Well, let's go back to follow.
That was great. Thanks, guys.
That was really awesome.
Well, good morning, friends. It's going to be with you all.
It's going to be back for vacation. Thanks for all of you who were praying for me and my family while we were away for the holidays.
If you're new with us this morning, this is a part of our service.
We spent some just dedicated time devoting ourselves to reading and learning and hearing from God's words.
We're just together.
Our sermon text is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 this morning.
I invite you to turn that with me.
That's page 960.
I'm ready for you.
1 Corinthians chapter 14.
Our focus today is going to be on verses 13 through 25 of this chapter.
But let's start reading actually in verse 1.
Just to get the context.
So we'll read from verse 1 to verse 25.
Let me read this verse.
All right.
So this is the church in Corinth and the Bible.
1 Corinthians chapter 15.
Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more prophesy.
The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues.
As someone interprets.
So that the church may be built up.
Now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
If even lifeless nutrients such as the food or heart do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know it is void?
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, how will you get ready for power?
So with yourselves.
And with your tongue, if you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what I said?
For you will be speaking into the air.
There are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning.
But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker.
And the speaker a foreigner to me.
So with yourselves, since you are eager for the manifestation of the Spirit, strive to excel in the building of the church.
Therefore one who speaks in the tongue should pray that he may interpret.
For if I pray in the tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
What am I to do?
I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also.
I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say amen to your thanksgiving,
when he does not know what you are saying?
For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being God's God.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind than rather instruct others.
That ten thousand words in a tongue.
Brothers, do not be children, but be infants and people.
But if you think of being children.
And the law is written,
By people of strange tongues, by the lips of foreigners,
that I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to this person.
Thus tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers.
Well, prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers.
If, therefore, the whole church comes together,
and all speaking tongues and outsiders and unbelievers enter,
will it not say that you are out of your mind?
But as well prophesy, and an undeliever out of his letter enters,
he is convicted by it.
He is called to encounter it.
The secrets of his heart are disclosed,
and so falling on his face he will worship God.
And pray that God is willing.
Let's pray for God.
And he would help us through this passage to know what it means to
genuinely worship and talk about the church we are going to know about.
Lord, help for our sake, for the sake of others, for the sake of your sake.
Probably we have to say some Jesus.
Well, 1 Corinthians 14.
Here we are.
So this is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament
that deals explicitly with the topic,
not just of spiritual gifts,
but also of the topic of the worship gathering of the church.
Throughout the New Testament,
we get little pieces, little pictures here and there.
This chapter is the longest,
the most sustained treatment of what we might call
a corporate gathering of the church.
The particular needs and problems of the particular church in Corinth at the time.
And it seems, on the surface, as we just read,
it seems to be all about speaking in tongues and prophecy, right?
Now, Pastor Greg dove into the nature of those two spiritual gifts last week.
So we're not going to spend a lot of time kind of rehashing that this morning.
You can grab that sermon from the website online,
or you can come talk to me afterwards if you have particular questions.
I'm happy to talk more about that.
But today, what I want to do is,
I want to look at one of the underlying priorities or principles
that Paul emphasizes here when it comes to our worship together.
What's going on underneath the heart of Paul's discussion
of speaking in tongues and prophecy?
And the big priority that comes out here
is the importance of intelligible worship.
The big problem that Paul has with speaking in tongues
in the gathered church service,
at least if there's no one to interpret that is,
is that it's completely unintelligible to the people who've gathered.
No one understands a word of what's being said.
Now, remember last week,
we said that the gift of speaking in tongues
was the spirit-given ability to speak words of prayer and praise and thanksgiving to God
in a language unknown to the speaker.
And you notice throughout this chapter
that Paul doesn't disparage that gift in and of itself.
But he says when the church gathers together,
he wants them to strive to prophesy all the more instead.
And again, as we said last week,
what does it mean to prophesy?
Well, prophecy was the spirit-given ability
to speak words of encouragement and upbuilding and consolation
with a particularly keen insight into the needs of the moment.
In other words, if the spiritual gift of teaching
is the ability to systematically expound what's true
for all Christians in every place and time,
it would seem that the spiritual gift of prophecy
is the ability to apply that truth
with poignancy to the needs of a particular place and time.
So prophecy in the New Testament
isn't really essentially about predicting the future,
which is what we often think of with that word.
No, it's about applying the truth
with spirit-given insight into our context,
into our needs today.
And so for Paul, you see, it's critical
that what we do and what we say
when we gather on Sundays
is above all intelligible,
understandable to those who gather.
Look again at verses 14 through 15 of our text.
It's not just enough, Paul says,
to have something move us in our spirit.
It has to be something that we understand with our minds.
A powerful emotion, a gripping experience,
they're great to have.
But just those things alone aren't enough,
especially when the church is gathered together.
It has to be something intelligible,
something we can enter into,
not just with our spirit,
but with our minds, with our understanding as well.
So I want us to consider the importance
of intelligible worship this morning.
In verse 20, Paul even goes so far to say
that what it means to be mature in our thinking
about corporate worship
is to understand just this fact.
So let's look at this issue of intelligible worship.
And first, before we dive into all the reasons
Paul gives for it,
it's worth considering how worship
can become unintelligible for us today.
I have never been to a church service at Trinity
where there are so many people speaking in tongues
at one time that the whole service was gobbledygook
and people said, you're out of your minds.
So it doesn't seem like we have the exact same problem
that the church in Corinth had, right?
However, the issue of unintelligibility
is still one that we all actually face.
It's a danger to every church and every time.
And it manifests itself in a lot of different ways.
You know, historically, before the Reformation,
there were long stretches of time
when a typical church service was held in a language
that no one actually spoke.
The medieval Latin mass meant that most Christians
knew nothing of what was being said in worship
for generations.
You know, the fact that we have Bibles in our own language
and hold services in our own language
is a huge blessing and not one to be taken for granted.
But again, today, most of us probably won't have trouble
finding a service in English or in our typical tongue.
Although we should be sort of especially sensitive
to those in our midst who are from different parts
of the world and who struggle to understand English.
And we need to strive to be clear
when we're interacting with them.
But what are some other sort of maybe more dangers
that are closer to home for us
that make our services unintelligible?
Well, I think a bigger danger for us,
if we're not careful,
is that the vocabulary or the words that we use
can make our service feel unintelligible at times.
And you know, this doesn't just apply
to using sort of big, long,
sort of standardized test type words
when we're preaching or praying or sharing
or doing all these things.
Of course, that's one danger.
But you know, there's also the danger
of using what we might call Christian speak
that is actually completely unintelligible
to the people who gather for worship.
I remember my dad growing up,
whenever we would take a car trip,
would get us boys together
and he would pray that we would be surrounded
by a hedge of protection.
I had no idea what a hedge of protection was
until I was like in high school.
What does that even mean?
And there are all sorts of other words
and phrases that we use
that are sort of just insider language of Zion lingo
that no one really understands.
But you know, it's not just big, long,
vocabulary words or Christian lingo
that can make our services unintelligible.
I think there's a way in which
maybe if we're not careful,
the songs that we sing
can make our services unintelligible.
And it doesn't just apply
to the lyrics that we sing.
What if we were to pick songs
where the rhythm was so complicated
and unfamiliar, so syncopated,
that it made it almost impossible
to sing together as a congregation.
And you know, that applies
not just to some really beautiful classic hymns,
but a lot of contemporary songs too.
With the other worship leaders,
we listen to a lot of great music
and sometimes we listen to a song
and we think that will be impossible
for us to sing together
because the rhythm is so unfamiliar
and so foreign and so unpredictable.
Or, you know, there are a lot of songs
where the range, that is how high the notes go,
is so big that we can't possibly
sing it together either.
I think there are even songs
where the style makes a song
practically unintelligible
and maybe I'm going to step
on a couple toes here.
But you know,
it's not that we don't understand the words,
but sometimes the style of a song
is so outdated
that we can't actually sing the words
with the right meaning.
There's a reason why we don't sing
Shine Jesus Shine anymore.
Or Lord, I lift your name on high.
Because stylistically,
they're just so foreign
and so out of place.
But how else might our corporate worship
become functionally unintelligible today?
What about our order of service?
The sort of way in which
we structure our times together.
I remember visiting
an Anglican church in college
and it was this small,
super welcoming congregation
that preached the gospel.
They loved Jesus.
It was a good church.
But you know,
on my way into the sanctuary
as the service began,
they handed me three books.
It was a book of common prayer
and a hymnal
and a hymnal supplement.
So there I was.
I marched into my pew
and sat down.
And in order to follow the service,
I had to flip through the pages
of these three different books
trying to find what words to say when
and which songs to sing where.
And needless to say,
as a newcomer,
I was completely about
two steps behind everyone else
all the time.
As a newcomer,
I was practically an outsider
and the service was almost
unintelligible to me.
Now, that's not to sort of
just bash on liturgical services
because honestly, friends,
the flip side of the things
can happen even in the most
casual sort of
non-liturgical service.
Things can just sort of
charge through seemingly
without any rhyme or reason.
And if the service leader
and worship leader
don't explain what's going on,
the service can be
quite unintelligible.
Well, I'm sure that we can think of
lots of other ways
that our times of corporate worship
could become unintelligible today.
And I hope you see that
it's not just a first century problem
or a speaking in tongues problem,
but it's something that every church
has to be mindful of.
But coming back now
to 1 Corinthians 14,
the second big point
I want us to consider
is the question of why.
Why should we strive
for intelligibility,
for being understood?
Why does that need to be
a huge value for us
in our worship gatherings?
I mean, think about it.
After all,
the people who spoke in tongues
at Corinth
were probably having
really powerful experiences
of God.
Paul doesn't question
the fact that
that was probably
the Holy Spirit
working in them.
A very powerful experience
of God.
And isn't that enough?
Isn't that what we really want?
After all,
to really get a deep sense
of God's presence
in our midst?
To see Him maybe even
visibly show up
in these particularly
visible manifestations?
In the last section
of Mere Christianity,
C.S. Lewis tells the story
of a hardened Air Force officer
who approaches Lewis
after a talk that he gave.
And this hardened Air Force officer
tells Lewis
of a powerful experience
that he had had of God.
The officer told Lewis,
he said,
I felt Him.
That is God.
I felt Him out alone
in the desert one night.
The tremendous mystery.
And then the officer
goes on to tell Lewis
that because of this
powerful experience,
he didn't believe
and he didn't think
he had a need
for any of the doctrines
or dogmas of the church.
He'd experienced
in his mind
the real thing
and he didn't need
all that intellectual,
intelligible,
mumbo-jumbo.
Now, of course,
there are all sorts
of problems with that, right?
But sometimes
in our worship gatherings
together,
we can functionally
act the same way.
It doesn't matter
what I think.
The content doesn't matter.
What matters
is the experience.
What matters
is that I'm feeling
drawn to God.
But Paul's going to give us
three reasons here
why we need
our gathered worship
to be intelligible.
First reason is this.
Because intelligible worship
engages the whole person.
Look at verses 14 and 15 again.
Paul says,
if I pray
or praise
or give thanks
with my spirit only,
he says,
my mind is unfruitful.
In other words,
a whole aspect
of what it means
to be human
is left out.
But you see,
friends,
that's not
how the worship
of the one true God
is meant to be.
God created you
and I
as whole
integrated
persons
with a body
and a mind
and a heart.
God wants
all of us
engaged
in that worship.
And if our worship
is unintelligible
for whatever reason,
then our minds
can't worship God.
And we can't be renewed
in the image of God
in the way,
in the full way
that God intends.
Now,
of course,
God transcends
our rational capacities,
right?
Greg touched on this
last week.
We could never
with our human minds
fully comprehend
God.
But just because
God exceeds
our understanding
doesn't mean
we can't understand
anything about God
at all.
You know,
there's plenty
that my three children
don't understand
about me and Beth,
right?
Especially Owen
as he sits in his high chair
and just slams
the Cheerios
off of his tray
in sort of
nine-month-old
glorious freedom.
There is so much
that my kids
don't understand
and don't comprehend
about us
as adults,
as parents.
But,
I think what they
do know about us
is true.
That Beth and I
are their mother
and father
and that we're
their parents
and that we love
them
and that we intend
good things for them
even if they don't
understand why
or how.
It's the same
with us in God,
you see.
We'll never
plumb the depths
of the infinite
beautiful majesty
that is the God
who made us
and yet
in God's grace
he reveals himself
truthfully to us
so we can understand.
And at this point
it's worth pointing out
that when we talk
about intelligible worship
of this great
supreme God,
that certainly
doesn't mean
it's watered down
or oversimplified.
You know,
if we're going to pray
and praise
and give thanks
and build each other
up with our minds
as well as with our spirits,
we certainly can't
check our minds
at the door
when we come in.
Of course,
there are going to be
things that we don't
quite understand
at first,
whether as new believers
or people exploring
Christianity
or as people
among us
who've been believers
for a long time,
there are still truths
that we're wrestling
to grasp.
But our services
should strive
not to sort of
avoid those things
or water them down
but to make them
as clear as we can.
You know,
that's one of the reasons
why we don't shy away
from using
important theological
words at Trinity.
Words like
justification
or sanctification
or propitiation.
Now,
you might be here
and you have no idea
what those words mean
and that's okay.
Hang around a little bit longer,
we'll explain them
and they'll become
beautiful truths for you.
But you know,
we can't shy away
from these things.
They're worth learning.
The concepts
that are contained
in those words
are worth exploring
and understanding
and we want to do
our best
as they come up
in worship
to explain them
and make them intelligible
so that we can
grasp them not just
with our spirit
but with our minds.
And so the beauty
of verses 14 and 15
here is that real,
mature,
corporate worship
calls for our
whole selves,
you see.
Spirit and mind
and body too,
Paul would say.
Nothing gets left behind
in our worship of God.
The worship of God
is not something
we just partition off
in our quote unquote
spiritual lives over here.
No, it's all of ourselves.
And in fact, friends,
isn't that what stands
at the heart of Christianity?
The fact that nothing
about our humanity
gets left behind.
Jesus Christ,
we profess,
is fully God
and fully human.
In the redemption
that he brings,
there's no part of us
as humans
that gets left behind.
Jesus took on
a full human nature
so that he might
renew and redeem us
as fully humans.
He's taken up
the whole of us,
mind and body
and spirit,
everything,
so that it might
all become renewed.
And isn't this
what Jesus himself
was talking about
in our reading
from John 4 earlier
that Susan and Ivor
read for us?
That true worship
worship,
the worship
of the true God
is worship
in spirit
and in truth.
It involves
our affections
and our understanding,
our spirit
and our mind.
Because God
created both
and he became
incarnate in both
to rescue us
and he intends
for both
through his Holy Spirit
to be involved
in the worship
of him.
So that's the first reason.
Paul quickly moves
to another reason
why intelligible worship
is so vital
for the church.
Not only does it
make us whole
human beings,
but second,
intelligible worship
is vital for us
because
intelligible worship
builds up
fellow believers
instead of
alienating them.
It builds up
the church
rather than
breaking up
the church,
you see.
And you see that
in verses 16
through 19.
When Paul talks
about here
anyone in the position
of an outsider,
most commentators
say that Paul
isn't actually talking
about an unbeliever
who's come in,
but he's talking
about the fact
that there might
be believers,
Christians,
who are made
to feel like
outsiders
in their own church
because they don't
understand what's
being said.
they're being
alienated
from their
church family,
from their own
body by the fact
that worship
is being just
washed over
by unintelligibility.
In many ways,
that was me
fumbling with my
book of common
prayer and hymnal
with my Anglican
friends,
unable to sort of
keep up and
feeling like an
outsider.
But you know,
more to the point,
if we aren't
striving to use
intelligible,
substantive words
in our worship,
the whole point
for Paul is lost.
Do you see what
Paul is saying
here?
This is so critical.
What is it that
builds us up in
the faith?
What is it that
instructs us?
What is it that
causes us to grow?
What is it that
we're meant to be
doing when we get
together?
What is it that
causes us to be
built up?
not mere
experiences,
no matter how
powerful they
might be.
But Paul says
words,
intelligible,
applicable,
gospel-filled,
spirit-filled
words.
And then Paul says
something quite
shocking.
He says,
given the choice
between saying
five intelligible
words and 10,000
words in a tongue,
which would be an
incredible personal
experience of the
spirit,
would it not?
Paul says,
in church,
when we're all
together,
I choose five
words every time.
You see,
friends,
striving for
intelligible worship
is important because
the nature of
corporate worship,
corporate worship
isn't ultimately
about me as
an individual.
Corporate worship
is about glorifying
God and
building up my
brother and
sister in the
faith.
How many times
does Paul say in
this chapter,
let everything be
done for building
up.
It's all about
serving the church
and building the
church.
That's why you're
getting together,
to build one
another up.
And of course,
once we get those
two things straight
in our mind,
that it's about
seeing God for who
he truly is and
building each other
up,
then worship is
also about being
humble enough to
recognize our need
personally to be
built up in the
faith too,
that we need each
other to be built
up.
Of course,
we all come on
Sundays looking to
be refreshed,
to be fed
spiritually.
We're all coming
hungry for a word
from the Lord.
Yes,
that's a good
thing.
But friends,
we're not just
here for ourselves.
This isn't 200
people having a
private experience
of worship.
We're here to
build others up.
And you know,
this is true so
much so that if
given the option
on Sunday morning
between on the
one hand,
having a private,
utterly transcendental
religious experience
where God pins you
to the pew in
rapturous delight of
his infinite
excellency.
And on the other
hand,
speaking five
encouraging words to
the person in the
pew next to you,
Paul says,
I pick that one
every time.
Now friends,
I don't know about
you,
but that's a
challenging word.
I'd love to show
up to church and
be pinned to the
pew in rapturous
delights of infinite
ecstasy about the
God who saved us.
Wouldn't you?
I hope that happens.
But Paul says,
no,
my primary motive
for being here,
yes,
is to delight in
God without a
doubt,
to worship him and
say he's truly
among us,
but I'm here to
build other people
up.
And that's
challenging because
I don't know about
you,
but I don't feel
that way most
Sundays.
And I'm up here
preaching.
Most Sundays,
aren't we thinking
more about our own
selves,
what's in it for me
than I am thinking
about others?
And you know,
if we're honest,
if I'm honest,
there's part of me
that actually kind of
likes unintelligible
worship.
think about it.
I kind of like
unintelligible
worship,
at least if I'm on
the inside,
if I'm the one
who's in the know,
if I'm feeling like
I'm in the inner
circle.
I like hanging on
to the sentimental
feelings that this
old hymn gives me
even though no one
around me understands
it.
I like,
feeling safe in the
traditions and the
ways that we've
always done it
around here.
Even though no one
understands why and
it's completely
unintelligible to
newcomers and it
practically obscures
the gospel.
And above all,
friends,
although we'd never
say it this way,
don't we love the
way that being on
the inside of
something that other
people don't understand,
don't we love the way
that that feeds our
pride?
to think that we've
got something that
someone else doesn't
and it sets us
apart.
We know the lingo,
we can speak in the
tongue,
we can hit the high
note of that crazy
hymn,
and it makes me look
good.
Friends,
how wretched we are.
How broken we are
that we come to
worship with these
kinds of feelings and
motivations.
Christians.
But don't you see
that this is what the
gospel actually rescues
us from?
That there's good news
for us.
Because God has done
something that will
get you to trade your
love of self and love
of praise and to trade
your pride so that you
actually start to think
about others and you
start to think about
coming and caring more
about what's going to
build them up.
What has he done?
Well,
friends,
when we see what
Christ has done for
me,
when you see what
Christ has done for
you,
you see,
God made himself
intelligible to us.
The infinite God that
our minds could never
grasp.
God,
the God that because of
our sin,
we could never
understand.
This God has made
himself utterly known
to us.
And at the most
incredible,
infinite cost.
Long ago,
at many times,
and in many ways,
God spoke to our
fathers by the
prophets,
the writer of
Hebrews says.
But in his last
days,
he's spoken to us
by his son.
Jesus Christ came
and didn't just
reveal who God was
to us,
but died on a
cross for us
so that our sins
could be forgiven,
so that our minds
could be renewed,
so that we could
actually be in a
relationship with God,
so that God wouldn't
be a mystery to us
anymore.
Someone that we feel
like we're groping
and grasping after,
but someone who
could be in our
very midst.
You see,
friends,
when Christ took
on human nature
and lived a perfect
life in your place
and died on a
cross,
the death you
deserve to die,
and rose again on
the third day and
ascended to the
Father and where he
stands now,
interceding for all
who believe,
all this Christ has
done for us,
for those who
trust in him.
And if Christ has
done that for me,
if I have fellowship
with God through
Jesus by grace,
if he's come,
and made himself
known to me,
and I'm in a
relationship with
him,
then why in the
world do I need
to have my pride
inflated or my
traditions preserved?
Why do I need to
be on the inside of
something that other
people can't get?
Who cares about
that stuff?
We know God and
he's made himself
known.
And I can lay down
my life for others
because I have a
life in Jesus that
nothing can take
away.
I actually care more
about speaking five
words to others
than having the
most amazing
spiritual experience.
I've got every
blessing in the
heavenly places in
Christ, Paul says.
Why do I need more?
They're good to have.
Don't get me wrong.
But you've already
got the most
precious thing.
Because Christ has
gone out for me,
I can go out for
others.
You see, this is the
very logic and nature
of the gospel that
works itself out in our
corporate worship.
So friends, let me
encourage you, let me
challenge you that when
you come on Sundays,
pray for two things.
Pray that our services
are on, that they are
intelligible to those
who gather.
Pray that they will be
intelligible to you and
intelligible to the people
next to you.
And also pray that God
will give you intelligible
words, upbuilding,
encouraging, consoling
words to speak to one
another.
Let's wrap up by looking
at the third and last
reason why intelligible
worship is so important.
We'll do this briefly.
In verses 20 through 25,
here it is, this third
reason.
We see that intelligible
worship is critical to our
gathered worship because a
because ultimately that is
what changes unbelievers
hearts instead of hardening
their hearts.
In other words, Paul has
just shown us the value of
intelligible worship for our
fellow believers.
Now he wants to say and
point us to the fact that
there's value in it,
inestimable value in it for
unbelievers and outsiders who
attend our worship gathering.
Verses 23 through 25 are
pretty clear.
If an unbeliever shows up and
he or she can't understand a
word of what's being said,
they're going to say,
you're out of your minds and
their hearts are actually going
to be hardened to the gospel.
As a side note, when Paul says
in verse 22 that tongues are a
sign for unbelievers, this is
probably what he means.
In other words, Paul seems to be
saying here that uninterpreted
tongues can actually function not
as a positive sign meant to lead
to unbelievers conversion, but as a
negative sign.
As a negative sign, just like the
quote in verse 21 from Isaiah 28,
a negative sign that they're
alienated from God in their
refusal to believe in him.
Unintelligible worship actually
can function as a means of
communicating to unbelievers that
they're separated from God and to
just confirm them in that
unbelief.
But on the other hand, Paul says,
if an unbeliever attends the
service and he or she can
understand what's being said, then
the Holy Spirit can bring genuine
conviction of sin and genuine
conversion to the worship of the
true God and they'll declare that
God is really among you.
What a difference.
Instead of declaring that Christians
are out of their minds, people will
come and declare that God is really
among you.
That the God that we hunger and thirst
for is found, not in some experience,
but right here in the gathered church.
Again, this is probably what Paul means
in that confusing verse in verse 22
by saying that prophecy is a sign for
believers.
Unlike tongues, prophecy on the other
hand serves as a positive sign that
God has restored believers from their
exile and sin and again dwells in
their midst.
A blessing that even unbelievers come
to recognize and declare.
And so if we were to sum it up, we
need to say that intelligible worship
is critical for our mission as a
church.
If we want unbelievers to come to know
God and worship him, then our worship
has to be a message that people can
understand.
After all, friends, isn't it true that
it's the message of Christianity that
sets it apart from everything else?
You know, it's interesting that in
verse 23, this expression, out of your
minds, which could mean just that these
people are crazy, could also be used as
an expression describing ecstatic pagan
worship in the first century.
When the cults gathered together, they
would sort of have these experiences and
they would be out of their minds as the
sort of whatever, the gods descended
amongst them and they started to do
their thing.
In other words, Paul could be saying,
look, if unbelievers show up and you're
all speaking in unknown tongues in
ecstatic, disorderly ways, unbelievers
are just going to think that Christianity
is just one more religious option on
offer in the pluralistic market just like
all the rest.
They're not going to see anything
different.
And friends, that can be true of us today
too.
If we downplay the content of Christianity
and in our worship make it seem like just one
more option to make you feel good and live life in a
more balanced way and find more inner peace.
In other words, if we emphasize the experience over the
message, then friends, what we're doing on Sunday mornings is just
going to seem like any other spiritual option among all the
rest that people can find.
After all, every religion, every spirituality promises peace,
doesn't it?
Every spirituality offers a more well-adjusted approach to life.
And some of them, if you devote yourselves to it, might actually
give you a little bit of that.
But friends, that's not the center of what Christianity is all
about.
First and foremost, Christianity is not a method for making your
life more calm and giving you inner peace.
It'll get you there.
But before any of those things, Christianity is not a method.
It's a message.
It's news.
It's an intelligible message with content and concrete shape about
what God has done for us.
It's something utterly and completely objective.
The reason we're all looking for inner peace and calm is because we
know that something isn't quite right.
We don't feel comfortable in our own skin, do we?
Exactly.
We feel out of control, don't we?
If we sit still long enough to actually listen to our life, we feel like
we're almost going off the rails.
Why?
Why do we feel so out of joint in this beautiful world?
Friends, the reality is, the secret of your heart is that you're alienated from
the God who made you.
That there's a fundamental spiritual problem in your life.
That the vertical axis that you were created to have with God has been broken and now all
of the horizontal things have gone to smash.
We're in exile from God because of our sin.
That's what's wrong.
But the content, the message of Christianity is that God himself has gone into that dark exile
and that mess and he's paid for our sins and he's brought us home.
And that, friends, gives us a peace with God that is lasting and real and true.
And no matter how crazy your life is on the outside, it's firm and secure because Christ did it.
In a minute, we're going to take the Lord's Supper.
And the Lord's Supper is a sign, it's an act, it's a practice that Jesus himself instituted in the church
in order to make that message of what he's done all the more intelligible to us.
Jesus was a very good teacher and he knew that sometimes we needed things we could hold and see and smell to drive the point home.
This is broken bread and a poured out cup signifying the broken body of Christ for our sins
and his spilled blood poured out for our forgiveness.
But at the same time, at the same time as this meal speaks of Christ's death, it's also just that, a fellowship meal.
To tell us that because of what Jesus has done, we're now welcome at God's table and we're welcoming God's kingdom.
Not as strangers or foreigners or outsiders.
But through Jesus, God welcomes us as friends.
And even more than that, God makes us his daughters and his sons.
We become his family around this table.
That's what we're saying.
That's what we're signifying.
So in a moment, we're going to ask some folks to come up and we're going to help pass this out, the bread and the cup.
And it's actually a moment for all of us this morning to respond to the message of the gospel.
If you're already a Christian, if you've admitted that your sins deserve death, if you've believed that Christ died in your place and rose again,
and if you've committed your life to him as Savior and Lord, then you can take this bread and this cup in humility and joy for what he's done for you.
And you can remember that your sins are forgiven and you're a part of God's family now.
Let me say as well that if you're trusting in Christ and you've not been baptized, maybe that's you and you're already taking communion because you can say, yeah, I put my trust in Jesus.
If you've not actually been baptized, let me exhort you today to decide to pursue baptism.
Talk to me after the service and we can talk about next steps to becoming a public follower of Jesus through the ordinance of baptism.
Lastly, let me just say as we come to the table that if you're not a Christian, then this is the moment for you to decide what you're going to do with this intelligible message of Christianity.
If you're here and you're not a Christian, instead of taking the bread and the cup, use this time to pray and ask God what next steps look like for you.
Maybe you're still not exactly sure what it is Christians believe.
You need some more content because it's still really new to you and you have some holes you want to get filled in.
Or maybe you actually have some questions and doubts about what it is Christians actually believe and you want to get some clarifying sort of conversations going on.
Friend, if that's you, let me encourage you to talk to the friend that you came with.
Come grab me after the service.
I'd love to talk to you more about that.
And we can point you in the direction of some good resources to help you on your spiritual journey and figure out where you stand with Christianity.
But perhaps this morning you're ready to not just explore Christianity but to place your trust in Christ.
To actually open up your heart before God like this text says.
And place your trust in Jesus Christ as the one true God who rescued you from your sins.
If that's you, then let me encourage you with these words of Jesus.
Jesus said, behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens a door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me.
Friends, you can take hold of that promise this morning.
Let's pray together.