Paul is again on the defensive about his authority and ministry. His desire is to present the Corinthians pure and blameless on the last day.

Paul is dealing with a specific issue ... his collection for the church in Jerusalem. But from what Paul says we can see some valuable principles for handling money in our lives and in our churches.

Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians has been strained. His "tough love" letter to them has caused sorrow ... but it has also brought about godly repentance.

Paul explains his motivations for pushing on through the hardships and setbacks to keep preaching the message about Jesus.

We are messengers of the Gospel. We can often feel weak & inadequate – and the fact is we are. It's the message of the Gospel that is the treasure. We are the jars of clay.

We need to make sure we don’t confuse the covenants. Through Jesus we have a relationship with God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Don’t get caught up in old covenant thinking.

Paul is facing criticism from within the church in Corinth. He is writing to defend himself ... but more than that, to defend the message he preaches. Paul has a passion for the Gospel and therefore a compassion for people ... especially the Corinthians.

Paul has experienced a difficult time in his Christian life. But through it all he has grown in his trust of God and his understanding of God’s comfort. Our trust is in the same God of comfort.

The main motivation for living a godly life given to us in the Bible is God's grace. We need to make sure we are motivated by grace.

God's grace ca sometimes seem a little ... unfair. But the reason we feel that way is we don't really understand grace.