I decided to read 1 Corinthians 7 from the Message, to try to connect with it better. It really helped, I like the way Peterson draws out the positive, affirming and inviting sense of Paul’s advise. One line in particular jumped out at me, summarizing the heart of the whole passage: All I want is for you…
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….
we need the Spirit
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. [1 Corinthians 2:14] Paul stresses that we are not better than other because we are In fact, from a worldly point…
united in Christ
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. [1Corinthians 1:10] Paul is addressing concerns in the church of Corinth…
decision time
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 24 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD….
no turning back, no turning back
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 23 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares…