* vs 18 - those without the spirit of God inside them believe the gospel is nonsense.
* Testimony of Bill Maher.
* vs 21 - it’s not foolish to those who “believe” - faith unlocks understanding.
* vs 22-23 - it’s foolish to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles.
* The same boiling water that hardens the egg softens the carrot.
* We preach the gospel regardless of the response.
* Why is the cross offensive?
* 1) Because of what it says about us - we’re sinners in need of a Savior.
* 2) Because of what it says about other religions - Jesus is the “only” way.
* 3) Because of what it says about God - He is a God of love and justice - He punishes and He forgives.
* 4) Because Jesus divides humanity - He separates the wheat from the chaff.
* vs 24 - our faith leads us to the power and wisdom of God.
* Wisdom is the marriage of knowledge with understanding - and our faith w/works unites the two.
* Faith with works is our testimony - it shows how God worked through us and/or for us in a situation.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (8/17/17)
The Offense of the Cross
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
1 Corinthians 1:17 (8/22/19)
August 22, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Baptism was a good thing, something God called some to do. * But Paul knew he was not one of them - he was called to evangelize. * Paul knew his primary thing, so it limited his options. * Often times our lives get out of balance with busyness because we’re not operating according to our calling. * This increases our options and weighs us down. * Are you operating out of guilt in doing some things that are outside your calling? * Too many of us operate out of a CAUSE rather than a CALL. * If we are cause-focused rather than call-focused we lose our ability to see Christ. * We are all called to do certain things - stand up for the defenseless, give to the poor, etc. * But when it comes to our vocation - the thing we spend our lives for - we operate according to a call, not a cause.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (8/17/17)
August 17, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Warren Wiersbe shares these three points to keep in mind when we’re sharing the gospel: * 1) Our Approach (vs 1-2) - this has two facets: * * We shouldn’t try to focus on eloquence and being attractional - this will get people to focus on us and not God. * * We don’t need to shy away from speaking because of our lack of eloquence - we should speak regardless. * 2) Our Attitude (vs 3-4) - two facets: * * We should have reverence toward God. * * We should have humility toward others. * Our job is not to persuade - it’s to present the truth so the Holy Spirit can do the persuading. * 3) Our Aim (vs 5) - for others to experience God’s power in their lives. * The best way to do this is by sharing our own testimony.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (8/16/18)
August 16, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* Imagine if you had to come up with a crazy theory in quantum physics. * Impossible. * Now imagine if you were given the mind of Albert Einstein. * What was once impossible is now possible. * When we get saved we have the mind of Christ. * We just need to learn how to tap into it. * We can see like God sees but we have to feed the spirit that’s inside us. * One of the marks of maturity in Christ is discernment (Hebrews 5:13-14). * This is the ability to penetrate beneath the surface and see things as they really are. * To have the mind of Christ means to see life as God sees it and value the things He values. * We have this mind.