All Things Done in Order

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Well…we safely made it through 1 Corinthians 14! There was no food fight in the cafeteria and we came out the other side with no one hanging from the rafters or doing cartwheels down the aisles! Seriously, it has been a very good time for our church as we studied 1 Corinthians 11-14. The tough sledding in these chapters caused me to rejoice for 2 reasons: 1) that God cares so deeply for His Church that He doesn’t leave us on our own. These chapters cover some of the most divided areas in the Church today, but God doesn’t leave us to our own ideas. He rules His Church and I’m very grateful for that. 2) I’m grateful that our church has truly embraced the fact that Christ-like love must control our hearts when it comes to areas of disagreement. We have enjoyed a sweet season of joy and unity. It’s a reminder to me of God’s kindness to us.

Gender roles in the Church:

Throughout our history, we’ve done a few sermons on gender roles in the church. The most recent one came from 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. Here’s the link to that sermon:

https://clfroseburg.com/sermons/mutual-respect/.

Several years ago, we preached through 1-2 Timothy and we navigated through 1 Timothy 2 by doing 2 sermons on “Gender Roles in the Church”. Here are the manuscripts to those:

https://clfroseburg.com/sermons/gender-roles-in-the-church-part-1/

https://clfroseburg.com/sermons/gender-roles-in-the-church-part-2/

On Sunday, because it did not seem that gender was the main thrust of Paul’s concern, I didn’t spend much time developing the reasons behind God’s created order and why He has called men to lead the Church. The sermons listed above do that. As always, if you have further questions, feel free to ask.

Order in the Church:

One of the benefits that the Lord has granted me through the years, has been to see a variety of church “formats”. I’ve seen chaos. I’ve seen strict order. I’ve seen and heard spiritual gifts done in order and out of order. These experiences have caused me to see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And I can say this: I’ve seen lots of hurt done when churches do not protect their congregants and lots of confusion from disorder. Further, I’ve been in churches that were just as hurtful by their legalistic order as churches who were chaotic. This has caused me to learn a very valuable lesson: order in the church must be motivated by love for God and love for God’s people. If order is attempted to be kept for order’s sake, it normally takes on a hardline position that’s not caring. And if order is ignored for the sake of independence or ‘freedom’, it normally takes on a lawless position that is presumptuous. To guard from either extreme, would be order in the church that is motivated by love for God and love for God’s people.

We’ve seen this over the last few weeks. As we have sought to biblically define prophecy, tongues, and order in the church, there has been a sense of joy, freedom, and eagerness among our people. Many have been helped and encouraged. Some who’ve been wounded in the past are find hope. Some who are skeptical are open to study more. And those who’ve seen disorder in the church have enjoyed the loving order at CLF. While not perfect by a long-stretch, our leadership has tried to align ourselves under God’s word as we love Him and His people.

This coming week:

We will wrap up 1 Corinthians 11-14 by talking about how we can love the gathering of God’s people.

From the Cheap Seats:

Well, the dream ended today. Dallas Baptist lost in the Super Regional to Virginia. My alma mater is slowing becoming the Gonzaga of college baseball. And I couldn’t be more happy.
Anyone see this goal: http://bleacherreport.com/post/world-football/8a4a9ac2-4e10-4c22-86e2-2b874e5d117c. From midfield.
Scary Christian Eriksen. In a Denmark international game, Eriksen, who’s the best player on their team, collapsed of a cardiac arrest. The doctors brought him back to life on the field. Another reminder…life is short and anyone at anytime can have a health scare.
Finally! After 16 straight losses on the road, the Texas Rangers won a road game by beating the Dodgers.

To watch or listen to the sermon described in this post, please click here.