SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. [1 Corinthians 12:11] Unknown to us, invisible to our eyes, the Spirit works in the church and the world, spreading out God’s gifts, working out God’s purposes, custom designing God’s church. Nothing…
God desires unity
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 11 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. [1 Corinthians 11:11] In this world, there are pressures that divide what God intended to be united. In this chapter Paul addresses the relationship between men and women, as well as between believers (as expressed in the church…
standing firm?
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 10 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. [1 Corinthians 10:13] In this passage, I…
in order to reach…
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. [1 Corinthians 9:19-22, The Message] Why am…
will others stumble?
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn’t worth it at the cost of even one of these “weak ones.” [1 Corinthians 8:12, The Message] In this discussion about whether it is OK to eat meat that has been sacrificed to…
God-saturated, God-driven
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. [1 Corinthians 7:7] The Corinthians had written a letter to Paul, asking a number of questions, including one about marriage. Paul speaks to them as a single, telling them…
something has changed in us
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. [1 Corinthians 6:11] When a person surrenders to God and becomes a Jesus-follower, something changes. Something changes in us, and as…
healthy judging
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? [1 Corinthians 5:12] Having just spent time warning the Corinthians about not judging him, Paul goes into a serious case of judgment against a couple engaged in an incestual relationship. What’s with this, Paul refuses…
whose opinion matters most?
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. [1 Corinthians 4:3-4] The leaders in the church at Corinth were speaking against Paul,…
how the seed grows
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour….