We are currently living in the midst of a great crisis in the Christian life. We have been legally emancipated from the penalty of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. But many of us are still living as though we are slaves to sin. We are free, but we are not living daily in…
As we examine the rest of this chapter of 1 Corinthians12, we’re going to see what God wants for His children in regard to spiritual gifts—we will get a clear picture of His desire for us as we interact with one another as members of this New Testament church. We learned last week that each…
When you hear the word “home,” what comes to mind? Is it simply a place of residence? Or is it more like a feeling of peace and security, or the dynamic of your family, or a host country that you have embraced? The concept of “home” cannot be restricted to a single word or concept,…
In light of all this, we want to see that the position we hold in Christ and our membership in His body (this local church) is not something that we should treat casually. We all have casual friendships with others but when it comes to our connections in the church, there should be a deeper…
Our goal in this series of studies is to unpack what it means to be called—specifically what God wants for those who have responded in faith to the inward calling of the Spirit. As a result of our calling, we must follow in the steps of Jesus—being conformed into His image and having the same…
In our sermon last week, we focused in on how God wants His children to be different—we said “peculiar”—not conformed to the standards of this world but offering our lives completely to Him as holy, pleasing, living sacrifice. In some ways, the peculiarity of living a life for Christ can—in some demented way—meet this desire in us to be extraordinary. In fact, it is not uncommon for people who consider themselves to be completely sold-out to God to become proud of their perceived holiness. We may all have a deep-seated desire to be extraordinary, but God is calling us to be ordinary. If we are the superhero of our stories, there is no room for God to be glorified in or through us. But, when we see ourselves for who we are—and see God for who He really is—we will begin to see our part in His kingdom work, and our role in this work is a small (but essential) part of a much bigger work that God is accomplishing through the local, New Testament church!
Community is often under-prioritized, because we naturally tend to gravitate towards hanging out. But are we building the right community, the community God intends for us to have with one another. In this lesson, we are first going to look at how the early church (Acts 2:42-47) built their community together. Second, we are going to read through 1 Corinthians 13, at how the church at Corinth needed to shift the priority of their community from valuing talents and gifts to valuing Love above all else. A love the leads us back to Christ.
As we come to the end of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, we realize that Paul arrived in Corinth physically and emotionally spent—burned out—and he was in desperate need of rejuvenation. That is exactly what he received when he arrived in Corinth. In this study, we will spend some time examining all the ways that Paul received encouragement and instruction during this difficult time and try to apply some of these same principles to our lives as well.
HELP US GO INTO ALL THE WORLD, “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12:14
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Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? These are all crucial questions that we must ask ourselves before we hit send!