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1 Corinthians
Contributed by Garrett Tyson on Jan 22, 2022 (message contributor)
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1. We Are Partners With Christ, Through Christ (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)
Contributed on Jan 22, 2022
God dedicated us to himself, and to his service, in Christ. We are not our own.
I had every intention this week of starting a new series on the Holy Spirit. And I can't do it. I open up Microsoft Word, and get my music going, and I sit in front of my monitor. And I have nothing. I have this outline I was going to follow. I had a plan. And I can't follow it. ...read more
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2. Brag About Jesus, And Belonging To Him (1 Corinthians 1:10-30)
Contributed on Jan 22, 2022
Don't brag about yourself, or your leaders. Also, be united: remember you are "of Christ," and not "of your pastor."
Today, we're going to try cover the rest of 1 Corinthians 1, all at once. It's a pretty big section, so let's just dive in. 1 Corinthians 1:10: (10) Now, I urge you, brothers , by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (in order) that the same thing you may/shall all speak, and ...read more
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3. Two Types Of Evangelism (1 Corinthians 2:1-15)
Contributed on Jan 23, 2022
Comparing and contrasting friendship evangelism, with power evangelism. Also, Spirit wisdom, vs. human wisdom.
I'm finding it impossible when working in 1 Corinthians to offer you any kind of introduction each week. There's something about reflecting on human wisdom, and Spirit wisdom, and Paul's criticism of human eloquence and rhetorical nicety that just stifles that. This week, in ...read more
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4. An Invitation To Healing (Bonus Week)
Contributed on Jan 25, 2022
God gave most of this message to me while I was at work. I took dictation, basically, for 45 minutes, and then tried to fill in gaps without messing it up. Bottom line: God will heal you.
Brothers and sisters, understand today that I am in no way criticizing you, or condemning you, or judging you. I want to help you. There is no more obvious sign of the church's weakness and lack of faith than the chronic sickness and disease found in so many of its members. Even just among ...read more
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5. Spiritual People Don't Cause Divisions/Factions (1 Corinthians 3:1-23)
Contributed on Jan 28, 2022
Paul couldn't teach the Corinthians cool Spirit things because they were fleshly-- and still are. How should we view ourselves, and our leaders?
In chapter 3, Paul seems to be responding to a criticism made against him by the Corinthians. The Corinthians are upset with Paul, because there are Spiritual things that he didn't teach them. Instead, they apparently learned them from Apollos. Let's reread 2:12-14: (12) Now, we ...read more
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6. The One Appraising Us Is Christ (1 Corinthians 4:1-21)
Contributed on Jan 29, 2022
Don't boast; don't become proud. Be faithful servants, and don't pick apart Christians' motives. You can't see in their heads. Also, stop navel gazing.
Let's start today, by rereading 1 Corinthians 3:18-23: (18) No one must deceive himself: if anyone thinks wise to be among you this age, a fool he must become, in order he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world, foolishness with God it is. For it is written, "The One catching ...read more
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7. How Rich Are We, In Christ, Right Now? (1 Corinthians 4:1-21, Part 2)
Contributed on Jan 29, 2022
Are we kings, already? The answer is "yes" and "no." But our riches are for service, to be used in humility. Not to lift ourselves up.
Last week, we worked through 1 Corinthians 4. Admittedly, I didn't really explain the last half of the chapter at all. I think I had three reasons for this. None of which are very important, but here they are: (1) Chapter 4 hangs together as a single argument, and I wanted to catch the ...read more
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8. Unrepentant Sin Can't Be Tolerated Among Us (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)
Contributed on Feb 1, 2022
We must live in purity and truth, as a people dedicated to God, who celebrate Jesus as our Passover lamb. We live unleavened lives.
Starting in chapter 5, Paul begins addressing specific issues in the Corinthian church. Some of these issues have been reported to him by members of the church. Other issues are questions that the church has brought to him. And so Paul works his way through the questions, one at a time. In ...read more
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9. It's Better To Get Ripped Off (1 Corinthians 6:1-11)
Contributed on Feb 6, 2022
If your brother in Christ rips you off, eat the money. If you can't, or aren't willing, go to the elders, not the legal system. Also, a warning: the unrighteous don't inherit God's kingdom
I'd like to begin today by reading something from John G. Lake, somewhere in The Collected Writings of John G. Lake: "Beloved, there is a deep, passionate yearning in my soul that above all else this congregation may set forth, to the praise of God, such a character of righteousness in ...read more
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10. Your Body Is Not A Rental Car (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)
Contributed on Feb 10, 2022
Jesus purchased all of you-- body, soul, and spirit-- through the cross. So your body is designed for him, and not sexual immorality. Flee sexual immorality, then.
When I was at Bethel Seminary, I had to write a paper on 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. I remember thinking that it was a horrible, difficult passage. The kind of passage professors give students, in part to mess with them. I remember being really unhappy with it, and never feeling like I quite got it ...read more
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11. Is It Good To Not Touch A Woman? (1 Corinthians 7:1-17)
Contributed on Feb 14, 2022
For most people, the answer is this: you should have a spouse, you should "have" your spouse, and your spouse should "have" you.
Let's start today, by simply reading 1 Corinthians 7:1: (1) Now, concerning the things which you wrote, "[it is] good for a man, a woman/wife not to touch." [a woman/wife is focused in Greek]. This sentence is almost certainly a Corinthian slogan that Paul is quoting. Paul not ...read more
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12. Keeping The Commandments Is Everything (1 Corinthians 7:17-24)
Contributed on Feb 21, 2022
You can serve God just fine, in your current state. Slave or free, married or single. What God wants, is obedience.
We've taken a little break from 1 Corinthians, and after getting back into 1 Corinthians 7, I remember why. This is a hard chapter. Paul has one argument running through the length of chapter 7. There's a thread, that's woven through its whole length. But the chapter is too long, ...read more
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13. It's Your Choice, To Get Married Or Stay Single (1 Corinthians 7:25-40)
Contributed on Mar 1, 2022
Here, Paul addresses their slogan ("good to not touch a woman") from the perspective of singleness, and marriage
Let's start today by reading 1 Corinthians 7:1: "Now concerning the things about which you wrote: "It is good for a man, a woman/wife not to touch." Paul here is quoting a Corinthian slogan. And what he's been doing, throughout chapter 7, is interacting with this slogan ...read more
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14. Love Builds Up, And Focuses On The Other (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)
Contributed on Mar 7, 2022
The Corinthians are focused on knowledge, and their rights. In doing this, they've lost track of what's more important-- the church, and building the body.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul switches topics. So we find ourselves done thinking and talking about singleness, and marriage, and touching, and sexual immorality. The Corinthians have another question that they want Paul to answer. That question is something like this: "Is it okay to go to ...read more
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15. Church Is Not About My Rights. It's About You. (1 Corinthians 9:1-27)
Contributed on Mar 12, 2022
Paul modeled a better approach for the Corinthians, at great personal cost. Don't focus on your rights. Focus on the other.
In last week's passage, Paul tried to convince the Corinthians that they needed to stop going to idol temples and eating idol meat there. The Corinthians-- at least some of them-- thought that doing this was okay. They viewed this question as an issue of knowledge, and as an issue of freedom. ...read more
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16. Learn From When God Struck Down His Own People (1 Corinthians 9:18-10:14)
Contributed on Mar 19, 2022
Paul beats his body--- is ruthless toward it-- because he understands the dangers of giving in to sin. Idolatry, and sexual immorality, are dangerous.
This week, in chapter 10, Paul continues to make his argument against going to idol temples and eating idol meat. He begins like this, in verse 1: "(1) For." Now, whenever we start reading somewhere, and the first word we read is "for," we should have one single thought run ...read more
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17. Head Coverings Are Not Biblical (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)
Contributed on Aug 20, 2022
Women are full partners with men in worship, prayer, and service. Verses 4-10 are a quotation of the Corinthian argument, which Paul refutes.
Today, we have the privilege of wrestling with 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. This passage has been called the most complicated, difficult passage in the NT (N.T Wright). Some of the most brilliant minds in NT studies have said that the key to the passage has not yet been unlocked (G. B. Caird). Almost ...read more