Discipleship 101 #2
This is one of the simplest, but most profound and necessary truths in discipleship. Listen to Jesus: God is looking for those who are not self-dependent nor self-secure nor self-centered nor self-focused nor self-motivated nor self-agenda-ed (not a real word but hey why not) nor self-defensive. In other words to be a disciple we cannot be about self. As a …
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Discipleship 101 #1
My buddy David Nickisch asked me to present some brief ideas concerning discipleship on church Wednesday nights. This got me thinking and I thought it would make a great blog series. I decided to start walking through the Gospels and look at some of Jesus’ discipleship moments. I thought I would start with the calling of the first disciples: We …
Read More1 Corinthians 6 – 4 Perspectives in Family Conflict
Looking for Answers in All the Wrong Places (1 Corinthians 6:1-13) – The disputes that the Corinthians were having with each other were getting so heated that some were taking others into the courts of law. This created a major problem because believers were allowing themselves to subjected and judged by the world’s standard. Here are some things we can …
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1 Corinthians 5 – Seven Ways to Uphold Truth in the Body
Seven Ways to Uphold Truth in the Body (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) – News had gotten back to Paul that someone in the Corinthian congregation was having sexual relations with his father’s wife (mother or step-mother). The church not only tolerated this behavior, but boasted about how gracious and loving and forgiving they were. Paul had some hard words for the …
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1 Corinthians 4 – 9 Marks of a Godly Leader
How to Identify a Godly Leader (1 Corinthians 4:1-20) – Paul confronted the Corinthians about their focus and perspective. In the process he gave us some amazing principles and characteristics about being and identifying a godly leader: Views Self as a Servant (1 Corinthians 4:1) 1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and …
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1 Corinthains 3 – 7 Ways to Build Up the Body
How to Build Up the Body (1 Corinthians 3:1-23) – Paul shifted his thought from how God used him in spite of his shortcomings and began to focus on the Corinthians and the fights they were having over the different teachers and leaders among them. Paul offered some great principles on how to build up the congregation and create community …
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1 Corinthians 2 – Seven Characteristics of God’s Mouthpiece
Characteristics of God’s Mouthpiece (1 Corinthians 2:1-16) – Paul took some time to remind the Corinthian believers of what he was like when he preached the gospel message. This was to remind them that the impact that was made was not based on him, but on God empowering His Word to change the hearts of people. Let us take a …
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1 Corinthians 1:1-9 – Five Ways to Set Up Saying Hard Things
Setting Up Saying Hard Things (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) – Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians might be the hardest and most pointed letter he wrote. There are a number of issues that they need to deal with (1 Corinthians 1-6) and a number of questions they are confused about (1 Corinthians 7-16). But, before Paul started to deal with all …
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Imagery and Background of 1, 2 Corinthians
Imagery of Corinth – There are dozens of images to explore in the letter that are overt references to the local scene in Corinth. The “bema seat” of Corinth was restored by archaeologists (1 Corinthians 3). The meat market (1 Corinthians 10:25) was likewise restored. The theatre language of 1 Corinthians 13 is another obvious image. The well-documented prostitution center …
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The Limitation of Words
Truth #1: No person can undo the work accomplished by Jesus when He went to the cross. When someone encounters the Gospel message and it takes them from death to life, there is nothing that can undo that work. Truth #2: A person who has encountered the Gospel message and placed their faith in the Lord Jesus should be continually …
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