Church Members Basically Retreat To Common Corners

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:33

for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Insights:  This week I preached a very unusual sermon from my normal style.  I did an overview of the entire book of 1 Corinthians as it dealt with the subject matter of “Cold War Congregations.”  Corinth was one of the most dysfunctional churches of the first century.  Paul starts chapter one with an appeal for unity and chapters five through fourteen are full of examples of this disunity.  After giving the summary I tied it into the five telltale signs of a church experiencing a “Cold War”.  In chapter fourteen you have this disagreement and chaos showing up in Corinth over the subject of speaking in tongues.  It does not take much sanctified imagination to picture two differing camps at this church forming over this hotly debated topic.  One group wants to speak in tongues every chance they get.  The other group does not speak in tongues and does not understand what is being said.  Frustrations begin to arise and disunity is the fallout.  You can quickly imagine how this church began to form little cliques regarding this issue.  The result, they would come to church and fuss, bicker and fight.  They would then leave and confer with their corner (like in a boxing match) and get patched up and ready for the next round in the worship war.  The bell would ring and they would go back to church and fight it out again.  This vicious kind of cycle could potentially go on and on.  Churches today do the exact same thing.  The issue may not be speaking in tongues, but an issue none the less will arise and the fighting begins.  More often than not these issues have no real kingdom impact.  These factions normally form over something trival like whether we ought to have a “greating time” in the worship service or not.  If a church begins forming up these kinds of lines, then they may very well be in a “Cold War”.  The verse we are going to read all week does not condone wars of this nature which cause confusion.  Rather, we ought to strive for peace with each other, especially over issues regarding desire or preference.  Beloved, let us learn to love in the midst of our differences.

Questions:

1. Do you ever associate with other people who think differently than you?
2. In what ways can you be a bridge builder and help others associate with people of differing opinions? 

Prayer: Father, You are a vast and creative God.  One who loves variety and beauty.  You work in the life of humanity and bring us together.  Lord, help me to strive for unity with those who differ with me in opinion. Amen.