This week, Pastor Matthew continued on with our 1 Corinthians series with Chapters 3 and 4.
He spoke about power, and the counter-cultural nature of the Gospel.
The Corinthian church was full of human wisdom. Their jealousy, divisions and quarreling were proof of their worldliness and immaturity. In his letter to them, Paul calls them to the alternative way of living by the spirit. A way that was not compatible with their behavior.
People who have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot act in the same manner as those who have not. We must live crucified lives with Christ. Lives which are laid down for others and are founded upon humility. Our allegiance must be to the Kingdom of God and not to our countries or cultures. Our lives and our values must be shaped by the crucifixion, as God’s power is lived out by way of the cross.
Paul boasts about the very things that the Corinthians distained, and he calls out their hypocrisy. The values that they held (their power, honor and riches) were the opposite of all that Paul and therefore Christ was calling them to.
The power of God is expressed in a life that blesses those who curse, endures persecution, answers kindly to those who slander, practices forgiveness and lays their life down for Jesus and other people. We cannot receive the benefits of the cross without laying our lives down daily. We can not lay our lives down daily while being filled with human pride.
Paul reminded the Corinthian church that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; a message that is repeated all the way through the Bible. We live in a culture that doesn’t teach this.
We as the church need to stop getting into fights and quarrels that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. We need to begin to look like Jesus. We need to lay our lives down and not get caught up in worldly things.
1 Corinthians | Week Three | Chapters 3 & 4
1 Corinthians Series
January 24, 2021 • Pastor Matthew
1 Corinthians | Week Thirteen | Chapter 16
April 11, 2021 • Tyler Schenzel
This week Tyler Schenzel finished up our 1 Corinthians series with Chapter 16. Paul talks about four distinct topics within this short chapter; money, his travel plans, standing firm in the faith and his final greetings. Tyler spoke about the various things that get in the way of living on mission such as our jobs, relationships, phones, hobbies and desire for comfort amongst others. We need to become people who live on mission; taking control of our schedules before they take control of us. Tyler encouraged us to hear from the Lord and walk through the wide door of effective work that is open for us. Just as Paul urges the Corinthians, we must stand firm in the faith, putting on the full armor of God and displaying the fruits of the Spirit in every area of our lives.
Easter Sunday | 1 Corinthians | Week Twelve | Chapter 15 pt 2
April 4, 2021 • Pastor Matthew
This Easter Sunday Pastor Matthew preached a message of resurrection out of 1 Corinthians 15. The resurrection is what changed everything, it is the anchor of our faith and the thing upon which everything hinges. It launched the church, Christianity and the Kingdom of God. When Jesus died everybody assumed that He would do what every dead person does – stay dead. Nobody expected no body, which is why the resurrection changed and changes everything. Pastor Matthew led us in three points: 1. How can I be sure? All scholars believe that Paul was a real person who lived in the 1st Century, and there are seven letters that all agrees He wrote between 50AD and 60AD. Likewise, all credible scholars believe that Jesus was a historical figure and that He was executed by Romans. Paul wrote about the resurrection just years after it happened. He met with eyewitnesses and used a creed to teach the people: Christ died for our sins and was buried; He rose from the dead and was seen. Paul’s letters prove two things; first - that the resurrection was not a product of decades of oral transmission, and secondly - belief in the resurrection was around when eyewitnesses were still alive. No scholars believe that Paul was lying, because His life validated it. 2. What does it matter for me personally? The resurrection proves everything Jesus said about Himself. That He is the Son of God. The exact image of the invisible God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The light of the world. The forgiver of sins. The Word made flesh. He was there before the creation of the world. He was and is and is to come. He is the great I Am. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Apart from Him we are all destined for an eternity without Him in hell. The wages of sin is death and apart from Him that is our destiny. Jesus paid the price for our sins, and conquered death. If Christ truly was resurrected, we are no longer bound to sin. Jesus’s power is REAL and we can be set free. We do not have to live in our sin any longer. 3. What does it matter for our world? Jesus is King, and the Kingdom of God brings life to dead places. Jesus is making all things new and partnering with His children to bring it to pass. We are people of the resurrection and we can see graves turned into gardens.
1 Corinthians | Week Eleven | Chapter 15 pt 1
March 28, 2021 • Jermaine Stewart
This morning, Pastor Jermaine continued on with our 1 Corinthians series with Chapter 15:35 to end of Chapter 15. This section of 1 Corinthians is all about the resurrection. The Corinthians had let false teachings come into their churches and they were doubting the resurrection of Jesus and of the body. Paul passionately addresses these concerns, using the resurrection as the link between the present and the future. Just like Jesus we will be resurrected into a new body, into a present and heavenly existence. Pastor Jermaine made three major points: 1. There is a resurrection Paul calls out the Corinthians for not using common sense, and uses the image of a seed to demonstrate the continuity between our present body and our future body. 2. There is a resurrected body The body is both natural and spiritual. It is natural in its current age, but spiritual in the age to come. 3. The resurrected body/ state involves the body, and is a supernatural event performed by God. Adam was life receiving whereas Jesus is life giving.