03 - Biblical Manhood - In Church
November 5, 2023 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 16:13
According to the Tearfund report the ratio of women to men in church in America is 65% to 35%. That means that every Sunday there is approximately 28% more women attending church than men. This ought not to be. God’s wants men in His church, in the pulpit, in the pews, and on the elder board; men who have grown up, spiritually speaking, and who have stopped talking, thinking, and reasoning like children. It's high time, says the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13, that men "act like men" and stay on alert for their families, standing firm against error or in the face of hardship, showing strength of character, and doing all that they do with love.
42 - A Portrait Of An Imperfect Church
March 13, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 16
With chapter 16 Paul makes a radical change from the doctrinal to the practical. After discussing the resurrection at length and in great detail, he ends the letter with several exhortations in regard to how Christians are to conduct themselves in light of such good news about our future resurrections. In other words, he brings his readers back rather abruptly from the topic of our future life to the topic of our present life. And the two are not mutually exclusive. It seems that whenever God gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like it in the life to come it is always for the purpose of helping us live more faithfully and victoriously on earth in this life right now.
41 - Incentives Of The Resurrection (Part 4)
March 6, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 15:50–58
Paul’s concluding victory song in 1 Corinthians 15 sets the stage for a wonderful doxology. Praising God in anticipation for the resurrection of all believers, the apostle writes about the great transformation, the great triumph, and the great thanksgiving that will come at the sound of the great trumpet at the end of the age. Until then, Paul writes, until that days comes, holy living among God’s people is the order of the day.
40 - Incentives Of The Resurrection (Part 3)
February 27, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 15:35–49
We can’t imagine exactly what things will be like at the end of the age when all believers in Jesus Christ are given their new resurrected bodies. The Bible is NOT an encyclopedia on this point. But what we do know is that we will be like Jesus as he is now. Whatever happens to our present bodies—whether they are healthy or unhealthy, beautiful or plain, short-lived or long-lived, or whether they are indulged or tortured—they are not our permanent bodies. Our blessed assurance is that these natural bodies of ours will one day be raised, recreated, transformed, and translated into the supernatural. Although we have only a glimpse of what our news bodies will be like, it should be enough to know that “we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).
39 - Incentives Of The Resurrection (Part 2)
February 20, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 15:12–34
Without the resurrection of Jesus, the good news would be bad news, and there would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection, the gospel would be an empty, hopeless message of meaningless nonsense. Unless our Lord conquered sin and death, making a way for men to follow in that victory, there is no gospel to proclaim. And those who do proclaim it would be liars who misrepresent the truth. But the good news is that Jesus Christ is risen! And while the penalty for sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ who promises us that, in the same manner in which he raised himself from the tomb, so he too will raise us from the dead. He will not leave out tombs occupied.
38 - Incentives Of The Resurrection (Part 1)
February 13, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 15:1–11
God used a ragged cross, the very instrument of death and despair, and a cold tomb, the epitome of hopelessness, and turned them both into symbols of life and hope for the believer, that whoever believes in what was accomplished upon that cross and believes in the one who walked out of that tomb would be saved. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, the apostle Paul approaches the topic of Christ's resurrection from an apologetic standpoint—providing evidence for the risen Lord—and from a practical standpoint—providing meaning for it in the life of a believer.
37 - Tongues & Prophecy in the Church (Part 3)
February 6, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 14:26–40
In this section, the apostle Paul concludes his critical discussion on matters relating to spiritual gifts—specifically prophecy and tongues—and pulls together a few remaining exhortations to summarize what had been left unsaid in the previous correctives. And in doing so, after previously discussing the priority and purpose of tongue-talking, Paul now concludes chapter 14 by giving the biblical procedure for it, to include the role of women in the local church.
36 - Tongues & Prophecy in the Church (Part 2)
January 30, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 14:20–25
In 1 Corinthian 14:20-25 the apostle Paul continues his inspired lecture on the priority, purpose, and procedure for speaking in tongues. This passage is an especially important section of Scripture, because in it, Paul gives a clear picture of what the gift of tongues was designed to do—it’s purpose—and therefore, by implication, what it’s not intended for. And what is that purpose? It's certainly not so that hyper religious people can show off on Sunday mornings and hijack the church service (as was the issue in Corinth). In truth, the purpose of tongue-talking was to be a sign. And, generally speaking, it was a sign of communication. But what exactly does this sign gift communicate and to whom does it communicate? To those questions, and more, Paul gives the answers.
35 - Tongues & Prophecy in the Church (Part 1)
January 23, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 14:1–19
There is nothing wrong in praying repetitively with purpose, heart, and meaning. In fact, Jesus told two different parables about the value of persistent repetition in approaching God with our requests. Rather, what is wrong is the mindless, indifferent recital of spiritual-sounding incantations and babble masked as prayer (Matt. 6:5-15). In 1 Corinthians 14:1-19, the apostle Paul once again confronts the Corinthians in regard to their lack of love for each other and their misunderstanding and misusing of the gift of tongues. At issue was the the priority of mindless tongue-talking in the church service compared to other mindful gifts, such as prophecy and preaching. While a good gift from God, Paul admonishes the Corinthians to put the legitimate expression of tongues in its rightful place on their list of priorities.
34 - The Excellency Of Love (Part 3)
January 16, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 13:8–13
In 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, Paul proves that, because of its enduring, eternal quality, love is God’s greatest gift, His gift above all gifts. There is no greater gift. All other spiritual gifts, to include speaking in tongues, miracle-working, and prophesying, are temporary gifts at best (reserved primarily for the apostles in the first century). Moreover, because love is eternal (and the sign gifts are not) love is to be sought after and emphasized. All others gifts that God grants to His people will one day become extinct (for lack of necessity). But love will last forever.
33 - The Excellency Of Love (Part 2)
January 9, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 13:4–5
Love! It’s both a fruit of the Holy Spirit, according to Galatians 5:22, and it’s the very definition of who God is, according to 1 John 4:16! And because God has poured His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), it is therefore not only possible for us as believers to walk in love but it is expected of us. Far greater than tongue talking or prophesying is the spiritual fruit of love. Moreover, for a Christian to demonstrate a type of love that is patient and kind (void of envy, arrogance, and rudeness) is what God deems to be the more excellent than all the spiritual gifts combined.
32 - The Excellency Of Love (Part 1)
January 2, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 13:1–3
The Bible’s simplest description of God—which is really God’s description of Himself since He inspired the men who wrote it—is that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). If we are indeed children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, who share in His nature (see 2 Peter 1:4), then we tool should exhibit love to others. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul emphasizes this point unlike any other passage in Scripture. It may be, from a literary viewpoint, the greatest passage the apostle Paul ever penned. As such, it has been called the hymn of love, a lyrical interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes set to music.
31 - Interdependence vs. Independence
November 14, 2021 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 12:21–31
God has not redeemed us just for Himself but for each other. He redeemed us so that we would be joyfully and mutually dependent on each other as a family of faith who “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2). Continuing with his metaphor of the human body, Paul explains that spiritual gifts should not be the basis for valuing a person or considering one believer as more honorable than another. Christians need each other. Neither the individualism of supposed inferiority nor the individualism of proud independence is biblical or pleasing to God.
30 - Our Diversity & Unity in Christ
November 7, 2021 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 12:12–20
To illustrate the nature and importance of the unity of the church itself, and then again, the importance of diversity as a key factor in that unity, the apostle Paul used the perfect analogy of the human body and its members. From the head to the heart, from the eye to the ear, Paul explains that, while we all have different roles to play in the body of Christ, some more important than others, to be sure, we are all nonetheless vital to the operation of the body and ensuring that it runs as a cohesive unit.
29 - Spiritual Gifts
October 24, 2021 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 Corinthians 12:1–11
All Christians, without exception or distinction, have an important role to play in the church; a role in which only they can fulfill. A person's natural talents and spiritual gifting may serve them well in their secular pursuits. But those must be secondary to their involvement in God’s work. It is God’s will for believers to exercise their spiritual gifts—invest their talents rather than bury them—for the common good of God's people. Do you know what your spiritual gift is? And are you using it for the glory of God?