Not Weird But Not Weirded Out
This last Sunday at church we walked through 1 Corinthians 12. It is the start to a section of Paul's letter to the church where he highlights and gives the rules of order for pursuing and using the varied gifts the Holy Spirit gives the church.
We have gone through a significant replanting process in the last two years so there are not a lot of members of the church today that know our history all that well. Many of us are also new to environments where we believe the gifts of the Spirit continue today.
Truth is, our little church is made up of a wide collection of experiences and backgrounds. From high church to low and no church and everything in between. Some of us grew up in Presbyterian churches, others in Pentecostal ones. So we all come to the table with a wide range of perspectives but together we have determined to follow the model laid out in the Bible.
What then does that mean for us as we gather each week to worship Jesus? That means, as I explained to one young man yesterday, we are not weird, but also not weirded out. We will biblically avoid the abuses of so-called spiritual gifts we have seen in some places and we will follow the commands for order and removal of distraction from the gathered worship. At the same time though it means we are not weirded out, miraculous gifts functioning today won't freak us out. They might surprise us but in a good way. We will rejoice when the Spirit determines to give us these gifts for the common good and we will cherish what we see as one of the most significant gifts, being able to call Jesus Christ Lord (1 Cor. 12:3).
We don't know for sure what the Lord will do in the coming days or years, but we do know that he promises to empower our proclamation of Jesus. That we might know him and make him known.
We have gone through a significant replanting process in the last two years so there are not a lot of members of the church today that know our history all that well. Many of us are also new to environments where we believe the gifts of the Spirit continue today.
Truth is, our little church is made up of a wide collection of experiences and backgrounds. From high church to low and no church and everything in between. Some of us grew up in Presbyterian churches, others in Pentecostal ones. So we all come to the table with a wide range of perspectives but together we have determined to follow the model laid out in the Bible.
What then does that mean for us as we gather each week to worship Jesus? That means, as I explained to one young man yesterday, we are not weird, but also not weirded out. We will biblically avoid the abuses of so-called spiritual gifts we have seen in some places and we will follow the commands for order and removal of distraction from the gathered worship. At the same time though it means we are not weirded out, miraculous gifts functioning today won't freak us out. They might surprise us but in a good way. We will rejoice when the Spirit determines to give us these gifts for the common good and we will cherish what we see as one of the most significant gifts, being able to call Jesus Christ Lord (1 Cor. 12:3).
We don't know for sure what the Lord will do in the coming days or years, but we do know that he promises to empower our proclamation of Jesus. That we might know him and make him known.
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