Next Step Christian Church
In House 1-9-2020
  • Love Came Down
  • How Can I Keep From Singing
  • Love On The Line
  • Your Beloved

  • Dustin Matthew Mackintosh

    Logan Michael Mackintosh, can we talk in your room for a minute? What are you thinking?
    Oooooh, no. I’m in trouble.
    I, Lord Reverend Dustin Mackintosh, would like to speak with you for a minute. Somehow, in th eformality, you know something’s up.
    In the last couple years, and I’m still working on this, I have been seeking to do more 1-1s, pastoral meetings and visitations, praying together about what God is doing, how He is leading.
    The first few reactions were all the same? What’s wrong? I am in trouble? Did I do something?
    Now imagine, church, you receive a letter. Pages and pages and pages, it’s thick.
    … and you know… you are in trouble.

    1 Corinthians 1:1-9

    1 Corinthians 1:1 ESV
    Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
    Paul “called to be an apostle”. Divine vocation. (I believe we all have divine vocation). And, though it is rare for Greek letters to have “co-senders”, this is not so rare for Paul. His buddy? Sosthenes. While this is a somewhat common name, I like to believe this is the same Sosthenes.
    The first leader of the synagogue became a Christian… then the next leader got beat up by the mob for failing to persecute the Christians… and he became a Christian!
    Already, Paul is touching on some of the issues in the church, the church is questioning his “apostleship”, and Paul will speak to that.
    And Paul writes this letter to:
    1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV
    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
    “Called out”. Called to be saints. There is a play on words between “church”, ekklesia “called out ones” and “called to be saints together.
    And not just to them, but also “those in every place call upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
    Do you call on “our Lord, Jesus Christ?” Then this is also to you.
    But unlike Ephesians, this book is going to be very specifically to the church in Corinth to address some specific issues they are having.
    … and they are having a lot of issues. Issues with idolatry and sexual immorality and divisions and infighting and greed and pride… Paul knows all of that.
    They are called to be saints… even though they aren’t acting like it.
    And yet he starts with nothing but Grace:
    1 Corinthians 1:3 ESV
    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Grace and peace. More about that later.
    ​
    1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV
    I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
    Give thanks “always” for you? Who do you give thanks always for?
    And he recalls their beginnings, because he was there for it.
    1 Corinthians 1:5 ESV
    that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
    Enriched in him. In Jesus.
    They do have speech, they do have knowledge (though they value that wrongly). Paul is going to speak to them about the relative value of speech and knowledge, wisdom and love.
    1 Corinthians 1:6 ESV
    even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—
    What does that mean??? This is a people who have seen the gospel planted and flourishing. Their problem is not a lack of evidence. They have gifts of the Spirit for days, their problem is their worship is too crazy, too lively. Signs of the Spirit happening e’erywhere!
    1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV
    so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Again he alludes to what is coming, he will unpack the “gifts” later, and the “revealing of Jesus” as his soon coming return,
    Christ who...
    1 Corinthians 1:8 ESV
    who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    ​
    Guiltless (even with all the sin and gross that will soon be called out).
    1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV
    God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Paul holds up the ideal of fellowship to a church currently ruled by disharmony.
    Paul’s introduction is packed with references to all the issues facing the church. H
    ​

    Love and Grace

    Paul starts with love and grace for the Church.
    He is fully aware of all the issues… and they have a lot of issues. The Corinthian letters are a back and forth where we only have part of the letter. Someone wrote to Paul, maybe more than one report, about the growing concerns. Paul writes back, there’s more back and forth, probably a letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians that we don’t have. Paul knows this is a church with some drama, with some hurt, with plenty of sin.
    It’s… gross. Some of it’s just gross. It’s a bunch of sinners who maybe barely know the OT and they don’t have the NT and they are all over the place in theology and practice.
    Paul is not sugar-coating things, he is going to call sin sin and speak straight to the heart of the issues.
    But do you get the sense from this issue that Paul is holding his nose as he approaches their stank?
    … or his letter pouring out grace and love on them. Listen to these verses again.
    ​
    1 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV
    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
    Some want to read this as sarcastic. I don’t buy that.
    KK has taught me the incredible value of a hand written actually-sent-in-the-mail card. It is a beautiful thing. It is thoughtful and caring and loving.
    Buying the card. Writing the words buy hand. Actually sealing an envelope and sending it snail-mail. And it has a greater impact because of the extra effort and touch involved.
    Now imagine Paul sending a letter. There’s no stationary story, vellum or paper is expensive.
    Then there is no postal service. He is likely in Ephesus, across the bay there, you have to hire or convince or pay someone to go there physically and bring the letter. How much would I have to pay you to hand carry a letter to LA for me?
    There is thought, there is intention there.
    Throughout he talks about praying for them, encouraging them, wishing blessing upon them. Here in verse 4, “i give thanks to my God always for you...”
    Always? Really? Do we take that seriously or is that just a thing people say?
    I take that seriously, and it is an absolute labor of love that we are reading when we read this letter. Yes, it admonishes. Yes, it rebukes. And it does so to encourage and equip them to be disciples of Jesus… precisely because He loves God’s people that much.
    Paul loves Jesus’ church that much!
    ​

    Rod’s Letter

    I remember this email I received from Pastor Rod. In 2016. It… wasn’t an easy letter, in fact he wrote to challenge me, to admonish me as my mentor, to step up. He challenged me to grow in leadership in some ways I am still working on, still learning. It was, like 1 Cor., a letter of correction and gracefully worded rebuke.
    But I vividly remember the opening. He wrote it after midnight. He said he had been laying there trying to sleep for hours… but he couldn’t. His couldn’t rest because he had this burden on his heart for me. He couldn’t sleep until he got up and he said what he could, did what he could.
    And it was hard to read. But I could not doubt: that was love. He loved me. And because He loved me, he was going to step into the awkward, say the hard things as necessary, write a letter at midnight if necessary.
    Here is Paul, writing because he loves the church that much!

    His heart for His church

    Do we love the church like that?
    So we have endless things to learn from this letter. Many sermons to come. We sit and listen to Paul teach us how to be the church, how to be disciples. We will really wrestle with some of his words… I don’t like many of them.
    But first, I want to learn from Paul’s heart. Here, Paul loves what Jesus loves. Paul loves Jesus’ church. Through all the gross, through all the hurt, through all the mistakes, even through all the sin. It is worth the work. It is worth the hard. Not because everything will be easy or fixed tomorrow. There are more Corinthian letters because everything wasn’t solved after the first one.
    It is worth the hard… until the return of Christ… because this is Jesus’ bride we are talking about.
    This is the victorious Kingdom of God against whom the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against it.
    This is the church… and Jesus loves it. So Paul loves it. So we should love it. Love the people. Love the process of communing with the people. Do the hard work of returning and praying for and blessing, even correcting and admonishing, repenting and restoring, all of that we do again and again.
    Because we love God. And we want to love what He loves. And He loves the church. So we love the church.
    That is the church global. Capital C. Everywhere through space and time. All who call Jesus Lord and Savior. Who are called by His name.
    And we love the church specific. The church (or churches) in Corinth. Every house church or rented facility in the fairly large city.
    We love all the churches in Thornton. And we love the messy, flawed, called-by-God Next Step Christian Church.
    I love you all. I pray for you daily. I want blessings to pour down on you, on us. I want us to be a people who glorify God, who love God radically and faithfully, who love one another. I love that you are in to encourage and equip me, to admonish me and challenge me, to wrestle with one another through doctrine and practice, through worship and teaching, through all the things in all the ways.
    I love you, church. Jesus loves you. May God give us his heart, His heart for His church.
    Not because everything is perfect. Because, as Paul says to the Philippians: He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
    Or, as he says now to the Corinthians, not because they are faithful… but because
    1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV
    God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
    That is where our hope is. In God making us beautiful. Making us perfect. Making us into his glorious bride.
    ​

    Final Thoughts

    Listen to Paul’s love for the church again.
    1 Corinthians 16:19–24 ESV
    The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
    My love be with you all… and hear, even then, he declares the soon coming return of our Lord.
    In the end, this is the foundation of our love for the church. It is the Bride of Christ. Jesus sees us, not only as the partial broken, oft hurting and hurtful group of sinners it is… but also and always as the beautiful, resurrected, made perfect Bride: His beloved people, rescued and redeemed, cleansed and made whole.
    Our Lord, come!
    My love be with you all, in Christ Jesus.
    ​

      • 1 Corinthians 1:1NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:1NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:2NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:3NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:4NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:5NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:6NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:7NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:8NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:9NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:3–4NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 1:9NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 16:19–24NLT

  • Even So Come
  • We Will Dance
Next Step Christian Church
pastordusty@nextstepchurch.org
(720) 663-9085
https://www.nextstepchurch.org
17 members • 14 followers