Questions in 1st Corinthians - 1

1:13
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

1:20
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

2:11
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

2:16
For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

3:3
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

3:4
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

3:5
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

4:7
And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

4:21
What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

5:6
Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

[Message No: 6873]

On Divorce and Marriage

Matthew 19:3-9
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
   And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
   They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
   He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

Luke 16:18
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. —

What is there to fear since God sent his Son to die to redeem us? What is there to fear since we cannot be separated from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus? What is there to fear except ourselves, and God has poured his Spirit into our hearts to reassure us and strengthen us in our weakness! As we love God and his children, we are reminded of his love for us which is far better than our meager love for others. Rather than run from him in fear, we bow before him in thanks knowing that he who hears our prayers is also he who loves us and yearns to calm our fears.

Thoughts

"Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures." -Joe Campbell

We don’t have to make any more sacrifices because one drop of Christ’s sinless blood was enough to atone for all the sins in the world. – Marilyn Hickey

[Message No: 6872]

Love for Leaders

1 Corinthians 16:5-12

Personal Plans

    Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.
   But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
   And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren.
   Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.

Revival 

Unless Christ sets you delight, you can bring no fire to earth. “without Me, can do nothing” said the Lord. {John 15:5}

Ephesians 3:17-19

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Does God Still Care?

Paul wants us to be solidly connected to each other in love. More than being able to understand all the unfathomable mysteries of the universe or the deep teachings of Scripture, knowing and sharing the love of Christ enables us to bring God's full blessing to others. While knowledge can be good, love is greater still. While power can be helpful, love is more helpful still. While experience can teach us many things, love teaches us to use what we know to bless. Let's be a people whose lives are lived in the environment of love. (cf. 1 Cor. 13)

[Message No: 6871]

Jehovah (Lord)

Isaiah 40:3
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
 “Prepare the way of the Lord;
 Make straight in the desert
 A highway for our God.

Matthew 3:3
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
 Make His paths straight.’ ”

Luke 3:4
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
  “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
 Make His paths straight.

John 1:23
He said: “I am
  ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
 “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John 1:27
It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Thought 

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." - Albert Einstein

[Message No: 6870]

I Can't Remember

A few years ago, rumors spread that a certain Catholic woman was having visions of Jesus. The archbishop decided to check her out.

'Is it true, m'am, that you have visions of Jesus?' asked the cleric.

'Yes,' the woman replied.

'Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed in my last confession. Please call me if anything happens.'
Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader of a recent apparition.
Within the hour the archbishop arrived. 'What did Jesus say?' he asked.
She took his hand and gazed deep into his eyes. 'Bishop,' she said, 'these are his exact words: I CAN'T REMEMBER. '

God is For You

“I have written your name on my hand! Isaiah 49:16”

Romans 8:31 asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Indulge me a moment.  Four words in this verse deserve your attention.  God is for us.
Say it out loud.  God is for us.
Repeat it, emphasizing each word.  Come on, you’re not in that big of a hurry.
God is for us!  GOD IS FOR YOU.

Your parents may have forgotten you, your teachers may have neglected you, your siblings may be ashamed of you; but within reach of your prayers is the maker of the oceans.  God!
God is for you!  If he had a calendar, your birthday would be circled.  If there’s a tree in heaven, he’s carved your name in the bark.

Isaiah 49:16 says, “I have written your name on my hand!”  No one can defeat you.  You are protected.  God is for you.

Quote 

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right." - Max Lucado

[Message No: 6869]

His Success

Mark 1:5

Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Luke 3:7-15

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

   So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”

   He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

   Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”
   And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”
   Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”

  So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”
   Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

John 1:19-28

A Voice in the Wilderness

    Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

   He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
   And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
  He said, “I am not.”
  “Are you the Prophet?”
  And he answered, “No.”
   Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
   He said: “I am

  ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

 “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

      Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

   John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

   These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

[Message No: 6868]

Liberty

Romans 8:12-17

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

We have a Living Dynamic

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Our Final Victory

    Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

  “O Death, where is your sting?

 O Hades, where is your victory?”

    The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

   Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

John 11:26

"Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Several days ago, we emphasized that Christians who died physically were never really separated from their relationship with God's loving presence. Today, Jesus challenges us to believe a very similar thing. Do you believe that the real, living part of you made by God will never die even though your physical body dies?

 It's an incredible thought, isn't it? We are eternal, immortal, joined with Jesus and his future is joined with us. (See Colossians 3:1-4)

[Message No: 6867]

Facing Enemies

Acts 6:9-15

Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council.
 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Opportunities Reveal Character

2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.

1 Corinthians 10:12
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Acts 13:13
Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

Mark 9:35

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." —

Last? Nobody likes to be last. We have a hard enough time settling for second place, much less last place. Jesus reverses the rank. The person who is most important to him is not the person seeking the status and notoriety. The most important person is like Jesus himself: willing to give up rank and status and importance to serve. For Jesus, last means first in service and first in the eyes of God.

[Message No: 6866]