Are you a thankful person? More specifically, are you thankful for the church? Are you thankful that you can belong to the church? Maybe you are, or maybe you sometimes hear people say negative things about the church and you wonder if the church is really something to be thankful for.

The apostle Paul knew many bad things that were happening in the church of Corinth. In his letters to this church he talks about many sins. Some of the sins that Paul writes to them about are getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper, arguing, serving idols, and having sinful lifestyles. If you heard about these sins in your church, how would you pray for the church? We would probably tell the Lord about all these sins and ask the Lord to fix things. We probably wouldn’t even think about thanking the Lord for such a church, would we?

But listen to how Paul prays for this sinful church in Corinth. He begins by thanking God for the grace he has given to them. He thanks the Lord that the people have heard and believed the good news about Jesus Christ.

By starting his letter this way, Paul is not ignoring all their sins. Many times in the rest of the letters to this church Paul is telling them to put their sins away and to focus on serving the Lord.

But Paul can still thank the Lord for this church because he knows that it is the church of the Lord. God is at work in these people. Christ died on the cross for the people of the church in Corinth, just like he died on the cross for you and the people of your church.

Always remember this. Remember that God loves the church. The church is made up of his special people and God gives his grace to his people. Remember that you need God’s grace just as much as everyone else in your church. And always thank the Lord that you can be part of his church.

Reflection with your child:

Why can you always thank the Lord for the church?

Source: Sermon by Rev. W. Bosch