Class Lesson September 4, 2011

Hey Gang,

We begin a whole new series this week that is centered on balancing your spiritual growth. It warms my heart to think back when each of my kids would pull me to the "measuring place" to see if they had gotten any taller. We still have those measuring marks on the wall in the kitchen, with names and dates of growth. Wow, where have all those years gone, there are times that I wish we could go back to those early marks on the wall - don't you? Our series of lessons this month wants you to consider or measure whether you have gotten any taller "spiritually." What do you think? How is your spiritual health these days?

Spiritual health demands an integrated balance of connecting, growing, serving, and going. These are the lesson themes for this month - to connect, grow, serve and go!

 

A healthy Christian connects with God in prayer and worship, relates to others in positive relationships, and connects to the church. What does this mean for me? I've been in churches that were completely divided by cliques, that's not right. Maybe there are some people who feel like they don't have anything to offer to their church - maybe they don't have any talents or gifts. Some church people just frustrate me! I'm suppose to show compassion to these people, but its a struggle. And aren't there some people that you just have a hard time getting along with in church? So, why is it so important that I connect with these people?


In the Bible, the Greek word for this connection is “koinonia.” It means to be as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. Wow, now that's asking a lot!

When Paul arrived in Corinth around A.D. 50, the city was alive with commerce, pulsing with political agendas, and buzzing with the latest in Greek culture and thought. However, the city and its people were spiritually dead. Every human pleasure was available - money, power, wisdom, sensuality. Even religious people in this pagan city participated in prostitution as part of worship in the temple dedicated to the love goddess Aphrodite. This was either the best place or the worst place to plant a church. With the culture surrounding them, it's no wonder this Corinthian church called for special attention from Paul. And at the time of our lesson's writing, the church's unity and reputation were at stake. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to teach these people what Christ's church should look like. We'll read in Psalm 133 a lovely picture of God's people at their best.

CONNECT TO GOD AND OTHERS

I. CONNECT TO OUR DIVERSITY – 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-18

For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. So the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, "Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted. 


Paul had planted this church in Corinth and had spent over 18 months in this bustling Greek city. But after he departed, problems arose. Pagan culture applied pressure from all sides. By the time Paul caught wind of how things were going, blatant sexual immorality was being tolerated. The church was dividing into cliques, each wanting to follow a different church leader. When they gathered for the Lord's Supper, some indulged and others went hungry. Believers were suing each other. Some believers felt like their gifts were more important than others and some felt like they didn't belong. 

Paul pointed out that the church, like the human body, is one unit. The unity comes through the Holy Spirit. Regardless of our past, ethnicity, status, or any other trait that might divide, all believers connect to one another.




Why is the human body a good metaphor to describe the church?

•  What do the ears, eyes, head and feet all have in common? They are all connected to one body. 
• The church is made up of different people, all with different gifts, but we all have one thing in common - our faith in Christ.
• We all have the same Spirit that dwell within each believer.

Why is connecting to church a vital part of balanced spiritual growth?

• Because the church is the body of Christ.
• We all may have different interests and gifts, but we all have on common GOAL! 

If you had to pick one of the following body parts to best symbolize your personality or gift(s), which would it be?

Ear - Foot - Eye - Hand - Spine - Big Toe - Eye Lid - Thumb - Elbow

Let’s look at some ways we connect with each other:


1. We connect by admitting our need for each other.

“Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” Romans 12:5b (NLT)



Why are people so reluctant to admit their need for each other?

• Individualism – Our culture glorifies it and we admire it, self-sufficient people who seem to get along quite well by themselves.
• Pride – Many people, especially men, feel it’s a weakness to ask for help or to express a need. God wired us that way! He wants His children to depend on each other. We were designed for relationships. Everyone needs a spiritual family, and that’s why God created the church.
• Being vulnerable

2. We connect by committing to each other.

We saw earlier that we are to be as committed to each other as we are to Christ. It means we see the value of each individual’s gifts; we see each other as God’s creations and vessels of God’s grace. It means we commit to being there for each other.






It is by God’s design that we define our lives by four commitments:

A. Marriage – a lasting permanent commitment of love to one person

B. Children – a representation of God’s committed love for His children

C. Work – a representation of commitment to serve

D. Church – a representation of our commitment to one another as Christians



3. We connect by respecting each other.


Respect begins with a Godly perspective. Paul stressed that every Christian is vital, being placed in the community by divine appointment. No matter how impressive or important a member of the body might be, one cannot form a church from a single individual. 


Four ways we show respect:

A. Tactful, not just truthful. Thinking before we speak, knowing that the way you say something will influence the way it’s received.

B. Understanding, not demanding. By treating others the way we would want to be treated. We should be considerate of one another’s feelings and stresses: sometimes people don’t feel good, and their having a bad day.

C. Gentle, not judgmental. Even when we disagree with one another, we should still be courteous and respectful – focusing on our own behavior first.

D. Polite, not rude. When others are rude to you, you don’t have to respond with rudeness. We are taught as Christians to respond with kindness.

 

 



II. CONNECT THE WEAK AND STRONG – 1 CORINTHIANS 12:21-26
So the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" nor again the head to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, all the more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. But our presentable parts have no need [of clothing]. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.


In what ways are the parts of our body dependent on each other? How is each church member dependent upon others to work effectively?

Paul turns his attention to those believers who put down the others. "I don't need you" doesn't sound good in English or in the original Greek. So imagine hearing that from members of your own church.


4. We connect by supporting each other.

“… all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds.” 1 Peter 3:8 NLT



We show tender hearts when we say to one another:
It’s OK to have a bad day.
It’s OK to be tired.
It’s OK to admit your mistakes.
It’s OK to share you’re scared.
It’s OK to grieve a loss.
It’s OK to doubt, to be confused, and to cry.



We show humble minds when we say to one another:
It’s OK to be happy you got a new car.
It’s OK to celebrate that you got a HUGE raise.
It’s OK to joyfully tell us you lost seventeen pounds.
It’s OK to shout “Hallelujah” because God’s presence in your life is so good.



We show tender hearts when we weep with those who weep and humble minds when we rejoice in the blessings of others. To support literally means to “lend strength to.”

5. We connect by getting along with each other.

“I beg you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so that there won’t be splits in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 (LB)


One of the best ways to get along with people is to make it your goal to love those who disagree with you.

6. We connect by being patient with each other.

“Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Ephesians 4:2b (NLT)


God gave us two ears and one mouth, perhaps to tell us that we should listen twice as much as we talk.

 

 
III. CONNECT AND GOD WILL BLESS – PSALM 133:1-3
How good and pleasant it is when brothers can live together! It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron's beard, on his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has appointed the blessing—life forevermore.


Why is it pleasing to see your children getting along with each other?

To have healthy and balanced lives, we must choose to cultivate harmony with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Getting along is a choice.

When was the last time you measured how tall your child was? When was the last time you measured how tall your spiritual height was? Why should we keep growing spiritually?

Remember the Rob Bell video called Rhythm? When considering all believers working together in harmony - this is a good picture to think about. Are you in tune?

Rob Bell - Rhythm

Click Here to Watch

Shouldn’t Andy or the Choir Director have been honest with Barney and told him that he couldn’t sing? What do we learn from the way Andy dealt with Barney’s weakness for singing?

Barney and the Choir
Click Here to Watch

 

Prayer of Commitment
Lord, show me my gift and help me to play the song in tune to benefit Your church. Amen 

  

This is going to be a great series as we spend the next four weeks measuring our spiritual growth - praise God for His Word and for the Holy Spirit's illumination of His truth.

Have a blessed rest of the week as we prepare for Sunday's study of a balanced spiritual growth.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan