was selected to be the leader

Every other child was supposed to do what the leader did, go where they went

There was always at least ONE kid in class that you didn’t want to be the leader

That was the kid that would make you do the weirdest, embarrassing and even sometimes gross things

I still remember the class groaning when certain people were selected

Now I realize we should have focused on the one who SELECTED the leader-the teacher

I think she just wanted to laugh at us

When the game was first introduced, the teacher gave an example

They would march in place

They would touch their nose, etc.

Then they would let the selected leader do their thing

The underlying problem with that game is that the person selected as leader wasn’t always a good example

They didn’t have good guidelines

Soon, they were making way off track from the original example

Isn’t that what Paul was seeing?

A few year prior, Paul started the church in Corinth and gave the example of preaching the Gospel only

Jesus and personal responsibility for each person to respond to the Gospel was on the front page

Then, Paul hears that the Believers in the church are acting on human impulse and desires instead of godly direction

Even to the point of arguing over baptism and selecting their “favorite” teacher

Recall 1 Corinthians 1:12

1 Corinthians 1:12 ESV

12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

I hope you noticed that “or” is used

Because if you are following, preferring the delivery person, then you are diluting what is being delivered

We see that in church when we divide up into ”contemporary”, “traditional”, young, old-seasoned, etc.

It certainly is biblical to divide men and women when it comes to things like Bible study

But failing to come together a a unified body for corporate worship is wrong and places the focus on the delivery person instead of Christ

Rich Vannatter did a great job covering this in the Adult Bible Study last Sunday

You will be blessed if you watch it online at www.GraceNB.com and look at the Online campus-Adult Sunday School tab

We must pay more than passing attention to what Paul said, basically

Christ was crucified for us, not the other teachers including Paul

Christ Himself is NOT divided and Christ would not want His followers to be divided either

Our third takeaway tells us how we avoid division

Takeaways:

No division between Believers

Follow Christ

Leaders need to be humble

Church leaders need to always focus on Christ

Which means less focus on themselves

It is so easy to get caught up into

How “WE” can deliver better

How “we” can make the point stronger

How “we” can reach a certain group

How “we” can put more people in the seats

We like to measure things, which I get

the Gospel DOES need to be delivered well

But our primary focus should be on making sure we are delivering God’s Word, not our preferences or biases

Think back to how many conversation you have heard about the accuracy of the message on Sunday

Please know that I am human and make mistakes

As wonderful and talented as Floyd, Jim and Gem are

They each do a great job in their studies

But, each of us are imperfect

So, raising a question on accuracy is actually encourage

Because getting it right is important

We also know that some things will not be clear to us here and now

Discussion is healthy and humility fosters that discussion

Our tag line at Grace is to “Grow in Grace”

We grow together by letting God’s Word shine above all else

The key to “Following Well Together” is in our fourth takeaway

Takeaways:

No division between Believers

Follow Christ

Leaders need to be humble

Gospel over presenter

Whether in Sunday sermons from your pastor or any of our Bible studies

We must always check ourselves to focus on the truth of the teaching over the person or style of the teaching

This is a struggle for me as well

When I listen to or read what others write about Scripture

I need to NOT let the easy road of reading their words win

Scripture is available to each of us AND we are able to understand it if we apply ourselves

Simply following or believing what anyone else has to say ABOUT a Bible passage is not a substitute for reaching our own understanding

That does NOT mean you get to decide what YOUR truth is

There is only one truth, that’s God’s truth

Preachers and teachers are called and gifted to EXPOSE the truth of God’s Word

That does not mean we should become crafty or tricky or sugar-coat the truth

We must tell the truth in love because we love you enough to want you to have a personal relationship with Jesus

And that requires that you know who Jesus really is, not some human re-make

Even within the church, we have special callings

Paul was specifically called to preach the Gospel and not to count up how many baptisms he could complete

The importance for us at Grace today is in 1 Corinthians 1:17

1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Like Paul, I am not counted on for my “words of eloquent wisdom”

I am called to lead the church by teaching the full truth of the Gospel

All because without the truth, we minimize the need for our Savior Jesus

Without the truth of our sin, we call the crucifixion of Jesus unnecessary

Without the truth of the Word of God, then the cross of Christ would indeed become empty in purpose and power

This is the reason we often include the Apostles’ Creed on Communion Sundays

It’s a reminder of what binds us together as Believers

Let’s join together now with The Apostles’ Creed

Brothers and Sisters, we must be unified under the truth of God’s Word as supreme

We must not let personality or preference divide the body

We must hold fast to those around us as the gift from God they are

I am the Spiritual leader here at Grace only because I follow Jesus Christ and the call He has given

Which means I am a leader who follows and I love you enough to want you to follow me only because I follow Jesus

It’s not about me personally

We follow well together when we remember that we are on the same journey and together we follow Jesus Christ

AMEN

Closing Hymn/Invitation:

376 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Apostles’ Creed

The Lord’s Prayer

Communion

Pastoral Prayer/Benediction