How do you respond when someone points out an area in your life where you were wrong? Do you get defensive? Do you return the favor and point out all of the areas where the person who corrected you has fallen short? In I Corinthians 16:10-11 Paul calls the Corinthians to welcome Timothy’s correction rather than despising him for it. In this message we will consider what it might look like for us to apply this advice towards anyone who chooses to correct us out of love.
Making Plans and Trusting God
June 1, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 16:5–9
What do you do when you work really hard to put together a plan only to find that nothing turned out the way you expected it to? It can be hard right? Now what about when your plans involved a relationship? When our relationships don’t go the way we planned we often find ourselves feeling lonely and heartbroken. In this passage we will see how Paul responded when his relationship with the Corinthians didn’t end up going the way he planned it to.
The Priority of Generosity
May 25, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 16:1–4
What is it that makes money so attractive? Is it the freedom and the control that it offers? Is it the security it gives in the midst of all the uncertainties of the future? Or maybe it’s the comfort and pleasure that money promises? In this message, we will compare the promises of money and the promises of the Gospel and find that, in the end, Jesus is better. Lastly, we will consider what it would look like to live as if Jesus and not money were our greatest treasure.
Not in Vain
May 18, 2024 • Joshua Moffit • 1 Corinthians 15:58
If you have a worldview "under the sun" it seems like everything is vanity and a striving after wind. That is certainly how life often feels. Our labor is not always fruitful or lasting. Hurt, disappointment, unmet expectations, lost dreams, and failure are part of our shared human experience in this fallen world. However, the gospel flips all of that upside down! Jesus has been raised from the dead and so we have the assurance that in the Lord our labor is not in vain!
Death’s Defeat!
May 11, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 15:50–57
Have you ever longed to see death destroyed? Think of all of the havoc death has wreaked and the pain that it has caused. Well in I Corinthians 15 Paul points us towards a day where death will be no more. A day where the one who seemed to swallow everything in his path will be swallowed up in victory.
The Nature of the Resurrection
April 27, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 15:35–39
Have you ever wondered how it could be possible for bodies that are buried and decay to ever be raised to life again? The idea almost seems inconceivable. And even if it were possible, do we really want to be stuck in our bodies forever? These are a few of the questions that Paul addresses in these verses. Let’s see what he has to say.
Death, Grief, and Resurrection Hope
April 20, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
How do we deal with the tension between the reality of death and the promises of resurrection? What does it look like to grieve in hope? How can facing death give us a greater appreciation for the resurrection? How does distancing ourselves from death end up distancing ourselves from the depths of God’s love for us? How does Jesus show us what it looks like to cling to the promises of God without denying the reality of death?
Living in Dependence upon the Resurrection
April 13, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 15:12–19
Paul tells the Corinthians that if we have put our hope in Christ for this life only then we are above all the most to be pitied. Why does he say that? In this message we will consider what it was about Paul’s life that would lead him to make this statement and we will consider what it would look like for us to imitate him in this even as he was imitating his precious Savior. We will also rejoice that Christ has indeed risen again from the dead proving that there is nothing to pity about a child of God.
Remembering What Really Matters
April 6, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 15:1–11
Have you ever forgotten something that turned out to be pretty important? In this passage Paul comes to remind the Corinthians about what really matters. Here we find an amazing summary of the Gospel as well as a reminder that God’s grace isn’t just for good people but it extends to even the worst of sinners.
Complementarianism in the Gathering
March 16, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 14:33–35
Some verses are hard to understand. In I Corinthians 14:34 Paul writes that “Women should keep silent in the churches.” What does Paul mean in this verse and how does it relate to I Corinthians 11:5 where Paul seems to approve of women praying and prophesying? In this message we will take a deep dive into two different ways to interpret these verses and consider how we might apply what we learn to the service.
Can Complementarianism be Beautiful?
March 9, 2024 • Tim Cain • Ephesians 5:21–33, 1 Corinthians 14
Were headship and submission a part of God’s good plan for husbands and wives before the fall or are they actually the result of sin? If they were a part of God’s good plan then how is it fair that husbands get the role of headship while wives are called to submit? These are just a few of the questions we will consider as we try and discern the roles that God has called both men and women to play in the home.
Needy and Needed: Why the Gathering Matters
March 2, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 14:26
Why do you go to the church service? Are there things that you are hoping to get from it that you don’t think you can get anywhere else? How important do you think your presence there is? In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul answers many of these questions by telling us what he wants to see take place at the gathering. In this chapter we soon realize that we are more needed then we are aware of while at the same time being more needy than we ever imagined.
Paul and the Gift of Tongues
February 24, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 14
The gift of tongues has been the source of a lot of confusion, disagreement, division and hurt among Christians. There are some who view tongues as the ultimate sign of one’s spirituality, while there are others who believe that it is a form of paganism that has crept back into the church. Given the massive gap between these two positions, what are we supposed to do? Are there things that we can all agree on? Are there ways that we can seek to understand those that we don’t agree with? And what might it look like to love one another across some of our differences? These are some of the things we will address in this message.
The New Testament Gift of Prophecy: Two Views
February 17, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 14:1–5
In I Corinthians 14 Paul commands the Corinthians to “Earnestly desire the Spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” But what exactly does that mean? Is this something we should still be doing today or was this just for the early church? Christians have answered these questions differently throughout the years and in this sermon, we will take a look at what both Cessationists and Continuationists have to say on this topic. After considering some of the common ground we will talk about what it might look like for all of us to grow in our awareness and dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
Heaven and the Love that Never Ends
February 10, 2024 • Tim Cain • 1 Corinthians 13:8–13
What do you think Heaven will be like? How will love be different there then it is here on earth? What impact should the fact that the other gifts will pass away while love will never end have on the things we prioritize here on earth? These are just a few of the questions we will be discussing in this sermon.
