Give God the Glory: Pastor Doug on 1 Corinthians 10:31

On Sunday afternoon, October 25, Pastor Doug Lattimore picked up where Saturday's Bible study left off in 1 Corinthians 10 and put one question to the room and to everyone watching online: who gets the credit? His answer came from verse 31: "whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." The charge was simple. Whatever you do, give God the glory.

Who Gets the Credit?

Pastor Doug went around the sanctuary by name, asking each person to turn to a neighbor and ask, "Who gets the credit?" In our modern way of thinking, he said, credit and glory are the same thing. Whoever gets the credit gets the glory.

He pointed back to the way the older church handled a compliment. When someone said a singer sang well, or a preacher was anointed, the answer was not a story about hours of practice. It was "To God be the glory." The praise was handed straight back to the One who gave the gift in the first place.

It was given to me as a free gift. And if it was given to me as a free gift, then I have to give credit to God because he's the one that gave it.

That habit, he said, is also how faith grows. When someone sees your light and you point them to God, there is no room left for the flesh to take credit for something God has done.

Why Give God the Glory Instead of Taking It

Pastor Doug described taking God's credit as a display of the flesh: the award speech that thanks everyone but God, or the social media feed full of flashing money. Human life is temporary, he reminded the congregation. It runs in seasons, and someone in the winter of life who acts like it is still spring ends up chasing glory for something that is already fading.

Giving God the glory, he said, works a little like an investment. Keep crediting God, and He keeps adding to your life: more joy, more peace, more of the fruit of the Spirit, and in time more territory, because He can trust you not to take the credit. Take His glory, and sometimes God lets you see how limited you are so that you learn to trust how unlimited He is. Pastor Doug tied it to Paul's promise that God will supply every need "according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19), and to Jesus' call to let your light shine so that people "glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

Readers who heard the August message on Proverbs 3 and the trust fund will recognize the same thread: what we place in God's hands grows.

Don't Be the Reason Someone Leaves

The second half of the sermon turned to the next verse: "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Corinthians 10:32). Pastor Doug was candid about why so many people have walked away from church. Some were looked up and down by cliques and made to feel they were not holy enough, chosen enough, or righteous enough to belong. "People leave the church and they're hurt by the church," he said.

Offense will still come when a believer takes a stand for the Lord, he acknowledged. That is different from being offensive on purpose. He pointed to election season, when candidates attack and belittle one another, as the world's way, and called the church to a different one.

It is part of why Solo Faith keeps a digital sanctuary alongside its in-person services. Pastor Doug talked about micro-churches, church in a living room or a car, for people who cannot get to a building or are not ready to walk back through a church door. We have written before about the neighbors our livestream reaches.

A Safe Place for Hard Days

Pastor Doug said he believes people are going to come looking for the church again, looking for family, friends, help, and a place that does not reopen old wounds. Long before government assistance programs, he noted, God gave the church to help people. Whether someone lands at Solo Faith or at the Baptist, Methodist, AME, or non-denominational church down the street, his charge was the same: receive them in love.

That conviction is the same one behind our online food pantry, which delivers groceries to Concord families who cannot get to a pantry. During the offering, Pastor Doug connected that natural bread to Jesus, the bread of life, from John 6.

Keep the main thing the main thing. Give God all the glory in all that you do, and work on trying not to offend people.

Taking It Into the Week

• Where have I quietly taken credit for a gift God gave me?

• When someone praises me this week, how can I point it back to God?

• Who has been hurt by a church that I could welcome in love?

Pastor Doug closed by praying for everyone carrying hurt from a church. If that is you, you can send a prayer request and our team will pray with you. You are also welcome to join us Saturday or Sunday at 1 PM at 587 Old Charlotte Rd SW, Concord, NC 28027. The full service, including worship and a sacrificial prayer from Psalm 31, is also on YouTube.

Solo Faith Church shares this message because a church that keeps the credit for itself will never feel safe to the people who need it most. Concord has plenty of neighbors who were hurt by church, and every one of them deserves a congregation that points the glory back to God and opens the door in love.

Watch the Full Message

Every service streams live and is saved for anytime viewing. Watch the full service.

Community Support Note: This sermon recap is part of Solo Faith Church's community journalism initiative to encourage Concord neighbors and share the work being done across Cabarrus County. It was drawn from the machine-generated transcript of Solo Faith Church's Sunday, October 25, 2026 service and the published recording of Pastor Doug Lattimore's message.