October 10, 2004

The New Song of the 21st Century Priest
Naked Series, Part 5
Speaker: Jimmy Lee

I Corinthians 12:12-26
¹²The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.

¹⁴Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷Suppose the whole body were an eye--then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?

¹⁸But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

²²In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. ²³And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. ²⁶If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

There are two songs sung in today’s Church:

The Old Song of the Status-Quo Sideliner & The New Song of the 21st Century Priest

They go a little somthin’ like this…

The Old Song of the Status-Quo Sideliner:

• Devalues diversity (v. 13)
• Devalues one’s self (v.15-16)

The New Song of the 21st Century Priest:

• Is all about integration (v.18)
• Will identify unique roles (v.18)
• Never loses sight of the Big Picture (v.25-26)

Which song are you singing today?

Message Archives