The Six Core Values of CBC: 6. Growing – Rev Andrew Fitzgerald – 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

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“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

Having identified core values from the example for church in Antioch (Acts 11 and 13) as Distinctively Christian, Authentically Spiritual, Strategically Missionary, Truly Generous and Ethnically Diverse, we concluded last Sunday with the sixth and final core value, which is Growing. The church in Antioch grew in two ways. First, it grew in number. Believers scattered by persecution, arrived in Antioch and told the good news about Jesus with a great number turning to the Lord (Acts 11:21 and 24). Second, it was growing in faith. With the visit of Barnabas and Saul, disciples were taught for a whole year growing not only in number but also in Christian maturity. As we conclude this series, and consider our application of these six core values, let’s be a people who speak unashamedly about Jesus – the main attraction and source of transformation. Let’s also be a people compelled to Christian maturity, not those who remain on the infancy of milk but enjoy the full table of God in solid food (as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 3). And in all this, let’s remember that we must seed and water in co-operation with God but understand that it is Him who makes things grow.