Calvary Distinctives - Centrality of Jesus

richcathers.com

Calvary Distinctives – Centrality of Jesus

Servant School

May 13, 2021

Introduction

This lesson on the Calvary Chapel Distinctives comes from chapter 7, The Centrality of Jesus Christ

There are a lot of things that can happen in a church service that will draw people’s attention away from Jesus Christ. Are you paying attention to me??

Chuck gave several examples of things, and it’s important to understand his approach to these things.

Calvary Chapel is not opposed to people standing and raising their hands during worship.

The issue is whether or not the church is doing it together, or whether a single individual is doing it up front and drawing attention away from Jesus.

This is really a call to balance.

We want to grow in our worship of God, but we also need to make sure we do it in an appropriate way.

1Corinthians

In 1Corinthians 12-14, the apostle Paul is dealing with how the church should operate.

In chapter 12, Paul talks about how the church is like a human body, and the people in the church are like parts of the body. We need each part and each part has value.

In chapter 13, we often think this is a new subject, Paul’s “Love” chapter. But it’s still really about the church. It’s what Paul called “the more excellent way” (1Cor. 12:31).

Love is the most important thing when it comes to how the church should operate. Listen again to this familiar passage, but keep in mind Paul is talking about getting along with others in church.

(1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NLT) —4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

This is how we are to treat each other.

When Paul gets to 1Corinthians 14, Paul’s focus is keeping the church meeting orderly, that things are organized and everything being done to build up the people in the church.

(1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT)

(1 Corinthians 14:12 NLT)

Some churches think that they are spiritual because the whole church speaks in tongues at the same time. But Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:23 NKJV) Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

Chuck hinted several times about how some of our behaviors might seem spiritual, but when we are in a larger meeting and there are potentially unbelievers present, we shouldn’t be going out of our way to make them think we’re crazy.

It’s one thing to exercise the gifts in smaller settings where everyone is a believer, but when we are in the larger service, we need to be mindful of the unbelievers that may be present. We don’t want to hinder them from hearing about Jesus.

Paul places limits on how the gifts should be operated.

Paul recommends that when the church is together, tongues should only be allowed if there is someone with the corresponding gift of interpretation of tongues, otherwise the person with tongues should pray quietly. (1Cor. 14:28)

Even with the gift of prophecy, Paul recommends that only one person speak at a time, and to limit the number of people who speak. (1Cor. 14:29-32)

In other words, the Holy Spirit doesn’t tend to interrupt himself. If the pastor is teaching his message, don’t interrupt.

Then Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV) For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Paul goes on to say something interesting about women,

(1 Corinthians 14:34–35 NKJV) —34 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

It almost sounds as if Paul is telling the women to shut up and be quiet.

What we don’t realize in our American church minds is how the early church operated. They operated under the same format as the synagogue, with men sitting on one side of the room, and women sitting on the other, if women were even allowed inside.

In these ancient times, women were mostly illiterate and uneducated, especially in areas of religion.

So when a woman became a Christian, it was a new world when she found herself welcomed into the church. Yet she would find herself in a world she didn’t know much about. And she’s probably not sitting with her husband. And when the pastor says something she didn’t understand, she might yell across the room at her husband, “What does that mean?”

When Paul is talking about women being silent, he’s talking about them not interrupting the service. They can ask their questions at home.

The shame of a woman speaking in church is the same shame as a man speaking and interrupting the church. It’s out of order.

Paul ends the chapter with a simple overarching principle:

(1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV) Let all things be done decently and in order.

It’s with these principles of order in the church meeting that Chuck addresses the subject of the person standing up in the front row and waving their hands during worship.

I think it’s a good thing to raise your hands in worship. I think it’s a good thing to stand before the Lord in worship.

The problem comes when you are the only one doing it, and you are sitting up in the front row.

What’s inevitably going to happen is that a lot of eyes are going to be drawn away from worship and they will be drawn to that person up front.

Even if that person is doing it from a pure heart.

If you are a person who likes to stand in worship while others may be seated (when I’m not playing keyboard, I do), then sit in the back of the church so you aren’t a distraction when you stand up.

Sometimes when a worship leader is aware of the lone person standing, they can help the person out by asking the whole church to stand.

If the whole church is standing, then there’s no problem … unless the person is simply out to make themselves noticed.

We’ve had all sorts of distractions over the years.

I’ve seen people come to church with tambourines, or with ribbons on sticks.

We had a gal do a sort of Hawaiian hula/sign language dance thing during the worship time – but as beautiful as it was, it was a little distracting from the actual worship time.

richcathers.com

Introduction

This lesson on the Calvary Chapel Distinctives comes from chapter 7, The Centrality of Jesus Christ

There are a lot of things that can happen in a church service that will draw people’s attention away from Jesus Christ. Are you paying attention to me??

Chuck gave several examples of things, and it’s important to understand his approach to these things.

Calvary Chapel is not opposed to people standing and raising their hands during worship.

The issue is whether or not the church is doing it together, or whether a single individual is doing it up front and drawing attention away from Jesus.

This is really a call to balance.

We want to grow in our worship of God, but we also need to make sure we do it in an appropriate way.

1Corinthians

In 1Corinthians 12-14, the apostle Paul is dealing with how the church should operate.

In chapter 12, Paul talks about how the church is like a human body, and the people in the church are like parts of the body. We need each part and each part has value.

In chapter 13, we often think this is a new subject, Paul’s “Love” chapter. But it’s still really about the church. It’s what Paul called “the more excellent way” (1Cor. 12:31).

Love is the most important thing when it comes to how the church should operate. Listen again to this familiar passage, but keep in mind Paul is talking about getting along with others in church.

When Paul gets to 1Corinthians 14, Paul’s focus is keeping the church meeting orderly, that things are organized and everything being done to build up the people in the church.

(1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT)

(1 Corinthians 14:12 NLT)

Some churches think that they are spiritual because the whole church speaks in tongues at the same time. But Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:23 NKJV) Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

Paul places limits on how the gifts should be operated.

Paul recommends that when the church is together, tongues should only be allowed if there is someone with the corresponding gift of interpretation of tongues, otherwise the person with tongues should pray quietly. (1Cor. 14:28)

Even with the gift of prophecy, Paul recommends that only one person speak at a time, and to limit the number of people who speak. (1Cor. 14:29-32)

Then Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV) For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Paul goes on to say something interesting about women,

Paul ends the chapter with a simple overarching principle:

(1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV) Let all things be done decently and in order.

It’s with these principles of order in the church meeting that Chuck addresses the subject of the person standing up in the front row and waving their hands during worship.

I think it’s a good thing to raise your hands in worship. I think it’s a good thing to stand before the Lord in worship.

The problem comes when you are the only one doing it, and you are sitting up in the front row.

Sometimes when a worship leader is aware of the lone person standing, they can help the person out by asking the whole church to stand.

We’ve had all sorts of distractions over the years.

I’ve seen people come to church with tambourines, or with ribbons on sticks.

We had a gal do a sort of Hawaiian hula/sign language dance thing during the worship time – but as beautiful as it was, it was a little distracting from the actual worship time.

In the early days of our church, we had one gal who wanted to bring her “saw” and play it like a violin with the band. We politely declined.

The bigger point is about doing things decently and in order.

We want our focus to be on Jesus. He needs to be front and center.

I hope that helps

richcathers.com

Introduction

This lesson on the Calvary Chapel Distinctives comes from chapter 7, The Centrality of Jesus Christ

There are a lot of things that can happen in a church service that will draw people’s attention away from Jesus Christ. Are you paying attention to me??

Chuck gave several examples of things, and it’s important to understand his approach to these things.

Calvary Chapel is not opposed to people standing and raising their hands during worship.

The issue is whether or not the church is doing it together, or whether a single individual is doing it up front and drawing attention away from Jesus.

This is really a call to balance.

We want to grow in our worship of God, but we also need to make sure we do it in an appropriate way.

1Corinthians

In 1Corinthians 12-14, the apostle Paul is dealing with how the church should operate.

In chapter 12, Paul talks about how the church is like a human body, and the people in the church are like parts of the body. We need each part and each part has value.

In chapter 13, we often think this is a new subject, Paul’s “Love” chapter. But it’s still really about the church. It’s what Paul called “the more excellent way” (1Cor. 12:31).

Love is the most important thing when it comes to how the church should operate. Listen again to this familiar passage, but keep in mind Paul is talking about getting along with others in church.

When Paul gets to 1Corinthians 14, Paul’s focus is keeping the church meeting orderly, that things are organized and everything being done to build up the people in the church.

While the gift of tongues is a valuable gift, it’s value isn’t very high when the church meets together …

(1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT) A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

Paul commends the church for wanting to use spiritual gifts,

(1 Corinthians 14:12 NLT) …Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.

Some churches think that they are spiritual because the whole church speaks in tongues at the same time. But Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:23 NKJV) Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

Paul places limits on how the gifts should be operated.

Paul recommends that when the church is together, tongues should only be allowed if there is someone with the corresponding gift of interpretation of tongues, otherwise the person with tongues should pray quietly. (1Cor. 14:28)

Even with the gift of prophecy, Paul recommends that only one person speak at a time, and to limit the number of people who speak. (1Cor. 14:29-32)

Then Paul writes,

(1 Corinthians 14:33 NKJV) For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Paul goes on to say something interesting about women,

Paul ends the chapter with a simple overarching principle:

(1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV) Let all things be done decently and in order.

It’s with these principles of order in the church meeting that Chuck addresses the subject of the person standing up in the front row and waving their hands during worship.

I think it’s a good thing to raise your hands in worship. I think it’s a good thing to stand before the Lord in worship.

The problem comes when you are the only one doing it, and you are sitting up in the front row.

Sometimes when a worship leader is aware of the lone person standing, they can help the person out by asking the whole church to stand.

We’ve had all sorts of distractions over the years.

I’ve seen people come to church with tambourines, or with ribbons on sticks.

We had a gal do a sort of Hawaiian hula/sign language dance thing during the worship time – but as beautiful as it was, it was a little distracting from the actual worship time.

In the early days of our church, we had one gal who wanted to bring her “saw” and play it like a violin with the band. We politely declined.

The bigger point is about doing things decently and in order.

We want our focus to be on Jesus. He needs to be front and center.

I hope that helps

(1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT)

(1 Corinthians 14:12 NLT)