1 Corinthians 16:12-24 - ”The Common Bond of Gospel Mission” - Brent Stephens / December 10, 2023

Shakespeare’s Henry V has its share of great speeches, but the best-remembered in our culture is found in Act IV, Scene III, as the king addresses his men before the Battle of Agincourt, a fight in which they know they are greatly outnumbered. He calls his men a “band of brothers”—very familial words for a mixed group of peasantry and nobility, especially in a society in which one’s birth determined so much in one’s life. The Apostle Paul continues to call out his own brothers (and a sister!) in the Lord in this final section of 1 Corinthians, people from different backgrounds and stations in life. Like soldiers on a battlefield, they find themselves united by their common mission and love for their King. Their dedication to the mission and to one another encourages us to better our commitments to Jesus and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.