As I looked around there were hundreds of little sand crabs all scurrying around on the beach. But, none of them working together - helping each other. There was no sense of community. In fact, they seemed very intent to stay out of each others way. Once in a while one crab would bump into another crab a short fight would break out.
Churches can be like that.
That s why this message this morning. As you re turning let me put these verses into context. 7 years before writing the letter of 1 Corinthians - Paul had founded the church of Corinth. It was a church that was richly blessed - a community of believers with a great foundation. But something was blocking their growth as a church.