Passage: 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1

[pash-uh n] Noun - "Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling”

Do you have a heart that loves the right things? Are you in relationships with the right people to urge you toward greater godliness? Paul recognizes that for the Corinthians to embrace greater relationship with him and with the Lord there were unhealthy relationships that needed to be evaluated. Do you need to evaluate where your passions lie? Do you need to establish some healthier relationships as a new year begins?

Three essential truths to establishing the proper passions with the proper people …

1. The Obvious Mismatch [6:14-16a]

2. The Glorious Match [6:16b-18]

3. The Pursuit of Holiness [7:1]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those in your life who keep you believing. Thank God for His loving

pursuit of you to dwell with you as your Father.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater understanding as to the nature of true Gospel friendships. Ask

God to give you the courage to evaluate the people and passions in your life and the grace to change what needs to

be changed.

To live expectantly is to live courageously. When you know that the greatest expectations of the human soul are met and exceeded in Christ now and at His glorious return yet to come, then you truly live like you have nothing to lose. Disillusionment doesn’t hold you captive to its dark fear, and disappointment doesn’t choke out the child-like faith to just believe. With eyes wide open to the failures of other humans, clinging to the truth that Savior Jesus is enough, you bravely live for the glory of God and do not shrink back from doing everything you can to make the most of every opportunity!

How do I react when I hear the word, unexpected? In the fallen world we live in, far too often our mind goes to unexpected bad news. A sickness that devastates us, a lost job or relationship, something that breaks or lets us down in an unexpected way derailing our plans. Today we want to look at something amazing, that is a blessing that is coming for those in Christ that will be totally unexpected for most of the world, we want to look at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Our hope through studying this is we would live lives filled with the hope and purpose that this wonderful unexpected event gives the follower of Christ.

What are you expecting this Christmas? What we hope and wait for with expectation doesn’t just come over us out of nowhere. Expectations are deeply rooted in our history, beliefs, and cultural influences. The New Testament opens by introducing us to a group of people who were waiting with expectation. Were the expectations and hopes that filled the temple in Jerusalem that first advent significantly different from what’s in the hearts of people in our churches this advent?

We all know what it feels like to have been promised something only to have it not come to pass. With expectations dashed, disappointment sets in and the temptation to not hope anymore tantalizes you. What is the answer? Christmas. No seriously, the advent (or “coming”) of the Savior that first Christmas proved God trustworthy and His promises will come to pass. It gives us every reason to have Great Expectations of what is to come! Let’s learn how to be people of expectation this Advent season.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13

[in-tuh-muh-see] Noun - “A close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group. A close association with or deep understanding of a person.”

Do you have a solid grasp on the resources that are yours to walking with great endurance? Are your relationships more about your comfort or your endurance? Paul gets firm with the Corinthians about the nature of their friendship and calls them to greater intimacy. Do you need to be called to greater intimacy with others? Do you need to call others to greater intimacy with you?

Three characteristics of relationships that promote your endurance …

1. Posture of Openness [6:11]

2. Properly Placed Affections [6:12]

3. Pleading for Response [6:13]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those in your life who keep you believing. Thank God for His ultimate

protection over you as you make yourself vulnerable in relationships with others.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater understanding as to the nature of true Gospel friendships. Ask

God to give you the courage and grace to move toward others in openness with proper affections.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 6:6-10

[en-doo r-uh ns] Noun - “The ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina”

Do you know what it looks like to walk in the Spirit clothed in the righteousness of Christ? Do you know what God’s powerful weapons are for life and ministry? Paul continues to pull back the curtain of his life and ministry, unfolding both the tensions he regularly feels and the power He knows is his. Do you know how to apply the righteousness of Christ (5:21) to real life? Do you have

the confidence you will endure?

Three more ways endurance overcomes obstacles to Gospel witness …

Part 1:

1. How We Handle Our Integrity [6:3-4a]

2. How We Handle Our Trials [6:4b-5]

Part 2:

3. How We Walk in the Spirit [6:6]

4. How We Embrace God’s Power [6:7]

5. How We Live in the Tension [6:8-10]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the Spirit who produces His fruit in you. Thank God for the power of the

Word of truth and the robe of righteousness. Thank Him for the tension of life that drives you to your knees.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater endurance. Talk to Him honestly about the tensions of life you face right now. Ask God to help you see a fuller picture of what you are going through so you have greater

endurance.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 6:3-5

[en-doo r-uh ns] Noun - “The ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or

other adverse conditions; stamina”

Do you know what obstacles your personality puts in front of your Gospel witness? Do you think about how you handle trouble in your life as a powerful tool in evangelism? With raw honesty,

weighty emotion, and Spirit-filled confidence, Paul pulls back the curtain on his life and ministry as an ambassador of the King. His trouble-free life is not what he commends for people to listen to his

message, but how he walks with great endurance amid the trouble. Do you know how to talk about your trouble? Do you have the confidence you will endure?

Two ways endurance overcomes obstacles to Gospel witness …

1. How We Handle Our Integrity [6:3-4a]

2. How We Handle Our Trials [6:4b-5]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for suffering, trials, and trouble. Thank God for the sustaining work of grace

and the power of the Spirit that gives you endurance. Thank Him for how He uses trouble in your life for His glory!

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater endurance. Talk to Him honestly about your fear, heart-ache,

and pain. Ask God to not let those things become an obstacle to your endurance or witness.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

[veyn] Adjective - “Without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless; futile”

Have you wasted the wonder of God’s extravagant grace extended to you? Are you wasting it right now as it is being offered to you? Today, I urge you to think carefully and clearly about the state of your own soul before the Lord … Do you truly know God? Today, for you children of God, I encourage you to consider how you live each day … Are you learning to swim in the grace of God and make the most of this day of grace in which you live?

Two essential attitudes to keep from wasting God’s appeal of salvation to you …

1. Receiving the Extravagant Grace [6:1]

2. Redeeming the Favorable Time [6:2]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the lavish grace God has shown you in the cross of Christ. Thank God for

the space of history in which you live … this favorable day of salvation!

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you gratitude where you don’t feel grateful. Ask God to give you an

appropriate urgency to live to the glory of God in each and every situation of your day.