“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
(1 Corinthians 8:1)
Jesus says, if you hold to his teaching, “then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32). In other letters Paul prays that his readers “may know the hope to which [God] has called [them] … and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19) and that their love will “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” (Philippians 1:9)
Our faith involves knowledge of the great truths about God, truths that transform the way we live. For Christians knowledge is a good thing, the gospel, the good news about Jesus shares knowledge about God’s saving work through Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Knowledge is good.
Yet in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul contrasts knowledge with love: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Like many good things, when knowledge becomes valued as an end rather than a means it becomes destructive. There were some in the Corinthian church who felt they had superior knowledge and so looked down on others and felt free to act without concern about its impact on others.
Paul challenges this attitude and the problems it was causing in his letter, especially in chapters 8 to 14 of 1 Corinthians. At one level these chapters are obscure, because they are dealing with issues that were particular to the church in Corinth in the 50s AD. Yet, the fundamental values that Paul expresses in dealing with the difficulties are powerfully relevant for the church through all ages.
As we seek to discern where God is calling us as churches in the coming years, it is good to reflect on these chapters and in particular how Paul shows that love is the eternal value that builds up Christ’s church. When we grasp this, then knowledge can be used for building up others rather than justifying our own freedoms and pride.
Paul Worledge
This Week’s Sunday Service – 11am
Love Builds Up (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)
This Sunday we begin our Lent series on 1 Corinthians 8-14. Also, this Sunday we relaunch Sparklers, which will be for children up to and including the Reception Year at school. See below for more details. Sunday Club (Years 1 to 6) and Pathfinders (Years 7 to 10) will also be running as normal. This Sunday is also a communion service.
St. Luke’s Website
- What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
- Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
- Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. You can also listen to the sermon through the podcast website castbox.
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 18th February
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30pm
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13,
11:00am-12:00pm
Monday 19th
Daily Prayer (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
PCC Meeting (Perry Room) – 7:30-9:30pm
Tuesday 20th
Daily Prayer (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Christ Church Toddlers @ St Luke’s (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 9:30-11:30am
Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm
Wednesday 21st
Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon
Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group (Perry Room) – 6:00-7:30pm
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm
Thursday 22nd
Daily Prayer (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am.
Time4All (St. Luke’s Church) – 11:30-15:00.
Friday 23rd
Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Gather, Women’s Drop-In (St. Luke’s Church) – 12:30-2:30pm
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 4:30-6:00pm
Saturday 24th
Daily Prayer (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Sunday 25th
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:17-27,
11:00am-12:00pm
Study Groups through Lent
This Lent our Study Groups are going to try something new as a way of engaging with St. Luke’s and St. George’s year of discernment. They will be looking at the passage for the sermon on the upcoming Sunday, reflecting together on it through prayerful discussion, then feeding back their reflections to the preacher and into the overall discernment process. If you are not already part of a Study Group and would like to be, then please let Paul know.
Sunday Club and Sparklers
We are delighted to announce that Sparklers, the group for our youngest children is going to restart in the vestry from this Sunday. Initially, this will be for children up to and including those in Reception at school. Parents are welcome to join the children in this group, which will include simple songs, prayers, Bible story and craft activities.
Sunday Club will be continuing in the hall for school years 1 to 6 and Pathfinders in the Perry Room for school years 7 to 10. Parents may want to go with their children to Sunday Club the first time they attend, but after that we would encourage them to send their children by themselves. We understand that some children have legitimate needs of one-to-one support from a parent, in which case parents are welcome to join the children. If this is the case, then please let the Sunday Club leaders know.
Depression and Anxiety Self-Help Group – Wed. 6-7:30pm
The group meets this Wed in the Perry Room in St Luke’s Church Hall (follow the signs). Our theme will be Dealing with triggers from childhood. All welcome. More details from David (07881 582800, davidw.hawthorn1@sky.com) or Pauline (p.emptage@sky.com).
World Day of Prayer
This year it is on 1st March, 10:30am at St. Laurence Church, Ramsgate. If you would like to take part, then email: drdebbie08@gmail.com.
Pancake Party
A big thank you to all who ran, helped out and attended the Pancake Party. It was good to see people of all ages joining together in all the fun activities!
Love is all you need
– Community Meal Fundraising Concert
We now think the total raised by the concert the other Friday is over £2,000, which is a fantastic result. This will go a long way to enabling the Community Meal to continue to provide good food and social connection to the many who attend. The meal is also looking for new cooks with Level 2 training or above who can be on a rota once or twice a month to provide a meal for around fifty people.
Snapshot: Youth Survey by the Diocese
This survey has been created by the Canterbury Diocese Youth Council to hear the voices of young people. If you are aged 11 to 24 (not just those involved in churches) we would love for you to complete it. The form is anonymous and we will be collecting the responses to pass on to Bishop Rose.
Snapshots has been designed to create a platform for hearing the voice of young people across our diocese. The Youth Council aim to put out three Snapshot questionnaires a year.
This first one is about church/sharing faith.
Closing date: the end of February.
Safeguarding Training
If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.
If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.
Online Forms
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
- Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
- Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
- Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.
Links to Share:
Why Christmas?
It may be Lent, but in this article, Barnabas Aspray, explains simply and powerfully, why the Son of God became a human being: in order to die. As we prepare for Good Friday and Easter, then why not read this fresh reflection on what Christians understand is wrong with the world and what God’s rescue plan for us is. Read more…
View from the edge: A Sudanese Refugee
Church Mission Society’s, newly launched video will take you to a displaced persons’ camp in northern Uganda, where you will meet a South Sudanese refugee called Hellen and our local partner Sam Malish. You’ll be inspired by their story of finding and sharing peace amid the horrors of violent conflict.
Finally, let’s grow in knowledge so we can love others and build one another up.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 