Sermons on Fuller:

Lesson 9: Sin In The Church Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Nov 8, 2010

Handling sin in the church has become very difficult from both angles - in our PC world much bad behavior is actually celebrated, but Christians are also wounding each other over weakness instead of supporting and helping. We'll try to walk the fine line

In Chapter 5 we move from pride of surface appearance over internal substance to pride over major sin in the body. It's issue two on Paul's mind as he writes to the Corinthians. It's a tough subject—sin in the church. This chapter can easily be misconstrued in several ways and I want to try ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Lesson 10: Don't Solve Kingdom Problems In The World Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Nov 22, 2010

What happens when Christians disagree? If it is reasoning from the Scriptures about the Word, that's one thing. But when believers quarrel often it can be a sign of immaturity. When they try to resolve those disputes in front of the world, the gospel is t

In the last chapter Paul talked about how to deal with big problems in the church involving open, unrepentant sin. Now as we move into Chapter 6, he talks about handling smaller problems between believers. In a way, this is a continuation of the flow from Chapter 5. There he is telling the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Lesson 11: Be Wary Of Addiction Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Nov 28, 2010

Is there something in your life that if it was taken away your life could not go on? Is there something you just can't stop doing? You may be addicted. In fact, even many Christians are addicted to something they are not even aware of - the flesh. How to

What's your addiction? I know that's a pretty strong statement but I want us to think about that. Put another way, what controls you? What can you not do without? What, if taken away, would mean your life was over? You might say "I'm not addicted to anything!" If that's true, then halleluiah. But ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Lesson 12: Don't Panic Part 1 - Marriage & Divorce Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Dec 6, 2010

There are many misunderstandings about Paul's words on marriage and divorce. Looking at them in the context of the situation they were written in, and context of our purpose as redeemed humans offers us some real wisdom.

Beginning in chapter 7, Paul begins to address specific questions the Corinthians had sent him regarding marriage, eating meat sacrificed to idols, worship, the Lord's supper and the resurrection. First he addresses a question about marriage. If you look at the chapter as a whole the context might ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

What Should You Change? 1 Corinthians 7:17 - 40 Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Dec 13, 2010

When we experience new life in Jesus Christ we might think a change in our external appearance, position, or circumstances will make us more useful to the Master. But you might just miss out on one of the greatest opportunities available to you.

Last time we talked about how some in Corinth, especially women who were just experiencing new freedoms in the body of Christ, thought it best to divorce their pagan husbands, or remain celibate in marriage in order to be better Christians. In the context of an overly-sexualized society, and of a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:16-40

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Don't Put Yourself Above The Gospel Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Dec 28, 2010

What's permissible for me to do once I believe in Jesus Christ? The answer to that question is actually tied up in how Jesus wants to use you in spreading the gospel. Learn in this lesson how to put His love above your freedom.

As we begin chapter 8, Paul answers a second question the Corinthians posed. And for that I want to mention two things: 1. I want to go back to what I’ve said throughout this study. As believers in Jesus Christ we are first being transformed into the character of God (Rom 12:1 , 2 ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

What Good Are You? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 3, 2011

Sometimes we feel like God has to completely change us in order to use us. Paul shows us that God takes the background, weaknesses, and even difficulties and uses them for His kingdom, if we let Him.

Who are you as a person? Who are you as a Christian? Do those two questions get two different responses from you? I think often times we think that when we come to Christ, Jesus basically considers us to be a blank slate that needs to be redrawn into the character of Jesus and that everything about ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Don't Let Temptations Sink You Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 10, 2011

Though so often we start out with such good intentions, things happen in our life to trip us up from serving God. What are those things and how can we avoid them?

Paul has just gotten finished encouraging us to pursue our relationship with the Lord and our being used by Him in the furtherance of the gospel like we were competing for the Olympic games, or in a boxing match where winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing! It’s a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Don't Let Temptations Sink You

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 10, 2011

Though so often we start out with such good intentions, things happen in our life to trip us up from serving God. What are those things and how can we avoid them?

Paul has just gotten finished encouraging us to pursue our relationship with the Lord and our being used by Him in the furtherance of the gospel like we were competing for the Olympic games, or in a boxing match where winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing! It’s a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

What's More Important: You Or The Gospel? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 18, 2011

We have a lot of sources that would like us to imitate them: sports stars, movie stars, politicians, movers and shakers, even religious icons and leaders. Though we know we should imitate Jesus Christ, it is often hard for us to do that because He isn't h

In the latter half of chapter 10 Paul comes back to the argument he was making in 8 about food offered to idols. The Corinthians were arguing with Paul that because idols aren’t anything, and certainly aren’t gods, that eating food sacrificed to them was of no consequence. Paul tells ...read more

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Letting The Gospel Shine Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 25, 2011

1st Corinthians 11 is one of the most controversial and misunderstood sections of Paul's writings. We'll explore it using culture, context, character, and language to find out what Paul is and is not saying to the Corinthians and to us today.

The first thing to know about this section is that it is not about marriage or the role of women in the church. It is about having respect in worship for each other within our culture. Just prior, Paul was telling us to have respect for the conscience of others who are weak in terms of the freedoms ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Who Am I More Important Than? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jan 30, 2011

Divisions are never good in the body of Christ. But when the divisions take place over a celebration of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, things get serious real fast. In this lesson, we learn about avoiding the things that separate us, and clinging to that

Among the many problems of the Corinthian church was division. Earlier in the letter he talked about division around choosing one leader over another. In the second half of chapter 11 he focuses on another type of division that was splitting the Corinthian church: the division of rich and poor and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-35

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit - Part 1 Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Feb 7, 2011

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit has split churches and The Church for thousands of years. Paul delves into this lively and controversial subject in the next three chapters of 1st Corinthians. His reason for the discussion is not to provide a complete guide t

Chapter 12 might look to some as a right turn in the letter—Paul introducing a totally new subject that has nothing to do with what came before. Although it appears to an answer to yet another question from the Corinthians, the undertone of the letter continues—“let the gospel shine brighter than ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

How To Find Your Place In The Body Of Christ Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on Feb 13, 2011

Finding your place in the body of Christ is made difficult by the very nature of the spiritual gifts. People with upfront or flamboyant kinds of ministries can make the rest of us feel insignificant, like we are not contributing or maybe just aren't a par

As humans we like two things: to impress and be impressive. That was one of the main problems the Corinthians faced in many areas including spiritual gifts. The more flamboyant the gift, the more impressive the show of the Spirit, the better. So in chapters 12 through 14 Paul corrects this ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Show Or Show Off? Series

Contributed by Tom Fuller on May 25, 2009

Many times when we think of God using us and us using spiritual gifts we think of some pretty impressive stuff - miracles, prophecy, healings and the like. But Paul gives us some great instruction about the color of the ways God uses us.

We’ve come to this point in our study through Romans by seeing that since God has had so much mercy on us that it is only reasonable for us to make ourselves available to Him to help spread the truth of God’s love and gift of salvation. Last time we saw that we need an accurate look at ourselves ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-13

Denomination: Calvary Chapel