1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Holy Spirit Power
When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he reminds them of something important.
He says, “When I came to you, I didn’t come with eloquence or human wisdom.”
In other words: “I didn’t show up trying to impress you.”
Paul had the education.
He had the training.
He could’ve given TED Talks long before TED Talks were a thing, but he chose not to rely on any of that.
Why?
Because Paul wanted the church to know: God’s mission doesn’t run on human talent, it runs on the Spirit’s power.
And that’s where this passage meets us.
Because we are a church with a remarkable history of service.
We are a Reconciling Ministry Network Church — a church that welcomes all people, affirms all people, and tries to embody the inclusive love of Christ.
We feed people through our free weekly community meal.
We’ve housed people who needed shelter.
We walk with folks who are battling addictions through First Recovery.
We’ve traveled on mission trips—all over the world.
We offer dignity and joy through our Christmas and Summer Shoppes.
We’ve done good work.
Real work.
Work that has shaped lives.
Honestly, if churches earned frequent flyer miles for compassion, First Church would be platinum.
We’d be getting upgrades.
But even with all that history, the Holy Spirit still nudges us to look honestly at who we are — and who we’re becoming.
This past week, I was at a continuing education retreat, and a colleague asked me, “How many Black people attend First Church?”
And I didn’t know what to say.
She paused, looked at me, and said, “You know… there are a lot of Black people who live in Oak Ridge.”
Her original question just hung in the air.
Not in shame.
Not in guilt.
But in honesty — the kind of honesty the Spirit can actually work with.
And it got me wondering: Should we be partnering with a Black church?
What would it look like to build real relationships across racial lines?
What can we do to make our church look more like our community?
And that brings us right back to the Theme of this month’s Sermon Series and focus on Dynamite Prayer: We won’t see what God is doing next unless we pray.
We won’t hear it unless we listen.
Paul says he came “in weakness and fear and trembling,” not because he lacked ability — but because he refused to allow ability be the center of gravity.
He wanted their faith to rest on God’s power, not his performance.
And that’s a word for a church like ours.
Because when you’ve done good work for a long time, it’s easy to assume the next chapter will look like the last one, but things change.
Communities change and the needs of the community changes.
A church I knew had a long running after school tutoring program.
For years it was a lifeline.
But over time, fewer kids came.
The need shifted.
The volunteers were faithful, but the ministry wasn’t connecting anymore.
One afternoon, a volunteer looked around the empty room and said, “We’re doing good work, but is it still the work God is calling us to do at this time?”
That question opened the door to prayer, to listening, to discernment, and eventually, it led them to a completely different ministry — one that met a need they hadn’t seen before.
They didn’t need more effort.
They needed more guidance.
They needed the Spirit.
Paul says, “The Spirit searches all things… and we have received the Spirit so we may understand what God has freely given us.”
The Spirit doesn’t wipe out our strengths, the Spirit aims them.
And that matters for a congregation like ours.
We already have gifts, compassion, and a heart for service.
We already have a commitment to radical welcome.
The question isn’t, “Do we have something to offer?”
The question is, “Where is the Spirit pointing us now?”
I once met a retired engineer who prayed to God, “I’m not a preacher, I’m not a counselor, I’m not a musician but use me for your kingdom, use me to be the hands and feet of Jesus in my community.”
Then he helped a refugee family fix a washing machine, he repaired a sink for a widow in his neighborhood and then he taught a teenager how to use a toolbox.
He said, “I thought my skills were irrelevant.
Turns out they were exactly what God needed.”
That’s how the Spirit works.
The Spirit takes what we already have and turns it outward — toward needs we haven’t even noticed yet.
But we won’t see those needs unless we pray.
We won’t hear that call unless we listen.
We won’t discern that direction unless we wait on the Spirit.
Paul says he came “in weakness… so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”
He’s not being modest, he’s being theological.
He’s saying: If the church relies on its own strength — even its own history — it will miss the future God is preparing.
A church I know wanted to expand its outreach.
They had ideas, they had volunteers, they had resources, but they didn’t have clarity.
So they decided to spend a whole season doing nothing but praying and listening.
They prayed in worship.
They prayed in small groups.
They prayed at home.
They prayed while walking their neighborhood.
And slowly — over weeks, not days — they began to sense a shared direction, a need they had overlooked, a call they had not expected.
Prayer didn’t give them a quick answer.
Prayer gave them a deep answer.
Paul would say: “That’s the Spirit revealing what God has prepared for those who love God.”
Paul says the Spirit reveals what God has given us “for the sake of the world.”
And the world needs this.
Our community needs this.
But we also know this: A lot of people today carry deep wounds from the church with a capital “C.”
Some have been excluded, some have been judged, some have been told they don’t belong.
Some have been harmed by the very institution meant to embody Christ’s love.
This is why our Reconciling Ministry identity matters so deeply.
In a world where many have been pushed out, we stand as a community that says:
“You are welcome. You are loved. You are safe here.”
But even our calling to welcome and affirm isn’t static.
The Spirit may be preparing us to welcome in new ways, to heal wounds we haven’t yet seen, to stand in gaps we haven’t yet noticed.
A colleague once told me about a day when their church hosted a simple “community lost and found day.”
They set out a few tables in the fellowship hall and invited people to bring items they’d found around the neighborhood — gloves, water bottles, dog toys, a single roller skate, the usual mysteries of suburban life.
And people came.
Some came looking for something they’d lost.
Others came just to see what odd treasures might turn up.
In the middle of it all, a woman picked up a scarf and said, “I haven’t been inside a church in years, but when I saw a sign that said ‘Lost Something? Come Look,’ I thought… well, that’s about where my life is right now.”
She said it with a laugh — but there was truth underneath it.
She didn’t come for a sermon.
She didn’t come for a program.
She came because she saw a church doing something simple, human, and kind.
That’s mission, and it happened because the Spirit used something ordinary — a lost and found table — to open a door.
The Spirit will nudge us too, but we have to be listening.
God is not asking us to become a different church.
God is asking us to offer who we already are — and to let the Spirit guide us into what comes next.
Paul didn’t discard his gifts, he surrendered them.
So let’s pray first, pray deeply, pray boldly, pray expectantly, pray until the Spirit speaks, pray until the Spirit leads, pray until the Spirit empowers and then — act with the power the Spirit provides.
Let’s continue in this season of intentional listening prayer as a congregation.
It’s a season where we pause our assumptions, quiet our plans, and open our hearts and ask the Spirit to show us the needs we cannot yet see, the ministries not yet born, the people not yet reached, and the wounds not yet healed.
It’s a season where we ask the same question my colleague asked me —
“What would it look like for our church to reflect the community around us?”
And then let’s listen — really listen — for the Spirit’s answer.
Will you pray with me?
Holy Spirit, guide us beyond our own wisdom. Take the gifts we already have and point them toward the needs we have not yet seen. Open our hearts to our neighbors, deepen our welcome, and lead us into the future you are preparing. Make our faith rest on your power alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
