Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  December 3, 2023

I want you to picture this scene in your mind: You’re sitting at a table at a local establishment. You’re enjoying a nice dinner with your spouse or your friends. As you’re finishing up your meal and contemplating dessert, the door opens and a gentleman walks in. The bar erupts with shouts and greetings. The man walks over to the corner stool and sits down like he owns it. The bartender walks over and without even asking the man, already has a beverage in hand and places it in front of the man and says, “the regular, I presume?” The man nods and smiles.

How does that happen? How could the bartender be so certain this is what the man wanted to drink? Obviously, the man came in often. He was well known by the patrons. He sat in the same place every time. And every time he was there he ordered the same drink. It was his regular choice of refreshment. 

I think we can all think of things that are “regulars” for us, whether it’s an entree at Perkins or a sandwich at Subway or a favorite beverage from the Mountains. Why does that happen? Why do we order or purchase the same things so often that they become regular? Isn’t it because it’s familiar? Isn’t it because we know what we are going to get?  Isn’t it because we know we won’t be disappointed? Isn’t it because we don’t like uncertainty?

I wonder sometimes if that’s how you feel as you sit in the pews here at church in worship or in the chairs in Bible study. Sometimes I wonder if people are uncertain about their qualifications to be there. Maybe you feel like you don’t know enough. Maybe you feel like you’re not good enough. Maybe you feel like everyone around you is way more blessed, way more gifted, way more qualified to be here.

This morning, we hear from the Apostle Paul and the first words he wrote to the congregation in Corinth. The congregation in Corinth has sometimes been referred to as Paul’s “problem child.” Corinth was the 4th largest city in the then-known world. It was ideally located on an isthmus which was a major shipping route in ancient Greece. Because the the vibrant trading, Corinth was an extremely wealthy city and an extremely immoral city. Corinth was the red light district of the ancient world. A “Corinthian girl” was an euphemism for a prostitute. If something could go wrong in a congregation, it probably went wrong in Corinth. And yet, God sent Paul to this city, to these people who were lacking everything spiritual and he gave them Christ. 

In many ways, Corinth sounds an awful lot like Madison. While we may not have exactly the same problems that they did, we too were lacking everything spiritual until God came to us and gave us Christ. That’s what we are preparing again to celebrate as we begin this season of Advent. Because God has given us Christ, The Church Lacks Nothing in Christ. Let’s listen again as Paul reminds us of that great truth.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” It’s almost shocking to hear Paul start his letter this way, knowing what we know about this church in Corinth. They were split up into all sorts of little cliques and factions. They divided themselves according to their favorite pastor. They thought that they could keep some of their Corinthian culture while still being faithful to Christ. They could dabble in prostitution, literally get drunk celebrating the Lord’s Supper–and then turn around and be proud that they had taken the sacrament. They thought that if they were babbling in tongues that made them more spiritual than the people who just wanted to hear the word of God in Greek. And sad to say, there were even those who were denying the resurrection of Jesus. There were all sorts of problems in Corinth. If anyone was unqualified, it was them. The ones who deserved it the least are the ones who needed it the most! So Paul says to them: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” 

Grace and peace? With all of that sin hanging around, why wasn’t it “Fire and brimstone to you from God Almighty and the Judge, Jesus Christ?” Grace and peace? Why? Because God sent Jesus as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Because God chose through Jesus, to give those Corinthians the exact opposite of what they deserved: rather than judgment, blessing; not condemnation, but forgiveness; life instead of death. And the result of that grace, that undeserved gift, those Corinthians could have peace. Not peace like the world screams for, but peace found only in the wake of God’s forgiving grace.

And that’s the same gift our loving God offers to you this Advent. I’ve thought many times that I should change up my opening to my sermon. You’ve probably become more than accustomed to me saying, “Grace to you and peace…” My children even have my exact voice inflection memorized. Yet, what better way to start a message of God’s love than to remind you of what God has done for you and where you are because of that love! God gives you the same gifts, the same exact opposite of what you deserve gifts! He gives you Christ, the gift of a sacrificial Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, and therefore the sin of Eastside in Madison–away. He gives you the forgiveness of every one of your sins. And that’s why you have peace. God gives you those gifts, and boy do we need them! The very fact that we are tempted–tempted often–to put something before sitting at God’s feet and hearing of his love shows us that we need the Lamb’s forgiveness. The fact that the average American spend 20-40 times more time every week watching TV or on social media than they do sitting in God’s house eagerly hearing the Word shows us that we desperately need forgiveness. And that’s exactly what God gives us. He gives us what we need, the exact opposite of what we deserve. He gives us his grace, which produces his peace. 

But that’s not all that God gives. You may fully understand that you are forgiven, but still feel inadequate, that you are lacking what others have. Listen to what Paul says to you:    “I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, because the testimony about Christ was established in you.” 

Bing Crosby is famous for counting his blessings. Paul here is thanking God for some of his biggest problems! It’s no secret that the Corinthian congregation caused Paul a great deal of stress and difficulty. And he’s going to deal with those things later in this letter. But before he gets to that, Paul thanks God for those people because of God’s actions towards them. Paul thanks God because he had given the Corinthians his grace. And for those who felt like they were missing something Paul says: “You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, because the testimony about Christ was established in you.” These Corinthians had been enriched in every way, Paul says. And they had. They had gone from spiritual poverty to spiritual wealth. But notice the two things that Paul specifically says makes them rich: speaking and knowledge. What did those Corinthians know? It seems like their knowledge was limited and lacking based on how they were acting. Yet they knew Christ. They knew what Jesus had done for them. The testimony that Paul had shared about Jesus made them rich. And that knowledge allowed them to speak, to share with their friends and their neighbors the wonderful things they had learned. 

Is this not our reason for gathering each week? Is this not the reason for having a church? To grow in Jesus, to grow in our knowledge of what our Savior Jesus has done for us so that we can tell of his love? Paul says it’s those things that make us rich. As I look out over the congregation this morning, I see riches beyond compare! I see a congregation full of people who know Jesus and who want to share him. That’s true riches, folks!

But that’s not all that God has given his Church!  “As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Jesus knows from experience that life on this planet can be pretty intense sometimes. He wrestled with the same issues that we face everyday. He felt hunger, wrestled with temptation, endured rejection, lived in loneliness, carried a cross, and died a real death. He did all of that so that you and I can have the hope of heaven after we endure many of the same things. In fact, so sure is our hope that Paul says we are “eagerly waiting.”  We are standing on our tiptoes, straining to see when Jesus will come again. And not only do we have the hope of heaven, not only are we lacking nothing in this life, we have Gods’ promise to help! “He will also keep you strong until the end.” 

It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Almost too wonderful? Why should we believe it? “God is faithful!”  Faithful is the God who called us, who chose us before the world began to be in fellowship with his Son, Jesus. Faithful is the God who has enriched you in everything so that you lack no gift, so that there’s no question you belong here. Faithful is the God who gives you his grace and his peace again and again and again. Faithful is the God who promises to keep you strong until the end. 

As members of God’s Church, You Lack Nothing in Christ! You lack nothing in Christ because Christ is all you need! You lack nothing in Christ because Christ is all you receive when you come to God’s house and sit at his feet and listen to his Word.

Picture the scene: You walk into church this morning. When you walk in, people greet you and know you by name. You go into the sanctuary and pick out your favorite spot, just where you like to sit. The pastor steps up to preach, already in hand what he knows you want to hear. He looks at you and says, “The regular, I presume.”  You nod your head and smile. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Amen