Relationships. According to the way the world thinks, they’re everything. The best that life can offer. In some ways that is true…but what happens when relationships go sour?  In 1 Corinthians 7:6-11, Paul gives some answers towards those questions. Not everyone will end up in a relationship. Not every relationship will stay together. Singleness is a gift of God. Divorce needs to be thought about in the light of the Word of God. If we do not allow God the control of our relationships, then the idol we make them into can surely crumble.

Full service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Behold Our God
00:18 Introduction
00:50 Prayer
06:08 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Be Careful Little Eyes
10:46 Ministry Focus – Reforming Church
14:19 Bible reading: Malachi 2:10-16
Song: My Hope Rests Firm
15:41 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 7:6-11
16:40 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 7:6-11
Song: O Jesus I have Promised
40:21 Closing

It seems that the believers at Corinth were having trouble (as often happens) with sexual issues. We learned something of this in chapters 5 and 6 when we noted how Paul had to address both incest and promiscuity. There was also another extreme view at Corinth which Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 7:1-5. Some, even those who were married, held to the view ‘no sex please, we’re Christians’. Naturally, Paul had a bit to say about that view and in doing so put marital sexual intimacy into the place that God intended it according to His design.

Full service

00:00 Welcome
Song: And Can It Be
00:16 Introduction
00:50 Prayer
Song: And God Said
06:15 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #1)
Song: God Our Father
08:07 Ministry Focus – Gideons
16:03 Bible reading: Genesis 2:18-25
Song: Only A Holy God
17:11 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 7:1-5
19:50 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 7:1-5
Song: O Great God
32:29 Closing

It seems the members of the church in Corinth, very much like the culture of the people of that city, held to wide ranging views about the place of their ‘bodies’ within the Christian life. Some held the view that it was immaterial what you did with your body, and so, a visit to a Temple prostitute was of no concern. Others held to a much more stricter view (also known as asceticism) that any contact with the body was purely sinful. in 1 Corinthians 6;12-20, the Apostle Paul finds a middle ground between these two extremes, reminding his readers and therefore us, of what God has to say about our bodies, which in the end, belong to Him!

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:44 Prayer
Song: Come Praise and Glorify
05:21 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
09:49 Ministry Focus – Prison Fellowship
Song: Galatians 2:20
12:56 Bible reading: Romans 13:8-14
Song: Grace Unmeasured
14:04 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
15:29 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Song: Jesus Paid It All
40:07 Closing

It must be a terrible thing to have amnesia – not being able to remember (among other things)  your name or your family! It is a terrible thing to have ‘gospel amnesia’, that is, to belong to a church, but not be able to remember how the gospel of Jesus affects your whole life – especially how you treat your fellow believers! But in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, this was what was happening at Corinth. They were taking each other- their own brothers and sisters in Christ – to court, rather than deal with each other in love. Was Paul angry? You bet he was, but he also gave these forgetful Christians (and us) some great truths to remember!

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:46 Prayer
Song: To God be the Glory
06:14 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Ephesians 4:32
09:46 Ministry Focus – Bible Society
Song: God’s Love is Strong Love
13:33 Bible reading: Matthew 5:17-26
Song: The Servant King
15:30 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
16:57 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Song: Jesus Thank You
39:40 Closing

It’s hard to be a parent when the time comes to discipline your children. You need wisdom, persistence and a strong love, knowing that discipline, (though painful at the time) when applied in the right measure will produce the desired outcome. As far as we know, the Apostle Paul wasn’t a parent, but he knew a thing or two about parenting believers in fledgling churches, and sad to say, the believers at Corinth were desperately in need of a good dose of it. In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, we see how Paul did just that and how he did it for the health and growth of the people at Corinth he loved.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:45 Prayer
Song: 10,000 Reasons
05:00 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #16)
Song: Titus 3:5
09:30 Ministry Focus
12:54 Bible reading: Matthew 13:24-33
Song: O Lord My Rock and My Redeemer
14:28 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
16:43 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Song: Amazing Grace
38:34 Closing

So far in his letter to these Corinthian believers, the Apostle Paul has had to tackle many things head on. The church was clearly divided with a party spirit and wrongly paid too much emphasis to the flashy skills of gospel preachers at the expense of the gospel itself. But at the root of all this was the sin of pride. In 1 Corinthians 4:6-21, Paul seeks to expose this lack of humility for what it is – as something that would continue to cause the church to unravel and something that needed to be urgently dealt with. There is no antidote for pride like the cross. It’s only when we come back to the cross that pride gets put back into place.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:49 Prayer
Song: Beautiful Saviour (All My Days)
04:33 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Tax Collector & the Pharisee
09:53 Ministry Focus: Canavans
12:00 Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
15:25 PYV Spring Camp
Song: This Life I Live
16:30 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21
19:40 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21
Song: When I Survey
43:41 Closing

After the Apostle Paul took time to dismantle the false edifice that the Corinthians were putting in place around gospel preachers in 1 Corinthians 3, in the next few verses of the 4th chapter, (1 Corinthians 4:1-5), the Apostle took time to correct their perspective. Gospel preachers aren’t everything. In fact, they are just servants and stewards, lowly ranked while the One they serve – well that’s a different story! The Lord Jesus is everything! The Corinthians ought not confuse the gospel preachers with the gospel message. One comes and goes. The other is eternal!

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:44 Prayer
Song: At the Name of Jesus
04:54 Children’s talk (see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #63)
Song: More Like Jesus
8:49 PIM Ministry
12:47 Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 5
Song: Worthy of All Praise
14:21 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
15:22 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Song: In Christ Alone
38:43 Closing

No church is perfect. The work of sanctification of God’s people is an ongoing process. Every church falls short of the ideal of ‘what we should be’ in Christ. However, not all churches, like the one in Corinth, had the benefit of having the Apostle Paul tell them where they were going wrong. Paul does this a few times in his first letter to them and in this section of the letter, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Paul makes it clear of some of the dangers they were facing – dangers that any church could face and also, must deal with.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:41 Prayer
Song: Jerusalem
04:08 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise; see also Big Picture Bible Crafts #72)
Song: Build Your Life on the Rock
08:24 PIM Ministry
Song: We Preach Christ
11:41 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Song: Marvellous Grace
13:23 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
14:22 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Song: Nothing Can I Boast In
36:35 Closing

The Church in Corinth was in a bit of a mess. It was out of balance. Too much emphasis on one thing at the expense of another. Sometime churches can get like that. Out of balance. In these verses, 1 Corinthians 3:5-17, the Apostle Paul seeks to correct that balance and get the Corinthians back on the right track of serving and following their Saviour.

Full service

00:00 Introduction
00:37 Prayer
Song: Christ is Mine Forevermore
03:58 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: The Apostles Were Jesus’ Witnesses
7:45 PIM Ministry
11:59 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Song: Blessed Be Your Name
14:16 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 3:5-17
15:57 Sermon: 1 Corinthians 3:5-17
Song: My Hope is Built
40:39 Closing