St James Audley

Here’s a question: What will happen at the end of time?

Will this world come to an end with a nuclear holocaust? That was the fear of many in the 1980s. Or will global warming one day make this planet uninhabitable? That is the fear of the present decade? Or will we ride out both of those, only to succumb to a meteor strike like that purported to have wiped out the dinosaurs? Or will the human race suffer none of these fates worse than death, but continue to evolve, adapt and survive forever?

Security is something we all crave. Job security. Relationship security. Financial security.

Indeed, whole industries have grown up to look after our security. Our houses are kept secure with locks and alarms. Our computers are kept secure with antivirus software and firewalls. Our bank balances are kept secure with a dozen different kinds of insurance. We want to be secure. We want to feel secure. And, obviously, it matters that how secure we feel tallies with how secure we really are.

What should we do when we meet together as Christians? What should our meetings look like?

If you were here last time, you will remember that Paul was saying that we should aim for prophecy in our meetings, not tongues. Why? According to verses 1-5, in church, we should do what builds up others. According to verses 6-12, in church we should be intelligible. And according to verses 13-19, in church, we should engage brain.

Last week we started to look together at 1 Corinthians chapters 13 and 14. We saw that love is more important than any spiritual gift, and that the character of love is to sacrificially seek the good of others. What we had was the conclusion that love is really very important, and that to be truly loving is no small challenge.