Honor Comes First, Power Comes Second
If you've just moved to Charleston, you already know the city has plenty of good restaurants, good beaches, and good weather. What it doesn't hand you automatically is a place to belong. And if you're the kind of person who's tried church before and walked away — or never tried it at all — the idea of walking into a new one can feel like more risk than it's worth.
This week at Courageous Church, Pastor Saz preached on a story most people skip right past: the moment in Mark 6 when Jesus goes home, and the people who knew him best are the ones who miss what God is doing right in front of them. "Isn't this just the carpenter's son?" they ask. And because of that familiarity — that quiet dismissal — the text says Jesus "could not do many miracles there."
It's an uncomfortable story, but it points to something hopeful: honor unlocks power. Where people are treated as valuable instead of common, something opens up. Where they're dismissed as ordinary, something closes.
What honor actually means
The Greek word for honor, timē, means to value or hold in high regard. The Hebrew word, kavod, literally means weight — the sense that someone or something carries real significance. Put together, honor is the practice of treating people, relationships, and even God himself as weighty, not ordinary. Not because they've earned it through performance, but simply because of who they are.
That's an important distinction Saz draws out: honor isn't the same as respect. Respect is earned through someone's actions. Honor is given because of someone's position — a parent, a leader, a person made in the image of God — whether or not they've gotten everything right.
Why this matters if you're new here
If you're new to Charleston, new to church, or coming back after years away, this message isn't asking anything of you yet. It's simply naming a truth: you are already considered valuable. Not once you clean something up. Not once you've proven yourself. Every person who walks through the doors — regardless of background, marital status, or how long it's been since they've set foot in a church — is treated as someone of worth.
That's the posture Courageous Church tries to build its whole culture around: honoring people first, and trusting that God moves in response.
One simple challenge
The message ends with a single, practical question: who is someone you've grown familiar with — a partner, a friend, a parent, a leader — and how could you show them honor this week instead of treating them as common? It's a small shift, but according to this message, it's exactly where power begins.