What Helps Everyone

Reading: 1 Corinthians 14; Psalm 146

12 It’s no different with you. Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church? 24 But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God’s truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth. 26 So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. (1 Corinthians 14:12, 24, 26 MSG)

This is not about whether or not to speak in tongues. This is about thinking and acting beyond yourself.
• In verse 12 Paul challenges them to think about their actions in terms of what helps everyone in the church.
• In verse 24 Paul explains that a gathering of the church can be meaningful to both believers and pre-Christians.
• In verse 26, Paul instructs them to prepare for their gatherings with something that will be useful to all.

This chapter is not about what is appropriate for private prayer and worship, but what is helpful, meaningful, and useful to everyone when the church gathers in a public meeting.

I’m hopeful that we all do our best to think this way. May we examine how we plan and structure our public meetings so that there is something helpful, something meaningful, and something useful for each person, no matter where they are in their journey of faith.

Prayer:

Father, please help us to be a church that doesn’t get lazy and drift into a believer’s ghetto of our personal comfort zone. Help us to keep these three things before us – that which is helpful, that which is meaningful, and that which is useful to everyone.