But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this (1 Corinthians 7:28b).
Read 1 Corinthians 7:25–31
With a wry smile on their face, I know quite a few people who would agree with these words. Others might add, ‘It’s too late. I’ve found out the hard way!’
St Paul never married, so what’s he doing commenting about something he knows nothing about in a personal way? It might be stating the obvious here, but upon closer reading, through to the end of this chapter (verse 40), he seems to have observed enough relationships that some godly wisdom can be found.
No one sins by getting married under normal circumstances. However, there’s more to any marriage than just the ceremony. Ideally, there are years of ‘wedded bliss’ ahead that will reveal the depths of love two people can share through all the ups and downs of life. Together, dreams can become realised, such as the blessing of children, establishing a home that reflects individual and collective aspirations, growing old(er), and sharing intimacy and special occasions that only they can cherish.
Paul’s comment, ‘those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this’, provides a reality check everyone needs. Even Jesus commented on us experiencing trouble in this world: ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Both Jesus and St Paul speak God’s truth that nothing we will experience is unknown to him.
We all enter this world not knowing what’s ahead of us. Usually, we want a smooth journey with no hidden surprises, but that isn’t always the case. Our spouse and those closest to us can be viewed as God’s gift in times of hardship. They may not be perfect, but they can remind us just how much we need quality relationships when the troubles of life arise. However, we need Jesus especially. Stay close to him.
Who do you blame, and who do you turn to when the troubles of this life arise?
Heavenly Father, thank you again for your word that reminds us that troubles in this life are inevitable. Give us the humility to cast all our burdens and cares onto you and see in those closest to us your hand at work to guide us through. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Pastor Steve and his wife Angelyn are virtually empty nesters living in the beautiful southern Perth coastal suburbs near Warnbro Sound beach. He likes gardening, watching sports, working on home projects and spending time with his wife and children. He is constantly seeking ways to help connect people to Jesus in a meaningful way.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Read 1 Corinthians 5:9–6:11
I have known many people who match the description of who Paul is talking about in this ‘in-your-face’ section of his letter to the Corinthian church. This world provides plenty of examples of people I am so glad I’m not like. The sexually immoral, the greedy, idolaters, a drunkard or two, and even brothers who have taken each other before the courts. What a list! Who’d want to be associated with people like that?
Then I need to pause for a moment and admit that some aspects of these people’s lives reflect some aspects of my life in times gone by. Come to think of it, those times have gone by rather recently – sadly. I have been guilty of having idols – putting things ahead of God, wanting my own way above what God wants. Oh, yes, and then there’s the moment in my life when I have been greedy in wanting more than I need instead of sharing or leaving something for others. And who wants to talk about sexual sins these days anyway? Everyone has done something ‘less than pure’ in their life, so I’ll not be the first to mention it if you don’t.
I love that Paul encourages this young, problem-filled church with that small past tense word ‘were’.
Being washed clean through the waters of baptism, sanctified (being made holy), and justified (being put right with God) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, has meant that our past doesn’t need to define us into the future. Thank God for new beginnings through Jesus’ forgiveness and presence in your life.
How well prepared are you to meet Jesus, should this life’s deadline come tomorrow?
Gracious God, thank you for blessing me with a new start and better way of life as your word and Spirit have touched my life. Please help me every day in my struggle to leave behind ungodly ways so I can live for you as a witness of your grace. Amen.
Pastor Steve and his wife Angelyn are virtually empty nesters living in the beautiful southern Perth coastal suburbs near Warnbro Sound beach. He likes gardening, watching sports, working on home projects and spending time with his wife and children. He is constantly seeking ways to help connect people to Jesus in a meaningful way.
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6b).
Read 1 Corinthians 5:1–8
I always appreciate the concreteness of the illustrations Jesus gives us about the kingdom of heaven. On Sunday, we reflected Matthew 13:33 and how the kingdom of God is like yeast hidden in three measures of flour. Today, Paul uses leaven or yeast to describe how badly immorality affects the community of saints in the church. I think this is important for our Western and post-modern sensibilities to hear. We all know how scandal can lead to destructive gossip and unrest in the church, and it becomes important how the leaders in the church handle such matters. When these things happen, members can fall away as they become spiritually discouraged because of this public hypocrisy. We must soberly recognise this risk.
Here, Paul is saying that immoral behaviour has such dire consequences on the spiritual unity of the body that the whole cannot live. He says it is so bad that the dough has no hope of ever being good again, so he recommends it be cleansed. I find this interesting because when it comes to bread-baking, dead yeast, even if mixed in dough, cannot be salvaged. It is better to get rid of the dough and start again.
Paul proposes that the church be cleansed from within. He recommends that the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is the only fitting way to celebrate the final Passover feast. Jesus’ blood shed on the cross for us is the only thing that truly cleanses us and the world from sin. So when public sin enters the church – which it will – we in the church are wise to consider God’s grace that was given to us through Christ’s sacrifice and to sincerely trust in it. We can ask Jesus in prayer and through his sacrament to cleanse the body of our community so that it can be healthy again. As Christians, we are called to live our lives as holy and sanctified members of Christ’s body, always remembering that we, too, have been cleansed and taking care not to hinder the light of God’s grace as revealed in our behaviour that is always on display in the church and world.
Dear Heavenly Father, by your grace, you have redeemed us by the blood of Christ. Help us, by your Spirit, to live as your children in sincerity and truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kimberley Pfeiffer is married to Joshua, and they have four children. She is a member of the Lutheran Church of Australia and has served in various forms of church work. Kimberley is currently studying in graduate school at Concordia Lutheran Seminary, St Louis, USA. She is enjoying the challenge and the adventure abroad.
If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward (1 Corinthians 3:14).
Read 1 Corinthians 2:14 – 3:15
In today’s reading, the Apostle Paul was writing to the people at the church in Corinth. Paul had been away for some time, and his sapling church was struggling along. Things weren’t going very well, and upon hearing about the quarrels and conflict, Paul sent this message to encourage them and lead them into the mysteries of God.
Paul wanted to reveal to them a deeper understanding of the wisdom and power of God in the cross of Christ, but first, he needed to show them that their thinking was not being ruled by the Spirit of God. Paul pointed this out as he reflected on their concerns about which leader to follow – Paul or Apollos. This matter was causing them great unrest. As in every generation, we do well to reflect on how this relates to us in the challenges we face in our own church.
Paul showed them that they were thinking about their problems in the wrong way. They were relying on human wisdom. He said that the only way forward for the church is to seek the wisdom of God with the help of the Holy Spirit, who reveals and teaches spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:10–13).
Paul opened their minds to the wisdom of Christ by helping them to look beyond what they could see in the human sense. He showed them that the cross is the only way, and this would require patient endurance in their spiritual growth as a church. They could only do this by putting their trust in Christ as their spiritual foundation, their stable base. Paul goes on to say that this will be hard because it will go against everything they thought they knew – after all, the way of the cross is folly to the world.
As we read God’s word today, we, too, can be reminded of the importance of placing our trust in Christ as our only foundation. One blessing from this is that we are set free to appreciate our pastors for who they are and not pick them apart for what they are not. We can thank God that we have them and that God has given them to us for our growth in faith and love as we learn with the saints to walk in the way of Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to be your church’s firm foundation. Lord, you know how fragile our faith can be when we are fearful about the future. Teach us your ways, and raise up faithful servants to nourish your church with your life-giving word. We ask this with the help of the Holy Spirit and in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Kimberley Pfeiffer is married to Joshua, and they have four children. She is a member of the Lutheran Church of Australia and has served in various forms of church work. Kimberley is currently studying in graduate school at Concordia Lutheran Seminary, St Louis, USA. She is enjoying the challenge and the adventure abroad.
Read 1 Corinthians 2:1–13
Many times in the Scriptures, one of the inspired biblical authors gives us an analogy from our human experience to gain a deeper understanding of spiritual realities. This verse is one of those times and makes a simple but profoundly important point. The issue at hand is how a person can come to know something about God. Can we work God out, beginning with our own ideas?
The Apostle Paul tells us to think about it like this – who really knows you? Others can get to know you through your words and actions, but no-one can read your thoughts (incidentally, this is one thing that makes human relationships difficult!). As such, no-one really knows you in your innermost self, with all your deepest thoughts, desires, fears, and such. There’s a profound sense in which you’re the only one who truly knows yourself.
St Paul says if you can resonate with this, you have a window into how we can know about God. Just as it’s only our spirit that knows our thoughts, so it’s only the Spirit of God who knows the thoughts of God. Of course, this is infinitely more mysterious in God’s case, as the Spirit of God is a distinct person within the Trinity. Yet we can still get the point of the analogy. You know you. God knows God.
What this means, then, for us is very simple. If we want to learn about God, we don’t start with our own ideas. Instead, we look to the Spirit to reveal to us what we can know about God. The Spirit does this for us through his word and his ongoing work of enlightening our minds to understand his word.
This is good news for us because the secret wisdom of God is not to do with justice, vengeance or punishment but with grace and mercy. Marvellously, when the Spirit reveals to us the innermost thoughts of God, they are centred on our salvation in Christ Jesus.
Gracious Father, thank you for revealing yourself to us by your own Spirit through your word. Enlighten us more and more by your Spirit, so we may truly know you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joshua is married to Kimberley, and they have four children together. He is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia and previously served at St Paul’s Nundah in Queensland and Bethlehem Adelaide in South Australia. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary St Louis, USA, and enjoying the adventure.
Jesus said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me? … Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep’ (John 21:17).
Read John 21:15–25
Simon Peter had messed up big time. He had followed Jesus so far in his time of need, but then, when it came to the crunch, he fell to pieces. To deny knowing him once was bad. To do it again was worse. To do it a third time, well, that just seems unforgivable. Now, however, Jesus comes to restore him. If you’ve ever been in this position of making a big mistake and then have been given a second chance, you know something of what this must have been like for Simon Peter. Jesus, in his resurrection, comes not to condemn or settle the score with those who had let him down, but rather, he comes with his blood-bought peace to restore Peter to his service in a remarkable way.
Jesus repeats his question three times, a parallel to Simon Peter’s threefold denial. The question is striking, though, as it doesn’t exactly match. It’s not, ‘Simon, can you publicly admit now that you do know me and are one of my disciples?’ Instead, it’s ‘Simon … do you love me?’ As always, Jesus gets past the external manifestation to the deeper issue of the heart. The issue is, who or what has Simon Peter’s fear, love and trust above all things? Jesus graciously forgives and restores Peter to service, and in that restoration, Peter is invited to once again place Jesus at the centre of his service and life. He is invited to love the one who loves him.
If you struggle with past sins and wonder how Christ can still use you in his kingdom, look to Peter and how he was graciously restored to service. As we do this, we’re invited to respond to the same question our Lord posed to Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ At the centre of all service in the church and all of Christian life is the one who loves us and invites us to love him above all things. I once heard someone say that when a congregation is searching for a pastor or lay worker, they usually have many questions but can sometimes miss the obvious one: do you love Jesus?
Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for restoring Peter to your service, even after his failure. Help us to fear, love and trust you above all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joshua is married to Kimberley, and they have four children together. He is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia and previously served at St Paul’s Nundah in Queensland and Bethlehem Adelaide in South Australia. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary St Louis, USA, and enjoying the adventure.
Matthew 13:24–30,36–43
Some of you who are better gardeners than I am may have trouble tolerating weeds in your pristine gardens. The presence of that which is impure and out of place is hard to take. Among your lovely lush herbs, vegetables and flowers are ugly weeds that aren’t supposed to be there. The natural thing, of course, is to get rid of them. However, in Jesus’ parable, this is the point at which the agricultural analogy breaks down.
In Jesus’ parable, the field is the world, the good seed is the children of the kingdom, and the weeds are the children of the evil one. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t deny that the devil is active and has those on his side. The impulse, therefore, to get rid of evil isn’t the problem. The problem is that, as fallible human beings, we don’t have the insight to do this without inflicting tremendous damage. We’ll uproot the wheat along with the weeds.
In a time where the values of our surrounding culture are increasingly at odds with those of Christ’s church, it can become tempting for Christians to want to see the causes of evil removed from our world. Indeed, we do need to take sin and evil seriously and struggle against injustice. Especially in the church, we’re called to exercise discipline where appropriate to lead to repentance and protect the vulnerable. However, our Lord’s words today are a warning about humility and caution in this and that final judgement is always in Christ’s hands rather than ours.
Thank God for that! Not only is the Son of Man capable of rendering this justice in such a way that the wheat isn’t uprooted along with the weeds, but this judge is also your Saviour. He’s the source of goodness that makes good seed even possible, and because of him, you have the promise of shining like the sun in the kingdom of your Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to plant good seeds in this world. Help us trust in your perfect justice when we’re tempted to take final judgement into our own hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joshua is married to Kimberley, and they have four children together. He is a pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia and previously served at St Paul’s Nundah in Queensland and Bethlehem Adelaide in South Australia. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary St Louis, USA, and enjoying the adventure.
Once a week, I lead a church hall full of zero- to five-year-olds and their carers in a ministry program for little children so they can get to know Jesus better. I love asking them what they had for breakfast – I’ve heard of some pretty quirky toddler brekkie combinations over the years!
Jesus cooked breakfast for the disciples at least one time, recorded in John’s Gospel after his resurrection – and presumably on other occasions before the Easter events. He used what was available and commonplace for them at the time – fish baked on burning coals served with some bread. It sounds quite nice, although not the first thing I would choose to eat in the morning, but in order to have brekkie with Jesus, I’d say yes, please!
That’s an incredibly detailed account of the menu on that morning when the resurrected Jesus once again appeared to the disciples. And there is more detail, like the exact number of fish caught in the net – 153. It’s interesting to look at what is missing and left out of the story too. Why had the disciples returned to their fishing boats after the resurrected Jesus had appeared to them twice already, breathed the Holy Spirit on them and sent them out? Or why did they not recognise Jesus by his appearance, although he had already appeared to them twice since his death? They did, however, recognise Jesus by his actions, similar to the disciples recognising him in the action of breaking the bread in Emmaus (Luke 24:31).
I wonder if those little kids and their adult carers in our church hall can recognise Jesus by the actions of the ministry team when we sing, dance and play together? I bet they do. I bet people also recognise Jesus by your actions when you show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the fruit of the same Spirit Jesus breathed on his disciples. This same Spirit has been poured out on you. Let your actions of love towards other people be accompanied by a prayer today that the Holy Spirit reveals the living God to them as they recognise Jesus in you.
The theme for General Synod next year is ‘The gift of God – It’s grace that unites us’. What a beautiful encapsulation of the ending of Jesus’ high priestly prayer in our John reading today. Jesus is the culmination of God’s grace through the redemption of all people by his blood. A better gift doesn’t exist. The climax of Jesus’ extensive prayer captured in John 17 is for the unity of all believers – that we may be one as Jesus and the Father are. If only we could achieve such a blessed unity in our earthly life already. But it seems this will only come to completion when Jesus returns.
Jesus, who is fervently praying for unity, is also the very one in whom we find true unity. Paul reminds us (Ephesians 4:3–6): ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’
The key is Jesus. The reason for unity is one hope: grace – the redemption through Jesus’ blood. The reason for unity is one baptism – new birth through water and the word. God the Father is over all, through all and in all. Jesus is the centre. The foundation. The focus. The reason. Unity in faith means all believers can follow, serve and proclaim Christ and this blessed hope – together. Unity in Christ means finding common ground in Jesus, which sustains us when we have theological, cultural and practical differences. The colour of our skin, the language we speak, our convictions on what music or liturgy we should have in worship, if women or men should be ordained, or whether we can pray in tongues – our starting point in any of our big and small issues is recalling our Christ-centred unity as baptised believers. This is an ongoing work in progress to which we are called in different ways throughout in our lives. Let us take the words of Jesus’ prayer and make them our own – especially as our LCANZ journeys toward the General Convention of Synod in 2024.