WEBVTT 00:00:00.802 --> 00:00:05.990 This is the Love One Another podcast from Beach Point Church. 00:00:06.730 --> 00:00:16.065 Together, we're exploring the first letter to the Corinthians with the hope that we will be formed by the way of the cross and the love of the one who bore it. 00:00:16.705 --> 00:00:21.132 Admitting, as this letter says, that we are nothing without love. 00:00:21.986 --> 00:00:27.213 Love empowered by the Spirit through the work of Jesus is an unstoppable force. 00:00:28.013 --> 00:00:33.582 It invites each of us to join God in the work of redeeming all things back to God's self. 00:00:34.584 --> 00:00:38.149 With that in mind, let's open our hearts to God's Word today. 00:00:38.168 --> 00:00:53.493 1 Corinthians 3, 1-9 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit, but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ. 00:00:54.354 --> 00:00:58.000 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:00.023 Indeed, you are still not ready. 00:01:01.005 --> 00:01:02.146 You are still worldly. 00:01:02.746 --> 00:01:06.953 For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? 00:01:07.733 --> 00:01:09.576 Are you not acting like mere humans? 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:16.956 For when one says, I follow Paul and another, I follow Apollos, are you not mere human beings? 00:01:17.957 --> 00:01:20.441 What after all is Apollos and what is Paul? 00:01:21.182 --> 00:01:26.507 Only servants through whom you came to believe as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 00:01:27.629 --> 00:01:32.054 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 00:01:32.954 --> 00:01:38.462 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. 00:01:39.170 --> 00:01:45.402 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 00:01:46.284 --> 00:01:48.447 For we are coworkers in God's service. 00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:51.414 You are God's field, God's building. 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.766 At Beach Point, we have a saying that captures the heart of our community. 00:01:58.587 --> 00:01:59.349 Everyone paddles. 00:02:00.257 --> 00:02:01.460 It's not just a catchy phrase. 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:04.165 It's a picture of what the church wants to be. 00:02:04.748 --> 00:02:09.296 Not a cruise ship where people show up to be served and entertained, then go back to their cabins. 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.364 We see this church more like an outrigger canoe. 00:02:12.403 --> 00:02:16.894 It only moves forward when everyone paddles and when everyone paddles together. 00:02:16.933 --> 00:02:18.176 It's a team effort. 00:02:18.837 --> 00:02:19.740 Every stroke matters. 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:23.114 That's the kind of church Paul longed to see in Corinth. 00:02:23.775 --> 00:02:26.840 But in 1 Corinthians 3, he confronts a very different reality. 00:02:27.561 --> 00:02:29.764 Instead of paddling together, the church was stuck. 00:02:30.366 --> 00:02:33.110 They were paralyzed by jealousy, quarreling, and division. 00:02:33.771 --> 00:02:35.354 They weren't moving forward in mission. 00:02:35.394 --> 00:02:36.575 They were spinning in circles. 00:02:37.578 --> 00:02:38.419 Paul doesn't hold back. 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:39.801 He tells them the truth. 00:02:40.262 --> 00:02:41.685 They're acting immature. 00:02:41.724 --> 00:02:46.413 They're living out of alignment with who they truly are in Christ. 00:02:47.746 --> 00:02:54.912 I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit, but as people who are still worldly, mere infants in Christ. 00:02:55.592 --> 00:02:56.493 1 Corinthians 3.1. 00:02:57.914 --> 00:02:59.635 This reveals a tension we all feel. 00:02:59.656 --> 00:03:03.360 It's possible to know Jesus and still live like we don't. 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.163 It's likely to be made new in Christ and still cling to old patterns. 00:03:08.963 --> 00:03:10.705 Paul isn't questioning their salvation. 00:03:11.165 --> 00:03:12.247 He's calling them to grow. 00:03:12.287 --> 00:03:14.709 He's calling them to live with integrity. 00:03:14.729 --> 00:03:16.751 Integrity is about alignment. 00:03:17.252 --> 00:03:23.078 It's when our It's when who we say we are shows up in how we live. 00:03:23.098 --> 00:03:27.943 The Corinthians claimed to follow Jesus, but their actions told a different story. 00:03:28.402 --> 00:03:31.646 They were filled with rivalry, pride, and preference. 00:03:32.407 --> 00:03:37.312 Choosing sides between Paul and Apollos wasn't just immature, it missed the whole point of the church. 00:03:38.193 --> 00:03:40.736 Paul reminds them that he and Apollos aren't rivals. 00:03:41.116 --> 00:03:43.299 They're teammates in the same boat paddling together. 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:44.621 They're co-laborers. 00:03:45.040 --> 00:03:47.663 They're simply doing what God has asked each of them to do. 00:03:47.663 --> 00:03:52.932 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 00:03:52.953 --> 00:03:54.635 1 Corinthians 3, 6. 00:03:55.758 --> 00:03:59.063 There's no room for comparisons or competition in the kingdom of God. 00:03:59.104 --> 00:04:00.866 Everyone has a role. 00:04:01.568 --> 00:04:02.530 Everyone has a calling. 00:04:03.170 --> 00:04:04.573 Everyone has a paddle in their hand. 00:04:05.294 --> 00:04:06.676 And the same is true for us today. 00:04:08.066 --> 00:04:10.528 The church is not just built on personality or preference. 00:04:11.150 --> 00:04:12.270 It's built on Jesus. 00:04:12.912 --> 00:04:20.122 It moves forward when each of us shows up ready to serve, prepared to build, and ready to paddle in rhythm with what God is doing. 00:04:21.283 --> 00:04:22.163 So here's the question. 00:04:23.346 --> 00:04:23.987 Are you paddling? 00:04:25.108 --> 00:04:26.470 Are you showing up as a servant? 00:04:27.370 --> 00:04:30.033 Are you doing your part, even when it feels small? 00:04:31.136 --> 00:04:35.221 Are you willing to work hard, not for recognition, but for the mission? 00:04:37.122 --> 00:04:38.122 Or have you become stuck? 00:04:39.103 --> 00:04:43.668 Are you jealous of someone else's role, frustrated with leadership, or distracted by comparison? 00:04:44.790 --> 00:04:46.151 If so, take a breath. 00:04:46.952 --> 00:04:48.675 Let the Spirit realign your heart. 00:04:49.636 --> 00:04:52.358 Paul's words are not meant to shame, they're intended to invite. 00:04:52.379 --> 00:05:01.048 Invite us back into unity, back into community, back into the joy of moving forward together in God's purpose. 00:05:03.490 --> 00:05:04.552 Here's a practice for today. 00:05:04.593 --> 00:05:09.045 Ask the Lord, how can I paddle better in the season ahead? 00:05:10.208 --> 00:05:15.442 Listen with an open heart today, then pick up your paddle and move forward in step with him. 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:45.096 Let's pray. 00:05:45.237 --> 00:05:55.350 Amen. 00:06:05.922 --> 00:06:11.490 Thank you for taking intentional time to align yourself with God's love and the call to love one another. 00:06:12.391 --> 00:06:21.485 You can find Love One Another sermon series and other resources at beachpoint.com messages or on the Beach Point Church app. 00:06:22.208 --> 00:06:28.798 May you carry the love of God into every encounter you have today.