Faith in Focus #28
A reflection from Connection Church and other spiritual events from the week
Faith in Focus is a weekly reflection on what God has been teaching me throughout the week regarding my faith. Whether it’s personal interactions, reading, or the Sunday sermon, God speaks through it all, and I hope this helps you focus on His mission.
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Sermon Reflection
Paul closes 1 Corinthians with both tenderness and urgency. His final words call believers to courage, vigilance, and unwavering love while warning that a heart untouched by love for Christ stands under judgment.
Based on the sermon by Jonathan Land, Connection Church Sioux Falls, May 17, 2026.
Strong Hands, Gentle Hearts: Paul’s Final Charge to the Church
Sometimes the clearest truths arrive through the strangest illustrations.
Before walking through 1 Corinthians 16:13-24, Jonathan showed a clip from the animated film Ferdinand, a story about a massive bull who would rather smell flowers than destroy everything around him. The image connected immediately to one of his favorite idioms: a bull in a china shop. Strength without gentleness leaves destruction behind. Power without love crushes what is fragile.
That friction sits at the center of Paul’s closing words to the Corinthian church.
After sixteen chapters of correction, rebuke, encouragement, theology, and pastoral pleading, Paul lands the plane with a final charge. Be watchful. Stand firm. Act like men. Be strong. Yet in the same breath he commands, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).
It is one of the clearest summaries of Christian maturity in the entire letter. Followers of Christ are not called to passive weakness, nor are they called to domineering aggression. The church is meant to embody courage wrapped in love, conviction shaped by grace, and truth carried with gentleness.
The bull must learn not to destroy the china shop.
The World Behind the Text
The church in Corinth struggled deeply with division. Throughout the letter Paul addressed factions, pride, sexual immorality, lawsuits, selfish worship practices, abuses of spiritual gifts, and confusion surrounding the resurrection. Again and again, the apostle confronted believers who were acting more like rival tribes than a united family.
This explains why Paul’s closing commands carry both military and relational language.
When Paul says, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13), he is drawing from the vocabulary of soldiers guarding a city wall. The commands are sharp and active. Stay awake. Do not retreat. Hold your position. Resist compromise.
Yet Paul immediately balances this with a command that transforms how strength is expressed: “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).
That matters because Corinth had confused spiritual maturity with self importance. Some believers prized knowledge over people. Others elevated spiritual gifts while humiliating weaker members of the church. Earlier in the letter Paul already dismantled this mindset by declaring that without love, even the most impressive spirituality amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Love was never optional decoration for Christian living. It was the evidence that Christ Himself was shaping the church.
In many ways, Paul spends the final lines of this letter circling back to its central theme. If it is not rooted in Christlike love, it does not reflect Christ at all.
Walking the Passage
Paul’s final instructions move quickly, but they are packed with pastoral wisdom.
First, he reminds believers to remain alert. Spiritual drift rarely happens all at once. Churches seldom collapse overnight. Compromise usually enters quietly through apathy, distraction, bitterness, or pride. To “be watchful” means remaining spiritually awake in a world constantly pulling believers away from faithfulness.
Second, Paul commands the church to “stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Notice he does not say stand firm in preferences, personalities, or traditions. The foundation is the Gospel itself. Corinth had become distracted by status and division, but Paul continually pointed them back to Christ crucified and risen.
This firmness matters today just as much as it did then. Christian conviction is not arrogance. Standing firm does not mean becoming combative for the sake of winning arguments online or humiliating opponents. It means refusing to abandon the truth of Jesus even when the surrounding culture shifts beneath our feet.
Then comes the phrase often translated “act like men” (1 Corinthians 16:13). In context, Paul is not excluding women from courage or maturity. The phrase carries the idea of spiritual bravery and steadfastness. The church must grow up. Believers are called toward maturity, not spiritual infancy.
Yet Paul refuses to let strength become harshness.
“Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).
That sentence should stop every Christian in their tracks. Every act of correction. Every theological conviction. Every confrontation with sin. Every defense of truth. Every act of service. Every disagreement. Every sermon. Every ministry.
All of it must be done in love.
Not sentimental love that ignores evil. Not shallow niceness pretending sin is harmless. Biblical love seeks the good of others according to God’s truth. Love sometimes comforts, but love also warns. Love restores, rebukes, and protects.
That balance becomes even clearer when Paul begins speaking about Stephanas and the other believers who refreshed his spirit (1 Corinthians 16:15-18). Paul points to ordinary faithful Christians who quietly strengthened the church through service and encouragement. These were not celebrity leaders or powerful public figures. They were devoted servants.
The church thrives because of people like this.
People who encourage rather than divide. People who refresh weary souls instead of draining them. People who quietly serve Christ without demanding recognition.
Paul calls the church to honor such believers because the kingdom of God grows through humble faithfulness far more than flashy influence.
Then the letter shifts sharply.
Paul takes the pen into his own hand and writes a personal closing: “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22).
These are startling words.
A Fair Counter-Reading
Some readers struggle with Paul’s language here because it sounds severe, even unloving. Modern readers often prefer a softer Christianity that avoids themes like judgment, condemnation, or divine wrath altogether.
It’s understandable why this verse creates discomfort.
Some interpret Paul’s statement as merely emotional frustration or rhetorical exaggeration. Others argue that emphasizing judgment risks pushing people away from Christ rather than drawing them toward Him.
There’s an important caution worth hearing. Christians absolutely have misused passages about judgment in cruel or manipulative ways. Churches have sometimes weaponized condemnation without reflecting the mercy and patience of Jesus.
Yet removing judgment entirely creates a different problem. A Christianity with no accountability, no holiness, and no warning ultimately empties the Gospel of its urgency.
Paul’s warning only makes sense because he genuinely believes eternity is at stake.
The Turn
What makes Paul’s warning so powerful is that it comes wrapped inside love.
The same apostle who wrote the great chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13 also warns that those who reject Christ remain under judgment. These truths are not opposites. In Scripture, love warns because love cares.
A parent who sees danger and says nothing is not loving. A doctor who refuses to diagnose illness for fear of offending a patient is not compassionate. Likewise, the church cannot claim love while remaining silent about sin and separation from God.
Paul’s statement is sobering because eternity is sobering.
But Christians should also hear the comfort within this passage. Those who belong to Christ do not need to fear condemnation. Earlier in the letter Paul repeatedly reminded believers that they were sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints (1 Corinthians 1:2).
The warning exposes what is false while strengthening what is genuine.
This is why Paul ends with hope: “Our Lord, come!” (1 Corinthians 16:22).
The church lives in expectation of Christ’s return. Christians are not simply enduring history until death arrives. We are waiting for the King.
That expectation changes how believers live. We stay watchful because Christ is coming. We stand firm because Christ is victorious. We love because Christ first loved us. We reject evil because Christ is holy. We endure because Christ will return and make all things right.
Paul’s final blessing captures the heart behind the entire letter: “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 16:24).
Even after all the correction, all the rebukes, and all the hard truths, Paul’s final posture toward the church is love.
That is the heartbeat of Christian discipleship.
Strong hands. Gentle hearts. Truth wrapped in grace.
Carry It Into the Week
It is easy to drift toward one extreme or the other.
Some Christians emphasize truth so heavily that they become harsh, suspicious, and constantly combative. Others emphasize love in ways that avoid hard conversations or blur biblical conviction altogether.
Paul refuses both distortions.
The church is called to courageous love.
That means standing against evil without becoming consumed by anger. It means confronting sin while remembering our own need for grace. It means protecting what is fragile rather than bulldozing people in the name of righteousness.
In a culture increasingly shaped by outrage and division, the church should look different. Christians should be people marked by conviction without cruelty and gentleness without compromise.
As we close 1 Corinthians alongside Paul, his message remains deeply relevant: stay awake, stand firm, be strong, and let everything be done in love until Christ returns.
Song of the Week: Beautiful - Hulvey
I had the chance to see Hulvey when he was part of Lifelight in 2023. Lifelight has become such a unique part of the culture here in Sioux Falls because every year it brings free Christian music to the city in a huge way. It is more than just a festival full of concerts; it is an event built around worship, community, and sharing the love of Christ with anyone who shows up. No matter your age, background, or favorite style of music, there is something powerful about seeing people gather together with a common purpose centered on faith.
While I didn’t get the chance to catch Hulvey’s entire set that year, I was able to hear him perform this song live, which at the time was one of his most popular tracks. Even with only seeing part of the performance, it was enough to leave an impression on me. There was an authenticity to the way he performed that stood out immediately. It didn’t feel forced or manufactured. It simply felt real, like someone honestly sharing their heart and faith through music.
What makes that even more interesting for me personally is the fact that I don’t usually listen to a lot of hip hop. It has never really been the genre I naturally gravitate toward. However, every once in a while there are certain artists who break through those preferences because there is something deeper behind the music. Hulvey ended up being one of those artists for me. Even though I have not fully explored his entire catalog yet, this particular song continues to stand out every single time it comes on. Some songs fade over time, but others continue to carry emotions and spirituality no matter how many times you hear them, and this is definitely one of those songs for me.
The part that impacts me the most is the realness found within the chorus. There is something incredibly powerful about music that does not try to overcomplicate faith but instead points back to the simple truth that God’s presence is enough. In a world where so many people are searching for peace, purpose, identity, or fulfillment in countless different places, songs like this serve as a reminder that true satisfaction can only be found in Him. God’s love is not conditional on how successful we are, how strong our faith feels in a particular moment, or whether life is currently going well. His love remains constant through every high and every low.
That message resonates because every season of life looks different. Some seasons are full of joy, excitement, and answered prayers, while others feel heavy with uncertainty, exhaustion, disappointment, or grief. Yet through all of it, God remains faithful. His presence does not disappear when circumstances become difficult. If anything, those are often the moments where His love becomes even more evident.
My hope is that this song, whether you enjoy hip hop or not, would resonate with you in that same way. Beyond the beat, the production, or the style of music itself, I hope the message cuts through clearly: that God’s presence truly is enough, and that He freely gives His love to us no matter what season we may currently be walking through.
Week in Reflection
This week has been filled with multiple photography gigs, late nights, and the kind of exhaustion that settles deep into your bones. Between editing photos, traveling between venues, sorting through thousands of shots, and trying to balance everyday responsibilities on top of it all, it would have been easy to feel overwhelmed, and sometimes I did. Yet through every moment of tiredness, God has continued to provide the strength and energy needed to accomplish everything that was already on the calendar. Even when the schedule felt packed beyond reason, nothing had to be missed or canceled, including sitting down to write this reflection. Looking back on the week, it is hard not to see God’s hand sustaining every moment of it.
What has made this week even more encouraging is seeing a couple of amazing photography contracts get approved for Christian artists like TobyMac and Michael W. Smith. Opportunities like these feel especially meaningful right now because over the last several weeks there has been a growing conviction in my heart regarding some of the bands and environments I have been covering. While photography has opened countless doors and created incredible experiences, there has also been a deeper wrestling with whether every opportunity truly aligns with the direction God is calling me toward.
That is why seeing these new doors open feels so significant. It isn’t just about getting another contract or another show to photograph. It feels like confirmation that God hears those inner struggles and is gently guiding this journey in a direction that honors Him more fully. There is something refreshing about being able to combine creativity, passion, and faith in a way that feels spiritually uplifting rather than spiritually conflicting.
One of the most amazing things about following God is how often He provides reassurance at exactly the right time. Sometimes that reassurance comes through Scripture, sometimes through people, and sometimes through opportunities that seem to appear out of nowhere just when encouragement is needed most. These recent opportunities serve as a reminder that God is not absent from the details of our careers, hobbies, or dreams. He cares deeply about where we are being led and what influences shape our hearts along the way.
Even in the exhaustion of this busy week, there is a renewed sense of hope growing. Hope that this photography adventure is not just random chance or self made ambition, but something God can actively use for His glory. Hope that He is capable of opening the right doors while closing the wrong ones. And most importantly, hope in knowing that no matter how uncertain the future may feel at times, God continues to faithfully provide exactly what is needed for each step forward.
And always remember, God loves you, and so do I.
Connection Church in Sioux Falls is a gospel-centered community committed to helping people follow Jesus through authentic relationships, biblical teaching, and everyday mission. Rooted in historic Christian belief and aligned with gospel renewal movements, the church exists to see lives transformed by Jesus. Learn more: https://siouxfallsconnection.com/who-we-are
