1 Corinthians: The Choice for Unity Around the Cross over Division Around the Self

Cypress Crossings Christian Church

1 Corinthians: The Choice for Unity Around the Cross over Division Around the Self

Part 2

February 4, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 10:24, 1 Corinthians 6:7, 1 Corinthians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 3:11–17

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Divisions Due to Selfish Decisions Always Deal Destruction.

1. The Causes of Selfish Division

1 Corinthians 6:1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?

2. The Consequences of Selfish Division

1 Corinthians 6:7a To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you.

3. The Cure for Selfish Division

1 Corinthians 10:24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

1 Corinthians 6:7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

1 Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The Choice to Stand

April 7, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 16:13–14, Ephesians 4:13–14, Joshua 1:9, 1 Peter 5:8, Daniel 3:17–18

1 Cor 16:13-14 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.” 1. Be Watchful 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 2. Stand Firm Daniel 3:17-18 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 3. Act like Men Ephesians 4:13-14 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and for by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 4. Be Strong Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Hebrews 11:36-38 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 5. Do All This in Love John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Ephesians 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

On This We Stand

March 31, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 15:1–8, 1 Corinthians 15:19, Romans 5:1, 1 Peter 2:24, John 14:6

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1 Corinthians 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Hope Comes When We Make the Choice to Remember 1. Remember the Gospel Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 2. Remember the Basis for the Gospel 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” Hebrews 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 3. Remember the Fruit of the Gospel John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 1 Corinthians 15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearance.

1 Corinthians: The Choice for the Higher Love

March 24, 2024 • Steve Hinton • 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, 1 John 4:9–10, John 3:16, 1 John 4:19, 1 Corinthians 10:24

-God’s Love is All You Need. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.” 1. See God’s Love. Luke 6:35b “for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” 1 John 4:9-10 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 2. Receive God’s Love. Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 3. Walk in God’s Love. 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (NIV)