Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

For the foreseeable future.

We will take a few moments at this point in our gathering, to take a look at membership.

Why membership matters?

Membership in any organization or group mean something.

The group represents you in some way.

You also represent the group.

And in a church, this is even more important.

Think of the people we we probably all heard them who had a bad experience with a Christian or someone who claimed to be a Christian.

And do not want nothing to do with church or even with God.

Not to be clear.

That person is still responsible to pursue god, rightly with Christians in community.

They can't use a bad experience or ugly Church situation as an excuse to refuse to gather with a healthy congregation.

Because we're commanded in the Bible to do so.

When they encounter God one day, there's accountability for refusal to obey and that's at least loss of rewards.

And some way.

Regardless of that accountability though, Christian should be living and speaking in such a way that we make it easier for people to pursue God not harder.

Membership matters immensely in this because it is the church giving an individual, a stamp of approval that you can represent this church as we represent God together.

I've encountered people in this community who consider themselves members of this church and quite frankly, do a terrible job of representing Jesus and his truth.

Now, I checked those individuals that I spoke with in the community were wrong.

They're not members here.

If they were, we would be accountable to correct them in love.

If they were a member and misrepresenting Jesus, we bear responsibility to follow Jesus's commands and help them see speak and live according to his word.

In this little series of of moments that were calling membership.

Matters wolf will see the extent of that.

We don't need to correct.

Every time someone says something, we don't agree with rather We Major on the majors.

So in the coming weeks and months, we will walk through the membership affirmation statement.

Both the one for individuals that are joining the church and the one that the church responds with and we'll see what membership is and why it really really does matter.

But now is we moved back into what it means to be cross shaped people.

Let's take a moment to pray together.

Heavenly father, as we come to your word, we we come humbly, recognizing that you hold true.

That We can only come seeking.

so we do, we come seeking today, looking that looking for you to share, what we should know, what we should believe How we should respond.

So it's for your help through your holy spirit that we pray today.

Today we return, after a couple of weeks in Old Testament prophecy too are verse-by-verse walkthrough of 1st Corinthians that were calling cross-shaped people.

Today, we will see again that people is a collective unit, not simply a bunch of individuals.

The Corinthian congregation was behaving like a bunch of individuals with many, finding ways to consider themselves Superior to others often because of what Theologian, they most agreed with what social and economic status.

They had or what gifts and abilities they possess.

Paul now is going to dive into an often-used analogy.

You probably heard it before it's often used because Paul used it for one and also it's just a great analogy.

Today.

And next week, look for the repetition of two words that are showing the most important Concept.

In those words are one And many one and many.

Now, in most wanted to be clear.

Is US collectively in unity.

Many is the concept of individuals.

So in most perhaps in all societies, there is a tendency toward emphasizing one of those words while neglecting the other An ancient Jewish Society, or in a modern Asian Society, you're very likely to see an emphasis on the one, on the unit, the people Collective.

Pursuing the good of the collective.

Even if it cost individuals, their freedoms and dignity, you can see that in those scenarios, even if 49% are harmed, the 51% gaming leads to justifying the group action.

And of course, we've seen every time communism takes power that concept gets twisted even further to push the good of a really small group and just claiming it's good for the collective.

No one ancient Greek society or in modern America we see a focus on the money on the individual while ignoring the one, the unity Individualism, personal rights are proclaimed.

They're raised up and people use them for their own gain.

Even sometimes if it hurts others, we seen that in Corinth here, in modern America bizarrely, we see the same end as an over focus on an individual.

The good of.

A few overrides, the majority.

Someone point to the rich profiting on the backs of the poor, others would point to a single judge, making a sweeping changes, no matter what the majority may want, or what might seem best to them to others would point to executive orders or social issues, were the views of a minority or pushed on the others.

And can we admit sometimes, sometimes this is good.

Sometimes the judge needs to do the truly right thing, even if people can't see it or people don't agree with it.

Sometimes a minority does need to be looked out for American history with the slavery of black American stands out in that regard.

But the same logic applied wrongly, has men walking into women's locker rooms feeling entitled to be there.

How do we navigate this?

How do we balance B1 the unity?

The collective and the many the individual.

How do we do that?

So so abusive can be avoided and right?

Priorities can be maintained Paul's going to have three important truths for those of you who feel marginalized in some way.

And he will have four important rules for those who have been privileged in some way.

And really, most of us will find all seven relevant to us because really, we're all marginalized in some way.

We're all lesser than others in some way and we're all privileged in various ways.

How to begin?

Paul shows you that the balance cannot be achieved by you and me, that's why I communism failed every time that's why so many abuses occur in the name of freedom in America today.

Because of a crucial piece, that's missing.

So picking up in 1st Corinthians, 12 verse 12. Just as a body, no one has many parts but also its many parts form.

One body.

So it is with Christ.

for we were all baptized by one spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles slave or free, We were all given the one Spirit to drink.

even so the body is not made up of one part, but of many This is a chiasm that's a term for a literary device.

A special writing technique that Pairs and nests ideas who described it before like a cheeseburger.

But this one's more just a double hamburger bun on top is paired with the bottom bun and the two burger patties are paired with each other.

One and many.

That's the bond here.

That's what is at the beginning and also repeated at the end.

And then the ones spirit is mentioned twice in the middle.

Apollo's and do this.

Just to look creative to look smart.

Done for emphasis of Truth.

The we are many parts making up one complete units.

Enter prove that he includes the inner layer.

The Unity comes from the Holy Spirit.

Do we know the balance of one and many gets thrown off in pretty much every culture?

How can that be avoided?

Christ, as head through the work of the Holy Spirit.

He works to Unity out of us.

How does it clear out our identities and turn us into robots?

Does he wipe away all our differences?

That's what some a cert from Galatians 3, verse 28, which says this There is neither Jew, nor Gentile, neither slave, nor free nor is there male and female for.

You are all one in Christ, Jesus.

Much of the context is the same in Galatians 3. Paul talks about baptism and unity.

But the critical difference is that Paul is talking about becoming heirs and children of God in Galatians.

Somebody says there's no male or female, Jew, or Gentile Etc.