NT Sermons

Security is something we all crave. Job security. Relationship security. Financial security.

Indeed, whole industries have grown up to look after our security. Our houses are kept secure with locks and alarms. Our computers are kept secure with antivirus software and firewalls. Our bank balances are kept secure with a dozen different kinds of insurance. We want to be secure. We want to feel secure. And, obviously, it matters that how secure we feel tallies with how secure we really are.

[Note: For some reason, when I repeated this sermon at an evening service, I was asked if I could prepare a longer version taking in some of the questions I had been asked after the original sermon. The text here is that expanded version, rather than the original version which was about 2/3 the length]

1 Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 33

What should we do when we meet together as Christians? What should our meetings look like?

If you were here last time, you will remember that Paul was saying that we should aim for prophecy in our meetings, not tongues. Why? According to verses 1-5, in church, we should do what builds up others. According to verses 6-12, in church we should be intelligible. And according to verses 13-19, in church, we should engage brain.

What should we do when we come together on a Sunday morning? What should we do in our mid-week small groups? How should we spend our time when we are gathered together?

Excellent questions. Questions that have vexed Christians for centuries. Important questions.

Last week we started to look together at 1 Corinthians chapters 13 and 14. We saw that love is more important than any spiritual gift, and that the character of love is to sacrificially seek the good of others. What we had was the conclusion that love is really very important, and that to be truly loving is no small challenge.

Welcome to one of the most well-known and most loved passages in the New Testament. Well known, much loved, well used. Let me give you a couple of ways this passage often gets used.

You may remember that in the Autumn we spent three Sunday mornings together looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Well this morning we pick things up again, beginning a series of 5 sermons on chapters 13 and 14. We’ll then look at chapter 15 in the run up to Easter.

This morning we’re going to do something a little unusual. Normally at St James the sermon comes all in one piece. Today we’re going to split the sermon in two. I want to say some things now by way of introduction for this whole series. Then a little later in the service, we’ll look at the start of chapter 13 together.