Los Lunas Cornerstone

    Last Sunday, as you’ve already heard through our announcements this morning, we had a board meeting. Before the beginning of each board meeting, our board members take turns bringing a devotion to set all of our hearts and minds on Christ and get us in the right frame of mind for the meeting: hearts and minds focused on what the Lord desires us to do. This last Sunday, it was Jay’s turn to bring the devotion, and he talked about gifts in the church and how important each person’s gift is. It was a great devotion, and it certainly wasn’t a coincidence that he just happened to be talking about the very thing I am going to preach about today.
    He gave a great example of the importance of gifts in the church. You see, about a week and a half ago, Christa was in the office trying to print paychecks and the computer wouldn’t turn on. Rightfully, she began to get concerned because while she knows how to work computers fairly well to do the day to day functions required as our church secretary, she by no means is technologically gifted, and she would tell you just the same thing.
    She called Jay, who is very gifted when it comes to technology and all things included in technology. Thankfully, Jay came to the rescue that day, and not just that day, but the Sunday when I was gone as well, and not just those two days, but on numerous occasions when our technologies here just don’t do what they should do, or when we need a new technology and have no idea where to start.
    What Jay so eloquently pointed out during his devotion is that we all have our parts in the church. All have our gifts and talents, and not only should we utilize them to serve one another and further the mission of the church, but when we don’t do this, we may be hindering someone else from using their gifts and talents to their full capacity!
    If Jay had not been willing to use his gifts to come help Christa out, then Christa couldn’t have used her administrative gifts in the office!
    Let’s look at what the Bible says about this, because it is a refreshing…and challenging…call to each and every one of us, and as we prepare for our Lightbulb Luncheon today, it’s vital that we understand the importance of this idea. Please join me in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26.
    “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one part, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But now there are many parts, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.”
    The body Paul is referring to here is the church. It applies to the whole church, all believers united by one faith all across the world, but really, more specifically, Paul is zeroing in on local congregations, local churches. Each church is a body that is separate in some ways, especially in its day-to-day functions, than other local churches, but is also a part of the whole body of Christ, the whole church. This passage is situated in a passage about spiritual gifts, but the emphasis in the passage I just read is how each person is meant to use their gifts as part of the body of Christ.
    Paul’s main intent here is that there are many, diverse ways that the Spirit ministers to people, where our role in worship isn’t simply as observers who watch the leaders minister, but with all of us ministering as partners in and with the Spirit. So Paul makes sure to really emphasize that EVERY believer is given the public display of the Holy Spirit to be used for the benefit of the whole community to build it into the image of Christ.
    Every part is diverse. What that means is that every person is diverse from one another. However, we are divinely constructed by God to be and work as one. We are, and I love this, “organically inter-related, interdependent, harmoniously functioning through the Spirit coursing through all.” Isn’t that refreshing?
    This is not some heavenly ideal that will one day be achieved, isn’t not invisible, isn’t not just a model, it is real and tangible and active now. I want you to just point to yourself right now and say, “I am part of the body, but I am not the whole body.” And now, I want you to point to all of your neighbors and say, “I need you, and I cannot function without you.”
    Paul talks about two very, very important reminders for us in this passage. This is the first reminder: “If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” (vv. 15-17)
    Paul reminds us: there is no room for an INFERIORITY complex in the body, the church. An inferiority complex looks like this: “Well, I can’t preach, or teach, and I’m scared to lead prayer, so I don’t really have a place in the church. There’s nothing I can do. I’m not really that important.” Paul politely told the Corinthian church that that line of thinking is baloney.
    In fact, he goes on to say that it is the parts of the body that may seem weaker that are actually more important than the parts that are stronger. If you think your gifts just don’t matter in this church, or aren’t that important, could you just do me a favor? Could you just imagine Jesus sitting right in front of you, facing you, and telling you, “I gave you those gifts. You are important, and my church needs what I have given you.” Thank you.
    Here’s Paul’s second reminder: “And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” (v. 21) Paul reminds us: there is no room for a SUPERIORITY complex in the body, the church. And yes, you guessed it, a superiority complex is the exact opposite of an inferiority complex. It looks like this: “I am so talented. My gift is so amazing, and I contribute so much to this church that without me, it would fall apart and totally crumble.” Again, Paul says, baloney.
    There is no place for excessive pride, nor is there a place for self-depreciating humility.
    Here is the main point of all this passage, “But God has so composed the body…that the parts may have the same care for one another.” (vv. 24-25)
    Who composed the body? GOD.
    Why did He put it together this way, with these specific people, and please look around if you need to so you can see the faces of those who He has brought here? He put us together so that we might have the same CARE for one another.
    Finally, Paul concludes with this, “And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.” (v. 26) This is how important the connection between us is. It should be such that when one of us suffers, all suffer together. When one is honored, we all rejoice with the one that was honored. Why? Because we, each of us, was brought here by the Lord to be one, together, to love, to change, to serve.
    You are vital to this church, just like the eye, just like the brain, just like the pinky toe, just like the hand. A whole body requires all its parts to function the way it should.
    This year was hard, for sure. COVID made some of our parts cut themselves off. It’s time to come back together and be a whole body again.
    I have no engaging questions for you today, because instead what we’re going to do to continue engaging with this passage is our Lightbulb Luncheon. As I explain what it is, I’m going to ask our stewards and board members to start setting things up so we can just get started right away.
    So, what is this exactly? Why have we all been called to come to this with great emphasis?
    First of all, we need the fellowship. It’s important.
    Secondly though, we need you. We need your thoughts, your ideas, your talents, your gifts, your creativity, your logic, anything and everything that you have been given to move Cornerstone Church forward. As hard as COVID was for us, it was even harder for our community because they do not have the hope of Christ.
    So our Lightbulb Luncheon today is a way for us to all come together and dream together about how we bring the hope of Christ into our community in more real and tangible and meaningful ways. And it will take each and every one of us. It’s time to take our beliefs and our faith out of this building.
    This past year, even in the midst of COVID, a handful of us began experimenting with something we’re now calling the Parking Lot Ministry, or, since we’re Nazarenes and we love abbreviations, we could call it the PLM. We did a drive-thru Halloween event, and a drive-thru Easter event, and we even did a Thanksgiving drive and delivered Thanksgiving food boxes to families in the community as they came into the parking lot. What we found is that when we simply step outside our doors, people are a lot more likely to interact with us, the church. It’s not as intimidating to just come into a parking lot as it is to come into an unknown building surrounded by strangers.
    Today, during our Lightbulb Luncheon, we’re going to ask you to join us in the PLM, and help us dream up ideally four annual Parking Lot Ministry events that we can do together and perfect and grow every year to reach our community.