By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
May 31, 2026
Click here to join our Meeting for Worship
2 Corinthians 13:11–14 (ESV)
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The past few weeks I feel like I have been being fairly preachy. We have been using the lectionary since I have been a pastor here at Willow Creek. If you feel like I am being preachy, just know that the verses that I have chosen to speak with are verses that are on a three-year repeating cycle. I have not purposefully gone to the trouble of seeking these out, it is the scripture on the list. And that list of scriptures are based on a calendar that was established a thousand years ago, which was based on a calendar that has been used for over three thousand years.
This calendar uses the seasons of nature, to remind us of the goodness of God. It uses the cycles of light and darkness to tell us about judgment and hope. It uses the growing season to teach us about life, and what is most important about life.
We are now in the season of Pentecost or the first fruits. This season of the liturgical calendar falls at the harvest of the first crop. This first crop sets the stage for the entire year. When the first crop is good, the second crop will likely be good. If the second crop is good then we will survive through the winter.
But this season is interesting religiously. It is place near the beginning of what would be wheat harvest in that part of the world. Harvest is a stressful time of year. You have a short window of time to bring all the crops into the storehouses. If you do not get it done within that window of time the grain falls out of the head and to the ground. Or even worse the grain begins to sprout while still it remains unharvested leaving the grain unfit for human consumption. Yet right as the grain matures and harvest begins, God demands that all the righteous bring their offerings to the temple. He does not say put aside the offering to bring later. The practice is to harvest the tithe, load it up into baskets, pack up the entire family, and travel across the nation to the temple to present your tithe and sacrifices to the priests.
We live in the city here, we may not fully grasp how stressful this requirement is for someone whose entire existence hinges on moving the grain from the field to the storehouses. We get paid once or twice a month. Likewise, we know exactly how much we will get paid. We know that on payday we will get a check, go to the bank, and we will have money available to us to use for the expenses we face. It is probably not enough money, but we know we have it. A farmer does not get paid once or twice a month, they have one payday and that is harvest. They work the entire year, not knowing what the future will bring. For months, they watch the plant grow, they worry about the rain, the temperature. They worry about the birds, and storms. Each day the watch the plants grow, and then they begin to harvest. And at the time when just about a tenth of the harvest is brought in, they are encouraged to make a decision. They before God and their community must make some declaration. They announce that they have faith that God will provide, or they physically show their community their concern.
Once a year they get paid, and before that payday comes, they must declare their faith.
That is just one aspect of Pentecost. It is a public declaration of faith. It is declaring to the community that you will trust God. You will trust that God will provide for you, your family, and your community. You make that declaration not after the crops are in, but right as harvest begins. You enter into the most crucial time of your year, you begin, you stop, and you praise. Then you go home to finish.
Then second aspect of Pentecost is the giving of the law, or as the church recognizes the giving of the Holy Spirit. The law is the wisdom of God. We often look at it from a western mindset of law, but to the Hebrew mind it is not as ridged as we make it out to be. For them, it was a conversation starter. It was teaching that we were use and apply to everyday life. The Rabbi would ask the students what God meant by do not covet your neighbor’s ox and the disciples would begin to discuss it. Then the Rabbi would probe a bit deeper, “Does this only apply to an ox? Could it apply to a chicken?” They would then circle around that aspect, how the teaching provided through Moses would or would not apply. This law, or teaching, became the framework upon which they built their society.
There were times when the teaching of God were the primary focus of their thoughts, and there were eras where they fell away from that teaching and chased after the things of the world instead. This falling away lead Judea into exile. They lived in captivity for an entire generation, and during that time they had a reformation. The temple was gone, how do we remain God’s people when we no longer have his temple? This is where the teaching of the prophets became more important. They saw the teachings about God writing the law on their hearts, so they began to read and study. They became a people that embodied the wisdom instead of a people that just went through the actions.
While in exile they became scholars, it was in exile that the Rabbinical methods of faith emerged. And when they returned to Jerusalem this rabbinic tradition did not end. It actually expanded. But one tradition that was added to the Pentecost celebration was that the evening prior to the feast of first fruits, they would read the entire Torah. They would do this to remind themselves that they were a sanctified people, set apart from the rest of the world. They needed to remind themselves that they were the people of God.
But there was a problem. They looked forward to the advent of Messiah, but in their understanding of scripture, the Messiah would not come until all of Israel returned. The missing tribes were dispersed among the nations, how would they find those lost tribes? The Pharisees as much as we tend to dislike them, were active missionaries. They went to the dispersed areas teaching, because in their mind they were bringing the dispersed tribes back in. Along with those dispersed children of Israel, they also had Gentiles that were convinced in faith. This activity did not stop with the followers of Jesus, instead they too joined in the activities. They joined and expanded it. They were convinced that not only were the dispersed children of Israel to return to God, but all people. Scripture taught that they, the children of God were to become the light to the nations, that they were to bring all people back to God. They were to participate in the restoration of Eden.
This idea of Pentecost, is necessary for us to understand the fullness of today’s scripture. Paul, this former Pharisees that was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah they were looking for, made it his mission to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel. God had inspired in him a desire to take the Gospel all the way to Spain, which they believed was the edge of Earth. They did know of places like America, or Australia. In their mind the earth consisted of Africa, Asia, and Europe. And Paul had this unquenchable desire to take the message of Christ to the edge of the world.
He says to the people of Corinth, “Finally, brothers, rejoice.”
In this first verse of today’s passage there are six commanding verbs. There are six imperatives. Six things we need to focus on to be able to experience the life that God has for us. That first thing is Joy. Rejoice Paul says. This is an emotional response to stimuli. I want us to consider that. Paul is encouraging, not merely encouraging, but commanding us to rejoice. He is commanding us to override every emotion coursing through our body to reformat it to joy.
This is ridiculous. This church was a church of division. It required not one but two letters to be written to it, because it was messed up. Some scholars even believe that there might have been a third letter. The narrative within the two letters at times has a disruption to in flow, and their theory is that maybe there was a third letter that somehow we only have a portion of. Either way multiple letters were written to this church. It is divided. It is filled with people that have different understandings of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Every time they get together, it seems as if the division only increases instead of decreases.
Yet as Paul closes the final letter to them, he commands them to rejoice. Rejoice in the trials, rejoice in the divisions, rejoice in the suffering.
It is ridiculous. How can I be filled with joy when I know that there is someone saying something I believe is wrong? How can I be filled with joy when there is someone out there questioning my devotion? How can I be filled with joy when there are people within this community that seem to actively be working against the very things I believe God is calling us to?
Yet Paul commands us to rejoice anyway.
This does not change the reality around us, but it changes our attention. We are commanded to rejoice, so that means we must actively find something to be joyful about. If I am going to rejoice amid the chaos of division I need to find that singular bright spot of hope and direct my attention there. We need to actively redirect our attention away from the negativity or the stresses that are pressing in on us and find something that we rally around.
This is not easy. It is difficult to see find joy when the world seems to be falling down around us. It is just as difficult to do that, as it was for a farmer on Pentecost to load baskets up with grain, at the beginning of harvest before they had full knowledge of what harvest might yield. It was hard for them to begin the harvest and then drop everything to go to a party, a feast, and a worship service. It is hard to trust that God will take that seemingly minuscule ember of joy and allow it to burn brightly.
Paul does not leave us there with that seemingly impossible task. He says, “Rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”
In this verse Paul is telling us how to find joy so that we can live into the mandate to rejoice.
If you were to go to any therapist today what is the most common advice you might be given? Take care of yourself. If you want joy they tell you to find that joy in yourself. Even Christian counselors might give this advice. I am not saying it is completely bad advice, but it is incomplete. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, what the most important teaching of the entire Torah was, he said it was, “Love God with all that you have available to you, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” The world teaches us that to find joy, we must find in ourselves. Jesus’ teaching would say yes sure, but there are a few more steps. We need to take that self-love, that self joy, and extend it to others.
Both Paul and Jesus are telling us, that it is not about you. It is not about what you think is right, it is not about whom you think is right. It is not about your argument winning or losing. In fact, it has very little to do with you. If you want to find joy, if you want to truly find the things you desire, you must get outside yourself. And that begins with restoration.
The idea of restoration is fascinating when we begin to look at it deeper. On the surface we might look at this to simply be a healing of sorts. If there is division then restoration would be talking through those things that are causing division and finding a way to bridge the gap. But as I began looking into this a bit deeper, I found that this word was often used in a mathematical sense to indicate balance.
I want us to think about this for a moment. Paul is telling us to balance the equation. Equality.
Restoration is about balance and allowing each member of the society to have the opportunity to contribute to the community according to their ability. To aim for restoration means that we need to become aware of various barriers that have been placed in the way of participation. Examine why they are there, and then remove those barriers when we recognize them as hindrances instead of protective guides. Should there be barriers? Yes absolutely. There are times when it is necessary to have some barriers because without specific training one can cause harm. We need regulations to ensure that those practicing medicine know the arts and sciences of medicine. We need to make sure that those that prepare our taxes understand the tax laws so that we do not go to jail because of their mistakes. There are times when barriers are necessary. But are these barriers being applied ethically, are they being enacted morally and justly. Are the regulations and barriers of entry being applied equally? This is what aim for restoration is point toward. Are we working together to make our society reflect the mind of Christ where there are no slaves or free, no Jews or Greeks, no males or females, but we are equal image bearers of God?
Comfort one another is the third command or teaching. There are basically two senses to this phrase. The first is to encourage. It was the type of encouragement given to soldiers before they entered battle, like in the movie Braveheart. The second sense of the word is to provide encouragement to those suffering grief or loss. Generally we tend to focus on the second aspect of the word, but we need to remember that the primary command is to rejoice, so really both apply. If we are facing injustice we need encouragement to continue to stand through the persecution. When we have loss we need comfort from those within our community to tell us and show us that hope remains.
The fourth command or teaching is to agree with one another. This seems about as ridiculous as rejoice. I command you to agree with me! The point here is to come to an agreement, seek unity or to find a fitting compromise. The command is to agree with one another, not agree with me. No one person is greater than the other. Some might carry a bit more weight or clout within a community, but we are all image bearers of God. We are all equal in God’s sight. This means that even though I might be seen as a leader among you what I say is not the law. We must come to an agreement with each other. We should be mindful that as we make decisions we are taking the entire community’s best interest into account, not merely what is best for myself. The more proper understanding is to be of one mind, or in unity with each other.
The fifth command is to live in peace. This is a difficult concept, all of these are difficult. They are difficult because to fulfill these commands or teachings, we must participate with the community. We cannot do any of these things on our own. The idea of peace though is to live without conflict. How is it possible to live without conflict? This really goes back to the core teachings of God at Pentecost. God spoke from within the cloud as the people of Israel gathered at Mount Sinai and gave them the ten words, sayings, or commandments.
When you look at those ten teachings four focus on our relationship with God and six deal with our relationships with each other. And at the center of the ten is honor your father and mother, which is the only command that carries a blessing. To live at peace we need to recognize that, I do not have the right. I do not have the right or authority to extinguish the life of someone. I do not have the right to fulfill my carnal desires with someone’s spouse. I cannot take your property without your permission. We could go on, but the point is made. I do not have the right, but we think we do. I want money, so I am going to try my best to convince you that my inferior product is of greater value so that I can have more. That product breaks, you are mad, and you come after me to demand a refund. I am unwilling to listen.
When we think of peace we often only associate it with warfare, but it is so much more than that. Peace begins with each of us. It begins with us realizing that I do not have more or less rights than the person next to me. And we should recognize that if I want my personal rights preserved I need to make sure that my neighbor is also being treated with the same human dignity. And when conflict does arise we need to make every effort to resolve that conflict while respecting the dignity of all parties involved.
The person yelling at the customer service counter is not living in peace. The person being yelled at may not be right either. I know that this happens because when I was in college I would always ask my sister to return items to the store for me, because they would always tell me no. I could have the receipt be within a reasonable window of time, and they would still say no, yet they never questioned her. Living in peace is resolving conflict, it is respecting the dignity of other, it is applying the rights you have to everyone around you. To live at peace means we need to actively aim for restoration, comfort and encourage one another, find a path forward together, and to respect each other as fellow image bearers of God’s image even when we might have a difference of opinion.
Paul commands these things. He commands us to rejoice even thought we are not currently living in these things. He says this because they do not just happen. If you do not have joy today what are you doing to resolve that? Are we pursuing a lifestyle where we can find joy or are we living within a framework where we are instead focusing on everything wrong around us?
This brings us to our query this month. Do you abstain from the abuse of alcohol, drugs, and any other substance or behavior that might lead to addiction or dependence? Do you intelligently and lovingly use your influence to minister to those already damaged by such abuses?
We often look at these questions as legalism. We look at them from a context of organized religion seeking to suck the enjoyment out of life, but this is not the case at least for Friends. Our abstention from the use of alcohol began long before the work of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. We began to encourage those within our scope of influence to abstain from alcohol because it was an industry that often opposed the very things we promoted, particularly slavery. But there was something more than just slavery involved. There was a three part aspect to this industry. The first part was that Europeans would take manufactured goods, clothing, alcohol and weapons to Africa so that the various leaders could continue their wars. And they would trade humans for these good. They would then take these slaves to America where they would force them to produce the raw materials, and then they would take those raw materials back to Europe. This entire triad of trade, was dehumanizing.
It dehumanized the African’s, it dehumanized the factory workers that they forced to work in inhumane conditions, and it dehumanized the Americans. And who profited? The Africans were seen as less than human, the factory workers we kept drunk so they would remain compliant, and the colonies were not being enriched but the resources were being pillaged so that others could profit. This triad of trade is dehumanizing, and aspect of it continue to this day.
The point of the query is not to keep you from having fun, it is instead to encourage you to be mindful of your actions. Your dependence on things to allow you to cope or numb our awareness of the surrounding injustice instead of actively working to overcome and bring true peace within your life. The point of this query is to encourage us to recognize those areas within our life where we have not dealt with things in a healthy manner, to seek help, to be willing to offer assistance.
Paul commands us to rejoice. He commands us to aim for equality or equal opportunity. He commands us to seek resolutions together, and to honor the dignity of those around us. And then he gives us one final command. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
I have heard a lot of debate as to what this means. I actually find it humorous. I have heard people explain it away as just a culture greeting, likening it to a handshake in America. I laugh at this not because it is inaccurate. I laugh because there is a reason behind this cultural tradition. What is required of us to give and accept a kiss? We need intimacy between each other, a closeness where someone entering into our personal space is allowed. Then there is another thing, we have to be willing to breath the same air as they breathe for a while. We have to endure their bad breath, their perfume, their skin, and whiskers. We do not do this. We cannot do this unless there is true friendship and love for one another. For Paul to be able to greeting one another with a holy kiss is the sign that we are in a position to rejoice.
I have been preachy for the past few weeks, maybe months. I have been preachy because we are allowing division to occur. We are justifying things within our community that we have spent a great deal of time and energy to overcome. Friends have had equity as one of our core tenants for centuries, and that is now being questioned. Peace has been part of our testimony from the beginning and many want us to stop being so dramatic. Our decision-making methodology requires us to seek out the spirit and to come to a sense of the meeting, and so often we abuse that to grand stand on our own personal agendas or pet projects. We have forgotten who we are in so many ways, and it grieves my heart.
Yet there is hope. We have been in this place before. And we have found a way forward. We have found that way because of the grace of God. We have come together time and time again, seeking the will of God, and the Spirit been our guide. I may be grieved, but I still rejoice. I rejoice because I know that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is available to us. I rejoice because the same Spirit that preserved the saints of old through persecution is still active today. And that same Spirit is empowering us for the common good. I know even in my grieved heart that there is hope. I have faith that even in the darkest periods of disunity that we will once again be able to live in peace. And I pray that the peace will begin with us.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church June 07, 2026 Click here to join our meeting for worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Romans 4:13–25 (ESV) 13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 31, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 2 Corinthians 13:11–14 (ESV) 11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 24, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Corinthians 12:3–13 (ESV) 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one…
To Donate to Willow Creek Friends Church Click here:
To donate directly to Pastor Warner click here:
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
May 24, 2026
Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship
1 Corinthians 12:3–13 (ESV)
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
This weekend in the United States, we celebrate Memorial Day. It is a day where we as Americans remember those that died in service of their nation. As a Quaker, I struggle with this holiday. I struggle because I believe that there are many types of service, and many of those aspects of service go unrecognized. I also struggle with this holiday, not because I am not proud of the service that people have given. I think it is honorable to give one’s life for others. I struggle because people have had to give their lives for our nation. To me memorial day is a holiday of honor as well as a recognition that we have failed. We have failed to bring peace. We have failed to make peace. We have allowed our young men and women to go off into battle because we were unable to find a resolution to a disagreement without the use of violence.
That being said it is important to remember. Memorial day has an interesting history. It began as a day to remember the men who had died in the American Civil War. I think it is important to remember the origin of this day. Those service members gave their life as their nation stood divided. We as a nation had let things get to such a point politically that instead of working out our differences we took up arms. Historians like to debate the various events and ideas that lead to the conflict. Some of those ideas have some value while others seem to be rewriting history, but there is something that historians will not recognize. The cause of the civil war was that people were unable or unwilling to submit to one another.
Today is not only a day we celebrate those that have given their lives for our nation, it is a day within the liturgical calendar called Pentecost. Yes the church also recognized special days, we even have our own memorial day, actually a couple memorial days. The first is All Saints Day, where we remember and honor those people in church history that have been recognized as saints. The second is All Souls day, which is the day that the church remembers all the faithful members of the community. These days are celebrated November 1 and 2. Today though is another important day within the church because it is the day that we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit.
As Friends, we do not put a great deal of focus on specific days as being any more or less holy than another day. Our official stance is that every day is sacred and should be devoted to bringing honor to God, because this is the day that the Lord has made. But there are times where it is good to remember.
We need to remember that things did happen. We need to remember Memorial Day, reminding us that people have died in defense of our nation. We need to remember that we as a nation sent them into battle. We may have believed it to be justified, but we also need to remember that we took and spent their lives. We also need to remember the days that God has done something significant in our lives. I celebrate the birthdays of my children, not only because of cultural tradition, but because I need to remember that they are a blessing to me. A blessing given to me by God. I remember my anniversary, not only because my wife might be upset if I forget, but because it is the day I stood before my friends and my family and said that this is the person I take into my life to build a future with. And together we will serve our community, and enlarge our community through the gifts that we share.
We need to remember, because we so easily forget. We forget why we first embarked in a relationship with our spouse. We forgot why we had children. We forget why we became part of the community we joined. We forget.
The people in Corinth forgot as well. Paul wrote this letter to the people of Corinth in response to something that was reported to him by Chloe’s people. I often find it humorous how many churches are making attempts to limit the leadership of women within the church when Paul, the one often sited in their defense, often speaks of women within leadership. Some say that in this case Paul was speaking of the people that met in Chloe’s house, but Paul usually only mentions those that were in leadership, or who were purposely sent to speak. Chloe’s people brought a report to Paul regarding the divisions that had crept into the church and were causing quarreling among them.
At the very beginning of this letter he says, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” The people of Corinth were dividing, they were bringing things to mind that caused division among them. Some were placing the importance on who they followed; “I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ.” . Where others were bringing focus to other aspects of life.
We can see what was dividing this church by the points of discussion Paul makes. The first was the source of their teaching, or their school of thought. We might look at this as denominationalism, I am a Quaker, where someone else might be a Baptist. This is the framework surrounding the spiritual teaching I have received. This is not necessarily good or bad, but it is something we each need to be aware of for context. Even within the Orthodox and Catholic churches there are different schools of thought that are used to train their leaders. The previous Pope, Francis, was a Jesuit whereas the current Pope is Augustinian. Their branch of catholic teaching is derived from a different source and they each focus on different aspects of faith. Paul is telling us that the denomination is not the most important thing, instead we should focus on unity in Christ.
The next thing that is mentioned, is deals with liberty, particularly among human relationships. We quote these verse quite often when we are discussing various cultural trends within our contemporary society. But there is something that I want to mention about it. The sinful person mentioned was in a relationship with his father’s wife. We quickly allow our minds to make a judgment regarding this, but there is something we often forget, this man is using human intimacy as power. He is exerting power over his father’s house through his relationship with his father’s wife. This is the very sin that David’s son was involved in prior to his death. He was trying to take power away from the father. In this case the division was social. Who holds the power, how do I obtain the power, and what methods am I utilizing. Immorality is not the only thing mentioned in that section, but also the greedy, swindlers, and idolaters. From here Paul goes a bit deeper into what a proper Christian ethic might look in these human relationships. He speaks of lawsuits being brought, which speaks to the people using greed as their avenue to power. Then he speaks of marriage, immorality, and how we treat the unmarried and widows.
Then Paul begins to speak about the spiritual side of things. The gifts, how we use gifts, and how we worship. He does this because even within our spiritual practices we can cause division. People were abusing the Lord’s table, or communion. Which is important to note, the sacrament of communion was not always a bite of bread and a sip of wine. But early in the church it was a complete meals shared with all who came. This is one of the reasons as Friends we have moved away from the ceremonial aspect of the eucharistic, because we believe that all life comes from God, and since we must eat all food is given by God. Each meal we share should be eaten with others and should be a time where God can be glorified and remembered as our life giver.
But in Corinth some were being excluded from the meal, because the people that were in line before them were taking too much food for themselves. It had become less about sharing with the community and had become a place of selfish indulgence.
This brings us to today’s passage. There is division among the church of Corinth. Social division, relational division, ideological division, and spiritual division. In each of these divisive aspects of life the focus is placed on some human element and diverted away from the most important thing. Unity of the church in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We begin with, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”
The key point of this verse is, no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. In our culture we do not fully grasp the intensity of that statement. For us it is a simple thing, almost flippant. But what if we lived in Iran and said that? What if we lived in Israel and said that? It would be a bit harder to admit. As it was in first century Corinth. The Roman world at this time was a culture fully devoted to the empire and the head of that empire the emperor. In the frontier regions of the empire, like Asia Minor, or in areas with high foreign traffic like Corinth, one would show your devotion to the empire and Emperor by offering scarifies in the temple devoted to emperor worship. By going into this temple you were saying that Caesar is Lord, he is the one to whom all glory and honor is due. Caesar is the one to which I will devote my life. When Paul says that no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit, he is alluding to the rejection of empire worship. One cannot be completely devoted to one’s nation and completely devoted to Jesus. One or the other must take priority.
If we side with Jesus, the Spirit of God is with us. We cannot say Jesus is Lord without the Spirit of God being with us as the Spirit is the one that convicts and woos us to that point. The early Friends spoke of this as our day of visitation. It is a time our a situation that the Spirit uses to attract our attention and redirect our attention to Jesus. And once we have our eyes redirected toward Christ we can then move toward him, and that same Spirit will be our ever present teacher and guide.
Paul then says. “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
God has called us to himself, and we have recognized his voice and moved toward him. God is now going to empower us to participate in his kingdom work. Each one of us has a place. Each one of us has the ability to participate in whatever God has called us to because the Spirit of God will provide what is necessarily.
If we are to look at this day in history, if we are to look at that first Pentecost of the church, we will see what the power of the Spirit is for. Jesus had risen from the grave, and had spent forty days with the disciples. He spent those forty days expanding the scriptures to them, showing them why things had to happen the way it did. And then He ascended to the father. As they walked from the house they were staying to the mount of ascension, Jesus gave them what we know as the great commission, but first he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
They listened to their Lord, and they went to the room. In that room they sat together, “devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.” During that time they decided they needed to replace Judas, so they chose Matthias because he had been with them from the beginning. Which only shows us that there were more than twelve disciples, and early in the Church woman were able to participate along side the men.
The on the day of Pentecost they were all there together. Pentecost is not only a holy day for the church but it was a holy day for Israel as well. The feast of Weeks or the Feast of the First Fruits was one of the three mandatory holidays that Israel traveled to the temple for. This festival celebrated the beginning of harvest, and it was on this day when Israel would bring in their tithe for the first crop. They would do this before they knew what their actual income would be.
After the Exile the day of Pentecost took on an additional meaning. It became the day that they celebrated the giving of the law. It was on Pentecost that Israel became God’s people and according to their tradition there was a wedding of sorts under the cloud at the foot of Sinai, between God and Israel. This is important to consider. This is day the law came to Israel, the wisdom and teaching of God. This is the day that Israel formally became the people of God. It is the day that God announced to the world that Israel was his people and they will become a light unto the gentiles to draw all people back to God.
This was the beginning the first fruits of the Kingdom of God.
The disciples met in that room, waiting for the Spirit of God to come. Then like a rush of wind a sound filled that room and the entire house, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
All of Israel was in Jerusalem for the festival, and this event attracted some attention. People from every nation under heaven were there and in that moment they began hearing the Gospel in their native language. Luke lists off the various languages, and it includes people from the entire known world, every language found within the Mediterranean basin and Mesopotamia. The languages of the east and west, the north and the south.
On Pentecost, God gathered the first fruits of Israel back to himself, and again on Pentecost he began bringing in the entire harvest. Paul is part of that harvest, and it has continued throughout history to this moment. We too cry out “Jesus is Lord,” as we respond to the Spirit’s visitation. And we too are empowered to carry the message to those around us.
But there is something we need to direct our attention to. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” This phrasing can mean mercy, profit, possessions, happiness, land, just about anything that we desire. Everything we need is available through the Spirit of God, it is available for the common good. The life that we truly desire, the lifestyle and community we want in the deepest recesses of our hearts is available through the Spirit. And I know that makes me sound like a prosperity preacher, but the life you want is available right here all around you. But there is a catch. We must work together to obtain it. We must submit one to another as we submit to God.
Everything we do as a member of the Church should be focused on this one thing, the common good for our community. To one the Spirit gives wisdom, or knowledge that comes from experience. To another is given knowledge or learning. Each by the same spirit. To another is a gift of healing and one the working of miracles. All by the same Spirit. To another prophecy or the ability to perceive the will of God, and to another is giving discernment. And then there are those that are able to communicate and those that can listen and understand.
What are these things? And do we have them present today? The reality is yes, because all these things are the things that allow a community to develop and thrive. In the past century we have tried to make this into something more than it already was, but ultimately God is going to empower everyone within his kingdom with whatever is needed for this community to endure and grow.
But these too can become a source of division. A prophet or someone that may perceive the will of God, we sometimes consider them dreamers, or in some cases annoyances get ideas within them and they try to get people to get excited about it. At times these prophets or dreamers might think that they have the wisdom and knowledge but they do not. They will push the church to move, but the church may not yet be ready. This is where knowledge and wisdom come to play. The pastors and clerks among us. They are the ones that have experience and understanding. They begin to ask questions, and the ones with gifts of discernment are able to work through what the clerks and pastors question and what the prophet envisions. And then the people effective in communication spread what is discerned out to the wider community so that the church can become a blessing to all.
The gifts can be divisive if we are not humble. If we do not submit one to another. We need each other. We need the dreamers, and the accountants. We need the teachers and the caregivers. We need everyone. But each of us must use what is available to us for the common good. If we seek to use the gifts the Spirit of God has given us for our own profit, our own edification we have missed the point and we have become instruments of destruction and tools of the adversary.
Those are heavy words. I say them knowing full well that this can include me. I can be an instrument of division. I can become someone that can sow disunity just as easily as anyone else. Which is why we need each other. I need advise from the wise. I need prayers from the healers. I need interpretations from the communicators. I need everything that you need, if I want to participate in the common good within our community.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
The church’s focus is for the common good. Every person using everything that is available to them directed to loving God and their neighbor. At times this might make us feel anger, disgust, pride, and joy. At times we might understand, and at times we might find everything mysterious. But the point of the Church remains the same. It remains the same as it was on the very first Pentecost when the law was given to Israel and they became the first fruits of God’s harvest. And it is the same as it was on the first Pentecost of the church. Our mission and our purpose to become a people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit and living the love of Christ with others. We do this wherever we are doing whatever we are doing. Our Mission is to go into all the nations, to all the peoples and share the hope we have.
We do this not because we are better. Not because we have the best teaching or the most understanding. We do this not because we am rich or poor a slave or free. No we do this because every person bears the image of God, and we want them to be restored to who they were created to be. We want them to enjoy the common good that the Spirit of God created in them.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 10, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 3:13–22 (ESV) 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
To Donate to Willow Creek Friends Church Click here:
To donate directly to Pastor Warner click here:
By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
May 10, 2026
Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship
1 Peter 3:13–22 (ESV)
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
We have been looking at the words written by Peter for a few weeks now. This letter is considered the first catholic epistles. And I mention that for one reasons, mainly it gets us a bit excited. What it means is that it was not written to one church in particular like most of Paul’s letters, but it was written to the universal or catholic church or all the churches in general. That being said it was written for a reason. There was an area of the church, particularly Asia Minor, that was facing intense persecution.
It is not something that was new to the church in the first century. We see throughout the writings of John that there was persecution from the established religion within Israel. John would write things like, “for fear of the Jews.” This has given that Apostle some criticism because they see it as being anti-Semitic, but it is important to remember that the early Christians were fiercely persecuted by the established religion. They were stoned, thrown off the roof of the temple, and many faced ridicule or were disowned by their family. They faced this because the established religion thought them to be heretical. They saw Jesus as heretical. They saw the miracles, they listened to the teachings, they saw the crowds, but they did not understand.
We need to be mindful of this in our own lives. I am often examining my response to traditions I am not used to. I examine my response because at times I will judge groups without looking a bit deeper. I will also examine what they say and teach and make an attempt to understand. I do this with many faith traditions. I used to work with several people of Muslim faith, and we had great conversations at lunch, I asked them many questions and they asked some of me as well. After about a year, I asked one of them to read a book that I had read about their faith. I asked them to do this because I found that book to be beneficial but I wanted to make sure the author was accurately portraying the basics of their faith. I told them that it was written by a christian, and I went so far as to tell them which chapters because I only wanted to know if the history and basic beliefs were accurate. It surprised me that he took the time to read the book, he made comments, and asked if it would be alright if he read the rest because he was curious about why this man was writing about the Muslim faith to Christians. I let him keep the book and let him know that I would love to talk with him after, if he had questions or concerns that might be presenting things in a light that might not be true.
We need to examine and study. We need to explore and interact. We as humans were not created to live alone but we were commissioned by God to go into the world name the animals, gain understanding of the earth, and to use what we have to be fruitful and multiply. This is more than just having big families. It is studying science. It is exploring interpersonal relationships, and systems of government. We were created to live in community for the benefit of the community. We cannot do this well if we do not develop understanding and discernment.
The early Christians in Jerusalem faced persecution. The persecution they faced was expected, they had the resources to speak to it because both the established religion and the early Christians were using the similar teachings and scriptures. They were also living among people that had similar life experiences. When the Church was dispersed throughout the empire they faced something different. They were not living among their countrymen anymore. They were no long just one branch of teaching within the established religion already being practiced within Judea. They were foreigners. They were the minority.
They were forced out of their homeland and were living among people that had completely different lifestyle, and religious practices. There were Jewish communities within these lands, but even these communities rejected them. They would come to Ephesus or Corinth, thinking they could join the Hebrew communities. The people within those communities would see them as Jewish, but the Jews rejected them. This then caused the ones outside the Hebrew faith to look at them suspiciously. It did not help that many of these communities were built and dedicated to the worship of other deities, and once the Christians began to teach people began to neglect those temples.
They accused them of being antisocial for not attending the celebrations of the roman gods. They accused them of being atheists, because they did not worship with idols. They made laws attempting to keep them on the outside of the community and potentially to encourage them to leave. Laws that would force them to prove that they had made sacrifices to the Roman gods, before they were able to purchase the things they needed. They were wrongfully accused of causing earthquakes, or other disasters. And the leaders were hunted and at times killed.
Peter wrote this letter to the churches of Asia Minor because they were the ones that were feeling this pressure. Widespread persecution had not yet begun throughout the empire. It was focused mainly in this one area.
Peter tells them, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” This word blessed, is the same word that Jesus used in his teaching. And that is what Peter is reminding them of. In just a few words he is reminding them of the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the poor, the meek, the sorrowful, the peacemaker. Why? Why are we blessed when we suffer for righteousness’ sake?
A few years ago there was a ministry that was taking food out to those that did not have homes. This ministry had been doing this for years, but one day they had trouble. The city decided that the food was not prepared in a kitchen properly licensed and they followed the vans out into the community confiscated the food, and in front of the hungry people they poured chemicals in them to make it inedible. I was shocked when I first read that story. I was shocked because they were doing good things to help people. I was shocked because to me it was excessive. Now do not get me wrong, the city did have concerns that needed to be addressed. The kitchen should have been licensed and the ministry should have been doing all they could to ensure that the food was safe.
They were persecuted in a way, they suffered. What happened from that? People were motivated. They could not believe that such a horrendous thing happened, and they for a while provided additional funding. It stopped the ministry for a day, but the ministry continued, and it continued more safely.
If we are doing good, if we loving our neighbors with all that we have and all that are, who is there that can really cause us harm? Peter goes on to say, “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,”. It is important to look at this portion of scripture more deeply because it almost seems like Peter is repeating himself. “Have no fear, nor be troubled.”
The word fear is one that has multiple and often contradictory meanings. It can mean being afraid of something or someone because it could potentially cause harm. But it can also mean having respect or honoring something or someone. Scripture says in Proverbs, that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the lord. We can twist that to do our bidding if we would like, telling our children that God is always watching so you better be good. But that is not what that means, the writer of Proverbs is encouraging us to honor and respect God first, or before everything else. Honoring God, putting ourselves into a proper position or mental framework of knowing that who ever we are or how important we are, God is still greater is the beginning of wisdom. So Peter is saying have no fear of them. He is telling us to not give them any greater honor nor respect than they deserve.
Why is this important? How many of us have heard of Romans 13? “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” This is a passage that is often used during campaigns. I say used, but in reality it is misused. To be subject to the governing authorities does not mean to accept everything they do as being blessed by God. It means that if you oppose injustice being committed by governing bodies and you do resist, which scripture also tells us to do, then we are willing to submit ourselves to what the governing body sees fit for punishment. Basically it means you are not to use violence.
Peter says, “Have no fear of them.” Do not give them greater honor or respect than they deserve as they too are subject to the justice of God. Peter is saying be zealous for what is good, be bold even if the people around you speak out against you. Be zealous for what is good all the more, and do not be troubled by what others will do. Be zealous, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.
In our zeal, are we honoring Christ the Lord as holy?
This is where I have found myself stopping as I prayed and studied this week. I can be a very outspoken person on things I care about. This has gotten me into some trouble at times, but usually I am willing to accept the rebuke. But in my zeal for what I perceive to be good, am I honoring Christ the Lord as holy? I have had to stop and think deeper about this. I have often said that we can be right and still be wrong. We can be right but if we take improper actions to achieve the goal it does not matter because we have closed the door of opportunity.
“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. This was where I spent much of my young adult life. I wanted to have all the answers. I wanted to be able to win every debate. I wanted to prove to everyone what was true. This is part of my argumentative nature. And I gravitated toward people that I thought had good answers. I wanted to live in a black and white, right and wrong world. There are classes and books that you can take that focus on these very things. The word defense here is apologia, which is what forms the word apologetics. The sense of the word is to give a legal defense, or to be able to prove something.
It would be nice to be able to have all the answers, unfortunately from all my study of apologetics the questions that are often covered in the books are not the questions I have received. Occasionally I have been asked the typical can God make a rock so big that he cannot lift it. I have read the defenses of that question and have found them laughable, because there is not an answer. But usually the questions that we are really asked have nothing to do with our knowledge of scripture. The questions we are asked are usually not even expressed in words.
Twenty-seven years ago, I had one of those questions. I was mourning the loss of my little sister. I was questioning my faith. I was studying genetics and crop science and the things I was reading in the science books and the things I was hearing at church were not coming together. I was struggling and I could not formulate questions let alone ask them. In that state I had to admit to my mom that I had sinned. My girlfriend was pregnant and we were not married. What was I going to do?
There are countless answers to that question. Some we might agree with and others we might find appalling, but what is the person in that moment actually asking?
It is not black and white, right or wrong in that moment. The real question being asked is am I still loved? Am I still part of the community? Am I still accepted? Will you be here for me when everything seems to fall apart?
“Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
You can make a defense for whatever position you have but those are just words. Will you be there, zealous for what is good, no matter what happens? I was asking questions I did not even know I was asking, and my church was giving me answers. They did not gloss over the sinful aspects of my actions, but they also did not let that define who I am. I was a confused young man looking for a reason to go or to stay, they gave me hope. They did not have fancy words or arguments that could convince me one way or the other. They expressed their beliefs and I knew they were true because they were ready to help no matter what.
We are not going to know what someone will need. We are not going to know the questions that they might ask. That is why we should always be prepared. We should always be actively learning, asking questions, finding solutions. We should always be looking around to see a place or person that needs some attention and strive to shine light. We should speak out when we see injustice, but we should not only speak out we should be zealous for what is good, meaning our words and our actions should resemble one another. But we should know why we do what we do.
When I was in Ukraine, I was asked a lot of questions. But one of the funniest questions I was asked was, “Is that why we do this in church?” I grew up thinking that the Soviet Union was filled with a bunch of atheists, and that is not completely wrong, it is not completely right either. They were facing the very same struggles that we in America and everyone else in the world was facing. They like us, were looking at the technology, the various social practices and philosophies, science, and everything else and they were trying to make sense of it all. An author I respect once said this, “science excels at explaining ‘how’ the universe works (mechanisms), while faith and theology address the ‘why’ (meaning, purpose, and the existence of God).” This is what the students of Ukraine were wrestling with. It was what I was wrestling with. I would go through the things the we were supposed to share, and then we would just talk. I did not know anything. I was just a punk kid, but I would share stories of my life and they would ask why I did what I did and I would answer. Eventually it came down to the, “Is that why we do this in church?” They were Orthodox and I am a Quaker. I answered honestly. I have absolutely no idea why your church does that, but from what you are saying I would make that assumption. Ukraine is filled with Christian. It is filled with people that are asking the same questions we are. It is filled with people looking for answers and looking for a reason to believe.
I presented the 4 spiritual laws more times than I can remember, and not a single person was convinced by my arguments. But I saw light. I saw people turn back to God. I saw God change lives. It was not the arguments, it was the conversations. It was the honesty of me being there zealous for what is good, and being willing to talk to them not as a project but as a friend. And together a bunch of confused college students found hope.
Peter wrote this letter to a church that was facing struggles that not many had yet witnessed. He encouraged them to learn as much as they can about everything around them so that they could speak. And he encouraged them to be zealous for what is good. What is good, and how do we honor Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts? It is found within the rhythm of life Jesus taught us. Worship with the community. Withdraw often to isolated places to pray. And minister to the people around you with words and actions. We as a meeting of Friends have translated that into our mission or purpose statement. We encourage each other to become a people: “Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the love of Christ with others.” It is the same thing that Peter is encouraging. Know God’s ways by learning the depths of his teachings. Spend time in conversation with God, not only talking to him but listening to the Spirit as his teachings peculate within us. And then take what we have learned and apply it.
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
To Donate to Willow Creek Friends Church Click here:
To donate directly to Pastor Warner click here:
