From One Degree to Another

My 5/22/22 sermon at Crestview, Body Speak (1 Corinthians 14:20-40), is online. This sermon wrapped up a series of sermons on chapters related to spiritual gifts. The upshot is that God hasn’t left His people wondering what it looks like to speak or serve in the body. He’s given clarity. God calls us to higher modes, whether speaking in ways that don’t intentionally confuse unbelievers or speaking to build up or reflect a humble maturity in our words and actions.

I mentioned how Christianese is a language we speak in the church that often makes concepts confusing for those who wouldn’t call themselves Christians. Intervarsity had a great post, and I also used a satirical post to point out how Christians do this (often unintentionally). At any rate, I hope the sermon encouraged you.

My 5/15/22 sermon at Crestview, Speaking Purposefully (1 Corinthians 14:1-19), is now online. The sermon began by discussing the problem (your mouth is like a math book, every time you open it, there’s a problem). Of course, this humorous way to begin got us into the deep need we have for heart change in the way we speak.

The section of Scripture I was in dealt with tongues and prophecy. I was helped (and shared) these definitions from Andy Naselli:

“‘Speaking in tongues’ in 14:1–40 refers to an individual’s praising God in a language that neither the speaker nor the hearers understand unless God supernaturally enables someone to interpret. ‘Prophecy’ in 14:1–40 refers to an individual’s sharing with others an encouraging insight that they sense God has spontaneously revealed.”  

From the ESV Expository Commentary on 1 Corinthians

I also was helped by Paul Tripp in the opening illustration on how our words come from the heart and this quote that I closed with:

I hope the sermon points you to Jesus and helps you live out of His power in what you say.

My 5/8/22 sermon at Crestview Bible Church, Love Never Ends (1 Corinthians 13:8-13), is online. In this sermon, Paul continued his encouraging words meant to remind the Corinthians that they were people who were to live and serve out of love. What stuck out to me was that love outlasts each of these things, whether it’s maturity, our practice of gifts, or even a desire for more. And, in light of this call, we are to love. I hope the sermon encouraged you.

My sermon from 5/1/22 at Crestview was entitled The Superior Way from 1 Corinthians 13:1-7. This passage gets into the lifehack of using our gifts with others in the church. The superior way we serve others is by love. The stakes are raised so high that we are nothing if we don’t have love. I hope the sermon proves encouraging for you. After all, in calling us to this amazing way of living, we also see our need for God Himself exposed. And, anytime we’re driven to a more profound need of Jesus, we’re near good news.

My 4/3/22 sermon at Crestview was The Spirit’s Gifts from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. In this sermon, I began working through that extensive section of 1 Corinthians 12-14, where Paul gets into the gifts and how the church in Corinth practices them. Then, of course, we try to make some connections to what we can know about these gifts in our own lives.

This sermon, in particular, was organized around some questions that led to our understanding. So, I’m hoping this proves helpful for you. Have a great week.

My 3/20/21 sermon at Crestview, All Things Are From God (1 Corinthians 11:2-16), is online. This passage was a fun one to dig into and try to explain. Part of the reason is that not everyone agrees on the context, historical background, or implications for the church. This lack of clarity is one reason for my provocative blog title: headship, head coverings, and honor, oh my. So, we have to do something with what this passage means, and this was my best attempt to unpack this for the people of Crestview. I’m hoping what emerges for us is that we’re more characterized by honor and respect for one another in the coming days. Enjoy.

Also, if you choose to watch the video, we had trouble capturing that this week. So it joins me in the middle of my introduction.

I was back in the pulpit preaching at Crestview and got back into our series on 1 Corinthians. My sermon, Seeking Your Neighbor’s Good (1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1), is online. While most Christians think that loving their neighbor is a great idea, many struggle to do this well. And, as Paul gets to the end of a larger section in this book, he draws our hearts up and out to apply this well. I hope the sermon encourages you.