In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul teaches on God's plan for sexuality in marriage. Unlike those who were teaching abstinence, Paul taught that regular sex with the bounds of married life helped both partners avoid temptation. He also teaches on being single, and under what conditions it is permissible to separate.
When the Scriptures declare those who are in Christ are free, what does that mean? The church of Corinth took it to include acting outside of the boundaries found in other passages. Paul brings it back to the fact that our bodies belong to God. He purchased us with His body and blood. Our freedom is from the enslavement of sin, to glorify God, and lead others to that same freedom.
The first half of 1 Corinthians 6 deals with the Corinthian church's bad example of taking their differences to civil court. Paul tells them the humblest person in the church could decide the issue better than the local magistrate. Anyone with the Spirit of God should be able to arbitrate more fairly than an unbeliever. It presented a poor example to the city.
The church in Corinth thought grace was a license to sin. But God did not save us so we could stay in sin, but that we might forsake sin. If we love one another, and if we realize the damage sin does in our lives, we will lovingly and gently dissuade one another from sinful behavior. Instead, we will encourage one another to pursue holiness.
Our passage for this sermon is a warning to believers to live up to what they know. Head knowledge needs to become heart and body action or it means little. Paul encouraged them to imitate his way of life. Would we ask fellow Christians the same? If not, what needs to change in our daily lives?
In the passage we cover in the sermon, Paul reminds us that we have no reason to be proud or to boast in men. Everything we have comes from God and He is the One in whom we should boast. We should never go beyond what is written in God's Word if we want to be truly blessed.
The Corinthians were divided over who was the best teacher, but in the passage today, Paul explains that all the teachers are their servants. Even more than that, all things are ours. That is because we belong to Christ, and He is God's. It is a concept that is difficult for us to believe, but if we do, it changes our whole outlook on life.
Our passage for this sermon describes those who build the temple of God made up of the living stones which are believers in Jesus. But it also warns of those who tear down the building through their false teaching and selfish agendas. We all have a part to play in building the temple of God and we must take great care in how we build. Our eternal condition is affected by it.
Are science and religion at odds? This year starts with a review of Eric Metaxas book Is Atheism Dead? In this short summary, we'll see how modern education has withheld from us the incredible odds that show life could not possibly have come about by chance. We'll see why seraphim sing that the whole earth is full of His glory. And we will wonder at the great faith of the educated atheist!
There has been a cosmic battle for the souls of men and women from the beginning of creation. Jesus' birth was the turning point in that battle. It was a kind of sneak attack that would end in the fulfillment of the promise to Eve that the battle would be won in an unusual way.
The root of the problem of factionalism in Corinth was their spiritual immaturity. The sermon explains from Scripture just how that immaturity is expressed and how we grow beyond it.
The world's wisdom is foolishness to God and yet we so often lean on it instead of looking to the wisdom that comes from above. The eternal wisdom that comes from God is often the opposite of what the world thinks. Yet, it is the answer to the world's problems. Jesus showed us that it is better to give than receive. In giving His life, He conquered sin and death and purchased His bride.
Paul was determined to preach the cross and trust the Holy Spirit to convey to listeners' hearts the power that it has to convict of sin and reveal the love of God. In this message, you will hear of dozens of effects that the Scriptures tell us the cross has in our lives.
This message touches on the fact that God's wisdom is infinitely superior to that of man. God chooses those that this world looks down on and reveals to them His divine wisdom demonstrated on the cross. While the Corinthians were pridefully associating themselves with an individual teacher whom they thought to be the best, Paul was telling them that the kingdom of God does not work along those lines. The cross nullifies all human pretension!
Psalm 118 repeats the national anthem of Israel. It is a message we desperately need today. Gratitude should be the key element in every human heart, but especially in the hearts of believers. God has shown His love for us, declared His promises to us, and prepared a future for us that is greater than we can imagine. Though we have trials in this life, we are blessed beyond measure, and it is only right for us to live a life expressing our gratitude for the goodness of God.
In the passage for this week Paul quotes from Isaiah to explain that God doesn't honor what the world honors. He calls those who are weak and inconsequential. And the reason He does that is because it shows how foolish man's wisdom is. The place where God has supremely destroyed all human arrogance and pretension is the cross.
Paul begins his corrections to the church in Corinth by addressing the cult of personality. Division and strife over which elder was the favorite was harming the testimony of Christ in that city. The problem is just as prevalent today. How is a church supposed to function according to Scripture? The sermon addresses which issues are essential and what a person should do about disagreement over minor issues.
Verses 4-9 of the first chapter in the letter to the Corinthians tells them of Paul's thankfulness for the growth he has seen in them. He reminds them that they have all that they need to see them through to the return of Christ. And perhaps most encouraging of all, he tells them that God will present them guiltless on the day of Jesus' appearing and keeping them in fellowship with Jesus. It was an encouraging introduction that reminded them who they are in Christ before he dealt with their many...
The first three verses of the first letter to the Corinthians give Paul's typical greeting, but in that greeting, we can see the gospel of grace. It was grace that called Paul to be an apostle. It was grace that calls us to be saints. It is grace that sees us as sanctified. In the light of these wonders the world's typical greeting of that day, "grace and peace," took on a much richer meaning. Are you experiencing the peace of God?
Jesus accomplished so much more on the cross than just paying for the sins of the world. He invited all who would put their trust in him to share his fate. If your hope rests in the necessity and work of Christ, then you have been raised with him; you are living a new life with Christ and you will be glorified with him forever!
Paul concludes the letter to the Galatians by telling them that the Judaizers were trying to use them to make a name for themselves. Circumcision or uncircumcision was meaningless compared to being a new creation. While those false teachers wanted to boast in the flesh, Paul's one boast was on what Jesus had done for them on the cross.
After explaining why the false teachers were off base, Paul begins wrapping up the book of Galatians by telling them that walking in the Spirit is so superior to the letter of the Law. Then in our passage today he tells us what the life of the Spirit through us looks like in everyday life, along with a few warnings of what we should avoid.
After Paul told us that we need to walk in the Spirit, he described the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. It isn't a list of dos and don'ts, but rather a description that lets us know where our hearts are at. Then Paul concluded chapter five by urging us to keep in step with the Spirit and warns us to watch out for pride and envy.
Paul told the Galatians that if they would walk in the Spirit they would not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. This war between flesh and Spirit is a normal battle of every Christian's life. This sermon tells us just what the flesh is and informs of numerous passages where Paul instructs how to walk in the Spirit. How we fight this battle will determine whether or not our lives will bear fruit unto God.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the only thing that really counts is faith working through love. The passage has a profound warning and a wonderful promise. It shares insights on how to maintain unity and love in our relationships.
In the text for this sermon, we see that trying to earn our way to salvation actually separates us from Christ. The Apostle Paul sums up the whole letter and in some ways the whole of the Bible by telling us the only thing that matters is faith working through love!
This week's sermon covers Paul's allegory of Sarah and Hagar's sons, Isaac and Ishmael. One was a child of promise, a product of faith in God. The other was naturally born. One relates to Israel under the law, the other to children of God through faith in Jesus. The freedom we have as children of God is not only the ability to say no sin but to let the life of Christ be expressed through us.
Man prefers religious rituals over relationship because rituals are much less costly. We can perform them and go on with whatever we want to do. That is why so many religions are built around them. Even denominations fall into that pattern. But real freedom is found in an intimate relationship with Jesus. It is freedom from the rituals of the Law and methods and routines that don't have any effect on our relationship with God. We were created for intimacy with God, and that is the only place we ...
In this passage in the letter to the Galatians, we can see some wonderful truths. All believers are in Christ who is THE Son and therefore we are called sons of God. The sermon touches on the gender issue and why it distorts the message. We also see the promise that as those who have faith like Abraham's we receive the promise given to Abraham. We become heirs of God because we are in His Son.
In spite of the judgment we deserve, God pleads with us to repent. He cries out for us to turn away from their sin and turn towards Jesus. The good news is that God has made a way for all men to be reconciled with him. Though most refuse to take it, many have and are and will take hold of the hope found in Jesus our savior. Hallelujah!
