Heidelberg Catechism

I hope you are enjoying the Heidelberg Catechism in the Thursday updates. Kevin DeYoung, from the Reformed Church (a Dutch Reformed cousin of the PC(USA)), has written a neat little book about the catechism called The Good News We Almost Forgot. Check it out if you want to know more about this timeless summary of the faith.

1 Corinthians 14

This Sunday, we continue our study of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14.

Paul answers two questions:

1. What is the purpose of spiritual gifts?

Answer: Build up the church, not ourselves

2. What is the goal of the gifts?

Answer: To show unbelievers that "God is really among you."

Paul's discussion is more complicated than this, but essentially, because the church at Corinth had forgotten the purpose of the gifts, they had elevated one gift above all the others - tongues. God's purpose in the gifts is for unbelievers to find faith.

How can we use our gifts for the benefit of unbelievers?

George Goodman

Rev. George Goodman is preaching on Romans 8 this Sunday. In July, George retires from 20 years of service to Presbytery of the Peaks as Associate General Presbyter. Fittingly, he brings a message on Pentecost to a congregation whose formation he helped make possible and assisted from the beginning. George is committed to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and courageously preaches the word of God. His ministry to the ministers of Peaks Presbytery has left a legacy of honest caring and intentional listening.

I thank God for George Goodman.

1 Corinthians 13 - love

Sunday, we arrive at 1 Corinthians 13, a passage commonly used at weddings. This is one of my favorite passages from the Bible. We so often hear it out of context; our challenge is to hear it within its context. Read 1 Corinthians 12 to hear echoes in 1 Corinthians 13. The gifts mentioned there must be rooted and grounded in love. Love is the better way.

The truly difficult word to understand in the passage is "love". Greek has three words for love: eros (desire), philos (friendship/companionship), and agape (self-emptying, divine). 1 Corinthians 13 uses agape. 1 Corinthians 13 is not a romantic passage. God emptied Himself in Jesus Christ, the ultimate act of this kind of love. How can we seek this kind of love in our lives? Love is the greatest.

1 Corinthians 12 - Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts Assessment from Church Growth Institute, the Methodist Church or Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Passages for Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12.6-8

Ephesians 4.11-12

1 Corinthians 12

Galatians 5

1 Corinthians 11

To understand Paul's discussion of hair and clothing at worship, we need to understand its context. The statue of Caesar above shows how Caesar would have led worship, wearing this robe and hood with his office.

When it came to prayer and worship, superstition abounded among the Gentiles. Paul's later discussion of noisy gongs and clanging cymbols reminded his contemporaries of the insistence of noise, so that nothing interrupted their prayers.

Paul appeals to making our worship counter-cultural. The pagan males cover their heads; Corinthian men should not. The women do not cover their heads; Corinthian women could set themselves apart with shawls.

As Christians, we struggle with what to accept from our culture, what to reject, and what to subvert. Fashions change; the Lord does not change.

A larger issue for worship Paul discusses is the Lord's Supper. The practice of the Lord's Supper divided Corinth. The Supper signifies Christ. The practice of the Supper often distracts and points to something else. For the Christian community, the Lord's Supper offers the reality of Christ through the Holy Spirit. For Corinth, the Supper meant bring your own food and wine. The Corinthians eat on their own, together, not sharing. The taste, smell, and texture of the cup and the bread remind us of Jesus only when we eat together, not seeking to eat alone.

1 Corinthians 10 - Old Testament references

1 Corinthians 10.2 - Exodus 13 - 14
1 Corinthians 10.3 - Exodus 16
1 Corinthians 10.4 - Exodus 17
1 Corinthians 10.7 - Exodus 32
1 Corinthians 10.8 - Numbers 25
1 Corinthians 10.9 - Numbers 21
1 Corinthians 10.10 - Numbers 14