Dec 17, 2017
How can an immature church help us rejoice in God’s gifts? 1 Corinthians: The Book
By: (All)
Christmas in Corinth
How can an immature church help us rejoice in God’s gifts?
1 Corinthians, The Book
Today’s advent theme is “joy,” and if we have read carefully, we can celebrate four gifts that Paul helped the Corinthians to remember, all of which come from God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
Let’s unwrap them one at a time. . .
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- Dec 17, 2017How can an immature church help us rejoice in God’s gifts? 1 Corinthians: The Book
Dec 17, 2017How can an immature church help us rejoice in God’s gifts? 1 Corinthians: The BookBy: (All)Christmas in Corinth How can an immature church help us rejoice in God’s gifts? 1 Corinthians, The Book Today’s advent theme is “joy,” and if we have read carefully, we can celebrate four gifts that Paul helped the Corinthians to remember, all of which come from God’s grace in Christ Jesus. Let’s unwrap them one at a time. . .
- Dec 10, 2017Church in the Trenches How do spiritually mature people team up to serve the Body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 16:5-24
Dec 10, 2017Church in the Trenches How do spiritually mature people team up to serve the Body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 16:5-24By: (All)
- Dec 3, 2017The Resurrection Why is it vital to our faith? 1 Corinthians 15:1-58
Dec 3, 2017The Resurrection Why is it vital to our faith? 1 Corinthians 15:1-58By: (All)The Resurrection Why is it vital to our faith? 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 ❖ The resurrection is an essential part of the gospel. vv. 1-11 If it is to be “good news,” then it must contain the resurrection of Jesus. ❖ So a “Christian” denial of the resurrection is absurd, pathetic, and tragic. vv. 12-19 We can’t pick and choose from a doctrinal buffet depending upon our preferences or pressure from our culture. ❖ Why? The resurrection is necessary to fulfill the plan and purposes of God. vv. 20-28 The resurrection of Jesus is what validates Him as head of a reborn, redeemed humanity, and demonstrates His triumph over Adam’s sin and death.
- Nov 26, 2017What is it, and why is it Good News? 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Nov 26, 2017What is it, and why is it Good News? 1 Corinthians 15:1-11By: (All)The Gospel What is it, and why is it Good News? 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 The gospel is the historically verifiable message that Jesus Christ died for sinners, was buried, and rose again on the third day,as the fullest expression of God’s righteousness as revealed in the Scriptures.
- Nov 19, 2017“Thanks-Giving: How giving reflects our faith and the character of God”– 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
Nov 19, 2017“Thanks-Giving: How giving reflects our faith and the character of God”– 1 Corinthians 16:1-4By: (All)Thanks-Giving How giving reflects our faith and the character of God 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 In only four short verses, one paragraph, the Apostle Paul helps the Corinthians understand the basics of giving. In a later letter, which we call Second Corinthians, he has to amplify that teaching and encourage them to fulfill their giving pledges, but nothing is introduced there which is not foreshadowed here. Beautiful in its simplicity andprofundity, there is no more practical note on the discipline of giving than these words.
- Nov 12, 2017“Tamed Tongues and Winsome Worship: The Two Things Which Should Characterize Our Praise Gatherings”– 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Nov 12, 2017“Tamed Tongues and Winsome Worship: The Two Things Which Should Characterize Our Praise Gatherings”– 1 Corinthians 14:26-40By: (All)Tamed Tongues and Winsome Worship -- The Two Things Which Should Characterize Our Praise Gatherings 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 With these verses the Apostle Paul concludes his discussion of the spiritual gifts in general and tongues in particular. He lays out even more guidelines and gives a summary conclusion that is both clear and passionate. Worship must be both edifying and orderly, and so indiscriminate, uninterpreted tongues were out of place on two counts. It is only when we put our prejudices aside and take the text of Scripture as it was written that wegrow, are led, and are at one.
- Oct 22, 2017“The Gift of Tongues: Its Meaning and Purpose — What was it and why was it given?”– 1 Corinthians 14:1-25
Oct 22, 2017“The Gift of Tongues: Its Meaning and Purpose — What was it and why was it given?”– 1 Corinthians 14:1-25By: (All)The Gift of Tongues: Its Meaning and Purpose What was it and why was it given? 1 Corinthians 14:1-25The immaturity of the Corinthians extended into the spiritual gifts, and Paul spends three chapters (12-14) trying to get them to correct their overemphasis on a narrow and soon-to-be obsolete gift. He reminds them that the gift of tongues was a sign to the nation Israel that they would soon be under God’s judgment and that the Good News was now going out to the nations. The way to understand this gift is to anchor it to the three times it is mentioned in the book of Acts (2, 10, 19) beginning with Pentecost. There, Jews from many nations heard the love of God in their national languages rather than Hebrew, a true reversal of Babel’s curse. The idea that tongues are “ecstatic utterances” rather than languages is based upon assumptions we make about the text, not the simple reading of the text and comparing scripture with scripture. Paul is not praising this minor gift, but explaining its origin and purpose and curbing its abuse.
- Oct 15, 2017“Loving the Body of Christ — Understanding How Faith Works”– 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Oct 15, 2017“Loving the Body of Christ — Understanding How Faith Works”– 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13By: (All)Loving the Body of Christ: Understanding How Faith Works 1 Corinthians 12:31–-13:13The Bible makes much of love, both ours and God’s, for our loves are the objects of desire. What we love we desire, and what we desire, we work to obtain, and that “work” is an indication of the strength of the desire. This is why loving the Lord is the greatest commandment, and love for other humans its twin. Paul explains that all our works, whatever our gifts, must be love-inspired, or else they would be better left un-done. In context, Paul is laying the second tier argument against vaunting one’s gift of tongues: when we love others, we seek to edify them, which (as chapter 14 concludes), uninterpreted tongues do not and cannot.
- Oct 8, 2017“Serving the Body of Christ — Understanding What Makes for a Healthy Church”– 1 Corinthians 12:1-30
Oct 8, 2017“Serving the Body of Christ — Understanding What Makes for a Healthy Church”– 1 Corinthians 12:1-30By: (All)Serving the Body of Christ -- Understanding What Makes for a Healthy Church 1 Corinthians 12:1-30When we read about “church growth” today, the ideas often revolve around a market-driven strategy to make our churches more attractive and our programs more exciting so more people will attend the services. Paul would be surprised at the approach, for he explains that a church is healthy when all of the members use their gifts to help, support, and encourage one another, and that enables them to go and make disciples of others (of all nations). The gospel of grace drives true church health and growth.
- Oct 1, 2017“Discerning the Body of Christ — The Lord’s Supper:Window on the Church”– 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Oct 1, 2017“Discerning the Body of Christ — The Lord’s Supper:Window on the Church”– 1 Corinthians 11:17-34By: (All)Growing in Grace, Growing in Community Life Lessons on Maturity with the Corinthians Discerning the Body of Christ -- The Lord’s Supper: Window on the Church 1 Corinthians 11:17-34God loves and looks after His own. Paul had warned renegade leaders at Corinth that God is very protective of His people, and anyone destroying a church would pay a price (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17). But other forces were taking their toll, including abuses of the Lord’s Supper. Instead of holding a true “love feast” of shared food, the rich were banqueting while the poor were ignored. This is to despise the church (1 Corinthians 11:22), meaning there was little understanding of the church as a family which took care of its members. There are good reasons to love the church God loves and gave His Son to redeem.