 Table Manners
1 Corinthians 11:17-24
Senior Pastor Neil Tomba guides us through 1 Corinthians 11 as we learn what it means to "come to the Lord's table."
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Part I: In Slavery to Sin
Ephesians 2:1-3
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Although I was just four years old when I accepted Christ into my heart, God says that I was a sinner from birth, and dead in my transgressions and sins. Even as a very small child, without God, all I could do was to gratify my sinful cravings.
Part II: Called by God
I was incredibly blessed to have parents who loved God and did everything in their power to share God’s love with me. Even as a very small child, I was acutely aware of the Bible and the message inside, because of how open and active my parents were in their faith. I remember waking up in the morning, going into my parent’s bedroom, and finding my mom sitting on her bed, with her Bible and journal. My dad was both working at and attending seminary, and I remember trips to visit him in his office. I remember knowing that all of the books in both his office at the seminary and home had one thing in common: they were all about the Bible, God, or Jesus. Had someone asked me why he was in seminary, I would have readily responded by saying “He goes to school to learn about Jesus.” One of my favorite photos is of my dad in a big pink armchair, studying his Bible, and me, squished beside him, reading my illustrated children’s Bible.
I learned to love God because my parents did; and so in Awana’s, when the teacher asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their heart, I raised my hand and happily skipped over to her, where she prayed with me. Even though I was only four, I had such a beautiful example of Christ-centered living that I was immediately convinced.
Part III: Continued in Faith
Throughout the beginning of my life in Christ, God continued to use my family to persevere me in my faith. I continued to witness a Christ-centered marriage and a loving family environment. I saw my parents open our home to all kinds of people; I saw them involved in serving, in teaching, in worshiping and in praying. We spent time together in the Bible, memorizing verses, and discussing scripture and praying.
I am so thankful that God placed me in such a strong Christian family; however; as an intensely prideful person, I have found that I used that as something to feel proud of, and to find in that a sense of personal comfort and self-worth. Although my dad was the pastor of our church, I never felt pressured by him to be the perfect Christian child. I did feel that pressure from people in the congregation, and, most often, from myself. Anytime I felt tempted to anything rebellious or disobedient, I berated myself, continually reminding myself of the passages in scripture that talk about church leaders, which I loosely interpreted to mean that if a pastor’s child misbehaves, that pastor should lose his job.
As I grew older, I became obsessed with this concept of being the “perfect” person. I was always the good child; the nice one, the self-sacrificing one. I went to youth group regularly, I participated in all the church events, I made good grades, I read my Bible, I didn’t lie or cheat; though I might not have admitted it, in my heart, I believed that I was working toward perfection. My relationship with God was important to me, and I tried to follow him, but I was so lacking in trust, that I had subconsciously convinced myself that I could be a good person all on my own.
My need to be perfect peaked in my junior year of high school, and God began to work in my heart to show me my many insufficiencies. In the middle of my senior year, I was finally to a point that I was ready to hear God’s voice. Accordingly, God spoke. Through the mouth of a very dear friend, God said: “You aren’t perfect. What you’ve become is plastic-- you can’t ever be perfect without me. All that you will ever create on your own will be completely fake—an outright lie.” From that night, I slowly began to learn to trust God. I began, gradually, to realize that God loved me exactly how I am. He began to create in me a heart of flesh and blood, not of plastic.
At the same time, I was accepted to the music school at UT. I felt strongly that God was calling me there to be a light in a very dark place. That summer, God continued to encourage me in my faith and to teach me trust him.
When I arrived at UT in the fall, I was immediately both overwhelmed and excited by the number of lost people I was now in contact with every day. My first semester was spent making friendships with other music majors, listening to them talk about their life, and loving them in every way possible. I didn’t have any obvious opportunities to “preach the gospel” in words, but I felt that God was calling me to simply be a friend.
This semester, now that I’ve gotten to know my fellow musicians better, I feel more than ever that this is my mission field. God’s begun to give me opportunities to talk openly about my faith without me having to force someone to listen to me. I sometimes struggle with feeling afraid to be open with people who will think I’m weird or creepy because of my beliefs, but God is continually working in my heart to call me to himself, cause me to re-evaluate my priorities, and to live solely for him.
Philippians 3: 7-8 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ, What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
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