God Gives the Growth

Announcements

I will be out of town for the next two weeks. So! Joyce will be sharing a lesson next week on August 6th, and Shawn on the 13th.

Moving Up Sunday is August 27th! We’re going to make this super special for the incoming 6th graders. Remember being a 6th grader? What was that like? Help them get through the tough stuff of being an underdog.

We’ll try and have a pool party soon too. I’ll reach out with something for you guys.

Rehash Camp

What was something that you learned about God at camp?

What was something that you learned about yourself?

What are you going to do about it?

God's presence is is here! Camp is a time when emIotions run high. That doesn’t mean that it stays this way.

Consider Job.

New Students

We are so glad to have you here! We’ve been praying for you guys and it’s exciting to have you in Youth Group now.

I want to take a minute to go around. Share your name, what grade you’re going into, school you are in, and something you like to do or something you think is interesting about yourself.

Ground rules

If you want to talk, raise your hand!

Treat others like you want to be treated.

We like to have fun here. But! Don’t get too crazy. If you’re out of control, and don’t listen to one of our Youth Leaders tm. then we’ll need to have a conversation.

Questions?

Pray

Pray that we would remember what we learned from camp.

Pray that we would continue to grow in our relationship with God. That we would see our sin and change according to God’s will.

Pray for my teaching.

Introduction

Open your bibles to 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

1 Corinthians 3:1–9 ESV

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Paul is seeing the division in the Corinthian church. Where he is thankful for the church in chapter 1, he draws attention to the problems they’re facing.

The church is fracturing. They are dividing over who they follow; who is ministering to them.

Paul and Apollos

Paul first draws attention to the fact that he has to speak to them as fleshly people. While they are in Christ, it’s hard to tell the difference between their spiritual and fleshly lives.

He recognizes that their jealousy and strife is what makes them fleshly and young. They can’t mature until this is dealt with.

Their factions are divided into two camps: Camp Paul and Camp Apollos.

This reminds me of the Twix campaign: Team Right and Team Left. It was so stupid. They’re the same candybar!

Paul agrees, it’s stupid. “Are you not being merely human?”

What’s Paul’s point here?

While Paul and Apollos are important to God’s plan, they don’t ultimately matter. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 ESV

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

God is causing his people to grow. Paul and Apollos are used to help stir people, but they don’t actually do any change in their lives or in the life of their church. That’s for God alone.

Application

I’ve heard whispers about some concerns in our Youth Group. I haven’t had any student really directly come out and talk with me about it but I want to use this passage to talk about Reliance Fellowship and Grace Church.

Some of the concerns I’ve heard whispers about have been about how things are going to be different.

Relationships won’t be the same.

Where we fellowship is going to change.

“I’m going to miss them!”

These are all legitimate. So I want to start by telling you a few things:

I met with Pastor Adam a couple times in the last month. Here’s what’s going on:

Thursday Bible Study

Our Thursday Night bible study will go away in the next month or so. Reliance students will be meeting on Wednesday nights. I can’t talk about it yet, but something will be announced about it very soon. It’s going to be cool and you’ll like it.

Grace Students: Pastor Adam is working on something for you guys roughly the same time during the week. It’s a really important opportunity for you to grow with one another over how to navigate Grace Church relationships. I can’t keep you from coming from Wednesday nights at Reliance. I can only encourage to try what Grace church is doing then too. I think it’s important.

Sundays

As of right now, nothing is changing for Youth Group on Sunday nights. Not for Reliance, not for Grace church. Not for the foreseeable future. Maybe a year or a year and a half. We don’t really know. No one is kicking you out of Youth Group and no one is gong to sideline you here. Whenever it is that Grace starts their own Youth Group, I’m going to encourage you to attend and loving serve your church! I can’t force you anywhere, but know that the leaders here have your best interests at heart.

MAIN APPLICATION

I want to tell you this though. When God grows His church, we need to respond rightly. We can’t be anxious about the future! Even when it’s hard, we need to place God above Paul and Apollos, above Reliance and Grace, and recognize that He alone causes growth in the church.

We need to be laborers for His Kingdom, and not become so attached to the way things are that we fear the possibilities of what can be.

Forum

I want to take a minute and answer any questions that you guys have about Grace and Reliance.

Break into Groups

We’re going to pray for Reliance and Grace. Not just the institutions but the people and that includes all of you.

Even if you don’t regularly attend one of our churches, we want you to be prayed for.

Then we’re going to share some hardships and joys about working with where God is growing His church. We’ll pray together at the end.