In our series through 1 Cor 1-4 we have seen how Paul refuses to play the world’s status games. In Corinth he didn’t try to impress them with the kind of eloquent public speaking they esteemed, which had a negative effect on how they perceived him. Yesterday, we saw Paul begin to defend his approach,… Continue reading The “Foolish” Gospel – Part 2 (1 Cor 1:26-2:5)

In our series through 1 Cor 1-4 so far we’ve seen how the Corinthians were divided. The wealthier members were trying to display their sophistication and importance by hosting the most eloquent Christian speakers. They were still trying to play the world’s game, but doing it in the church. They were attaching themselves to the… Continue reading The ‘Foolish’ Gospel (1 Cor 1:18-25)

This week we began a series in 1 Corinthians 1-4, about a divided church. We saw yesterday how they were divided around leaders – specifically, their style of preaching. And we thought about how we do this in our own “entertain-me” culture. (Make sure you read that one first or today won’t make much sense.)… Continue reading When the world’s values come to church (1 Cor 1:11-17)

Yesterday we began a series in 1 Corinthians 1-4, looking at Paul’s letter to a church divided. We saw how even in his opening thanksgiving he was laying the groundwork for his appeal for unity. Given what God has done for us in Jesus, how can we not be united! Today, we look more closely at the reasons… Continue reading A Church Divided (1 Cor 1:11-17)

For the next few weeks we’ll be looking at the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians. Out of all the churches in the New Testament, I think the church in Corinth is the closest to the Western church today in terms of the issues it faced: without the immediate threat of persecution to bind them together, it… Continue reading Introducing 1 Corinthians