The Church at Corinth was in crisis. Divisions over personalities were fuelled by the cult of pride. While some distance away from them when we wrote his letter, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 reflects just how close Paul was to these wayward believers. Having established that being united to Christ should mean the death of all divisions, Paul now explains what the world calls ‘foolish’ (that is the preaching of the cross) is nothing but the express wisdom of God.
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‘Meet the biggest problem in the church at Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
The text of 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 tells of the report that the Apostle Paul heard from ‘Chloe’s people’ about the state of the church at Corinth. They were a church divided. The issue was playing favourites with people. Some preferred Paul, others Apollos, others Peter and still others – Jesus! At the root of this problem of division was pride and at the centre of the solution Paul outlined was the principle – that when we look to Jesus and Him crucified, there is no room for pride and boasting, for in Christ and Him alone, their is true unity.
‘Meet the church at Corinth’ (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, it was no small rural backwater but a bustling cosmopolitan city of about 650,000. Paul had brought the gospel to Corinth and the church had begun – by the grace of God – amidst much persecution. Nobody knew the church at Corinth better than Paul and in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, it is evident that God was doing something among His people, the Church at Corinth, because He is a faithful God.
‘The welcoming love of God’ (Luke 15:11-32, Rev Peter Phillips)
The well-known parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 is really about two sons. It is a parable about the love of God who welcomes sinners home but also a parable about repentance and those who think they need no repentance.
‘Lost and Found – or lost forever?’ (Luke 15:1-10, Rev Peter Phillips)
In Luke 15:1-10 we read how the Pharisees thought people were accepted by God and how they therefore found fault with the company Jesus kept. Jesus tells of the true way to be accepted by God and receives sinners. God values the lost, shows his love in the effort to find them and rejoices when they are found.
‘Living as Heaven’s Citizens (part 1)’ (Rev Keith Bell)
Given that followers of Jesus have become citizens of heaven, Philippians 4:2-3 reminds the church to live God’s way. Unresolved relationship problems in the church ought not to occur but Christians should seek to reconcile and help others do the same in order to shine a light to a world full of conflict.
‘Our citizenship’ (Rev Keith Bell)
We read in Philippians 3:20 that followers of Jesus have their citizenship in heaven. On Australia Day, Rev Keith Bell preached on the implications of our dual citizenship.
‘Welcomed into God’s Kingdom’ (Luke 14:15-24)
God spreads a banquet for all peoples yet the self-righteous are unwilling to enter the kingdom. They give weak excuses to justify their unbelief and despised the sinners who came readily. Sinners who know they need a saviour enter the kingdom instead of those who rejected the invitation. Jesus tells a parable in Luke 14:15-24 that shows our need – are we willing to accept the invitation and welcome others into God’s kingdom?
‘Relying on the real hero of Acts’ (Acts 1:1-11, Ryan Smith)
We currently live in a super-hero obsessed culture and it can often affect the way we think about sharing the message of Jesus. We can fall into the trap of thinking the apostles are like ‘super-Christians’ and sharing Jesus is for other ‘super-Christians’, [pastors, trained-evangelists, extroverts, people gifted in talking and sharing]. We often think “I’m ordinary, I’m unimpressive, I’m unequipped, I can’t do it, Jesus can’t be expecting anything from me”. But according to Acts 1:1-11, Jesus is the real hero of the book of Acts. We don’t need to be super or a hero, but just need to be used by Him.
‘Saved to serve the King’ (Luke 19, Rev Peter Phillips)
Jesus tells a parable in Luke 19 and perhaps we didn’t notice the context. He tells the story to highlight his mission to “seek and save the lost”. It connects with Zacchaeus’ conversion, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and how the people didn’t understand his mission or have him as king. We read of a present saviour and a coming judge. Will we serve him as king?