Pride is an ailment each person detests in others, yet we all suffer from ourselves. C.S. Lewis once said that the more one suffers from pride, the more he loathes it in others. We all drift toward sin and self. However, Paul lays out the perfect antidote to pride in 1 Corinthians 10. Focussing on God's glory keeps us humble, on mission, and dependent on Him.

Quitting is contrary to the life God calls each of us to live. In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul implores the Corinthian believers, along with each of us today, to stay the course. He reminds us that living a life for God's glory will require sacrifice and discipline. However, unlike earthly rewards, we are working toward a prize that will never perish. Our work in this life has eternal implications.

Grace can be a dangerous thing if we're not careful. Once we've come to an understanding of God's immeasurable love and forgiveness, it's possible to swing from legalism to license. Paul talks about knowledge in the life of a believer that can puff up and lead to weaker brothers stumbling in their walk with Christ. This happens when we fail to recognize the responsibility each believer has for the other. Our lives are not our own. We must consider carefully how our freedoms affect others.

Most people are idol worshipers and they have no idea. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, Paul takes a hard look at both single and married people. Not only does he give practical advice and counsel on how we should behave in these relationships, but he also helps us see that we just might be lifting our relationships up to a place of idolatry. Loving anything more than Jesus is idolatry. We're distracted by the circumstantial and we're missing out on the mission: glorify God.

No likes to be judged, but everyone seems to be good at judging others. What if I told you that was by God's design. In our modern culture we often hear the cry of people warning others not to judge. It seems as though the church has badly misunderstood Christ's expectations for our communities. As we continue in our Beautiful Mess series, we hear from Paul on how we're supposed to be holding each other accountable, and why that matters so much.

Ever wonder why people treat a church building with so much reverence and awe, yet have so little concern for their own bodies? The idea that church is not a place but a person has been a struggling point for centuries. Jesus tells us, and Paul reiterates, that those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ are now the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. That makes us God's temple, or the dwelling place of God. We need to remember that our bodies, both inside and out, matter. What do our choices say about our Savior?

God is in the business of taking broken, unworthy, and foolish things and turning them into a beautiful mess. Many of the problems believers face today are the same issues the church faced in her earliest days. Viewed as foolish or uneducated by outsiders. Divided and hindered by infighting among themselves. Paul writes to the believers in Corinth to remind them of who they are and of the purpose for which God designed them. Perhaps we need the same reminder today.

Before Christ's arrival the people of Israel had been waiting in God's silence for over 400 years. Once again, as God's people, we find ourselves waiting on God to arrive. So much difficulty and uncertainty seem to be reeking havoc in our world. The message of Christmas is one of hope in spite of painful and almost unbearable circumstances. God has not forgotten his people. We must surrender to His timing and His plan. Only then will we find hope and strength to face tomorrow.

Once again we all find ourselves preparing to spend a few days with family and friends. More than likely you'll find yourself face to face with someone who has reached his or her boiling point. So how are we supposed to respond when we experience unwrapped people. Well, the same way Christ responds to us in our unwrapped state. In truth, this is the most observable reason Christmas exists. Sinful people are in need of a Savior. Maybe Jesus isn't the reason for the season after all.

While most of us long for real and honest relationships with others, we don't often find this kind of authentic community because of our unwillingness to be vulnerable. We all have embarrassing stories, circumstances, or family members that we'd rather keep locked away from the rest of the world. The story of Christmas opens with Jesus revealing his embarrassing family tree. God reinforces the idea that our past isn't what defines us. We are children of the King. We shouldn't have any fear of being unwrapped before our Heavenly Father.