July 20, 2017
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. 9 For we are fellow workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:6-9 NIV)
There was a problem at the church at Corinth. People followed different personalities who helped build the church there. There was a group belonging to Apollos. There was a group belonging to Paul. Both Paul and Apollos came to Corinth at different times and helped build the church. Paul is clear in this letter. Apollos did his part. Paul did his part. But it is God who makes the church grow. The other thing that Paul mentions as he makes his argument is that the church is the people of God. They are God’s field. They are God’s building. From this passage, we learn 2 things about the church. It is God who grows the church. The church is not the building but the people.
Next week, by God’s grace we start repaving our parking lot. Planning for this has been for 3-4 years, before God called me to become the pastor at St. Andrew’s. The parking lot needs to be repaved and updated. We are hoping to add 5 spots to increase our parking capacity from 45 to 50 spots. We have raised about $40,000 so far through the Going Further fund. The approximate total cost will be about $60,000. We go forth in faith that God will supply all our funds. We will use our operational budget funds to make the difference.
However, a repaved parking lot does not guarantee a thriving and growing church. It takes more than an upgraded facility to bring people into the kingdom of God. Please pray that God will show us how to be a church who serves the community and shares his message of hope. It is God who gives growth. We repave the parking lot. We pray for people in our lives that God will save them. We strive to be obedient to God’s word. It is God who makes things grow.
Sincerely,
Pastor Pye