Passage: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

[uh-roh- muh] Noun – “An odor arising from spices, plants, cooking, etc., especially an agreeable odor; fragrance. A pervasive characteristic or quality.”

Do you know what the victory of Christ over death smells like? Do you know the effect it has on all of mankind? The glorious victory of Jesus on the cross and in the resurrection has massive consequences on all of humanity. This text describes them as the “scents” of the Gospel. You can learn a lot about what the Gospel does from listening to Paul’s words this Easter morning. What do you smell?

Five scents of Christ’s victory:

1. The Scent of Humanity [2:12-13]

2. The Scent of Knowledge [2:14]

3. The Scent of Death [2:15-16]

4. The Scent of Life [2:15-16]

5. The Scent of Sincerity [2:17]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the power over sin and death that Christ demonstrated. Thank Him for the resurrection power that is yours as a child of God. Thank Him for the privilege of spreading the fragrance of Christ that He has given you.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you clarity as to what your witness smells like. Do you struggle in understanding and applying the victory of the resurrection to your life? Ask God for the wisdom to know how to walk in triumph as a redeemed follower of Jesus. Not a Christian? Ask God to give you the triumph of Christ’s victory!

Good Friday 2017

Passage: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

[fer-giv] Verb (used with object) – “to cease to feel resentment against; to cancel an indebtedness or liability of.”

Do you know what being forgiven feels like? Do you know how freeing it is to forgive another? For as firm and direct as Paul was in confronting sin and speaking truth, so was his call to forgive and comfort the repentant brother. Individual sin effects the whole church, and the whole church has the responsibility to rebuke and the power to forgive. Doing both those things undermines the work of Satan in the church. Are you holding grudges? Are you loving and forgiving as you have been loved and forgiven? These truths shape the soul of a loving church community!

Four results of forgiveness’s freeing work:

1. Out of Pain [2:5-6]

2. Out of Sorrow [2:7-8]

3. Out of Disobedience [2:9-10]

4. Out of Satan’s Schemes [2:11]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the forgiveness you have experienced through Jesus. Thank Him for not allowing you to be swallowed up in guilt and shame, but delivered from condemnation into freedom. Is there an offense you committed against another and felt undeserving of forgiveness, but they forgave? Thank God for the mercy you were shown in Christ through another person.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to grant you the freedom and grace to forgive. Are you holding something, anything, against another brother or sister? To not forgive calls into question your own status of being forgiven. So, go and forgive … prove to yourself that you know the freedom of the Gospel in your own soul!

Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:23 - 2:4

[peyn] Noun – “physical, mental or emotional suffering or distress”. Verb (used with object) – to cause physical pain to; to hurt.”

Do you know when comfort becomes a problem? Or when disrupting someone’s comfort is loving?

Paul loved the Corinthian church so much that he wasn’t afraid to cause them pain. Make no mistake, it pained him to cause them pain. But their spiritual progress and joy was far more important to him than their comfort. He invited conflict into their relationship for the ultimate comfort and discipleship of those he loved. Does your pursuit of people sometimes involve pain?

Do you invite the painful rebukes of others? Do you truly want spiritual maturity at any cost?

Three elements of pain in pursuit of a healthy spiritual life and relationship?

1. The Mercy that Comes by Withholding [1:23-24]

2. The Joy that Comes out of Pain [2:1-3]

3. The Love that Comes with Anguish [2:4]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for your friends that rebuke you. Thank God for those times that pain has brought you closer to Him. Thank God for that person or circumstance that is most difficult in your life to bear.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you a greater depth in your friendship where mercy, joy, and love can be expressed through the causing of pain. Do you like causing someone pain? Then ask God for greater patience and gentleness. Do you avoid causing someone pain? Then ask God for greater courage and truthfulness.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:15-22

[kon-fi- duh ns] Noun – “full trust; certitude; assurance; belief in the trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing”.

Where do you find confidence? What makes you confident? In this section where Paul is defending his integrity we are given tremendous teaching on Godly confidence. God not only comforts His own, but wants them to walk in confidence. Does your integrity give you confidence? Do the promises of God make you strong? Do you find your comfort in Christ to confidently walk in faith?

Where does Godly confidence come from?

1. Walking in Personal Integrity [1:15-18]

2. Rejoicing in Christ’s Work [1:19-20]

3. Resting in God’s Strong Care [1:21-22]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God that your confidence doesn’t come from being worldly wise or successful.

Thank God that His goal is not simply to comfort you in trials, but lead you through them. Learn how to express greater gratitude for the completed works of God that have present impact on your soul and on your daily living.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to make your praise richer in content, full of Biblical truth expressed confidently.

Ask God to help you understand and enjoy the benefits of your salvation that is establishing you and making you stronger and stronger every day.

Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:23-31\

Being on the Mission Jesus has for us does not mean adding more things to our life. It means thinking differently about everything we are already doing.

Worldview = the overall perspective from which you see and interpret the world.

Dualism = the separation between the physical and the spiritual.

Christian Worldview = The view of life that sees everything through the lens of the Bible and the person and work of Jesus Christ.

How can I live to the glory of God?

How can I respond biblically in this moment?

How can I image Jesus in this moment?

Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:12-14

[bohst] Verb – “to speak with pride”. Noun – “a thing boasted of; a cause for pride”.

What do you boast in? Who do you boast about? Is a boasting culture in a church good or bad? There are plenty of places in Paul’s writing where he speaks against boasting; but in this text, he encourages it and models it. Paul begins a section here defending his integrity in the way he interacted with the Corinthians. Can you boast in your integrity? Do people know who you really are inside and out? Does your boasting build up others? Does it point to yourself or to the Lord?

1. Boasting in Integrity [1:12]

A clean conscience

Godly behavior

By the grace of God

2. Boasting in Understanding [1:13-14]

Not hidden

In process

Mutual appreciation

• Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those in your life who have modeled integrity. You have watched imperfect people be imperfect and try to hide it, defend it, or dismiss it. But certainly, you have at least a few who have been transparent about their humanness as they walked consistently and faithfully. Boast in such examples. Most of all thank God that it’s not your integrity that saves you, but the only perfect holiness of Christ!

• Prompting Prayer – Ask God to make your conscience sharp to where you are self-deceived. Invite the Spirit’s searching work to expose the dark places your conscience accuses you and the faith to repent and obey. Pray for a culture of boasting at LCC that starts and ends at the glory of God in the perfect work of Christ!

We are so prone to forget, so quick to be distracted, so slow to repent. The ordinances of Baptism and Communion have been instituted into the rhythm of the life of the church to give us opportunity to declare to others and ourselves that the cross is our everything. Today we talk as a family about Baptism! Thank you, God for the internal reality of grace that has changed us through the death of your Son that baptism represents. Never let us forget the glory of the cross and the blessings that overflow to us!

Mark 1:5-11; Matt 28:18-20; Ro 6:1-11; Col 2:11-12; Acts 8:35-38; Acts 10:44-48

1. The “Meaning?” and “Mode?” connection of Baptism.

a. Meaning

b. Mode

2. The “Who?” and "When?" connection of Baptism.

a. Who

b. When

3. What’s the effect of Baptism?

a. Ordinance or Sacrament?

b. Then why should I be baptized?

4. Questions you might be asking:

a. Where should people be baptized?

b. Who should perform a baptism?

c. Should I be re-baptized?

> For more discussion about the Communion and Baptism, download Foundations of Our Faith Part 8. At leroychapel.org, click Mission > What We Believe and then scroll to the bottom.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

[noh] Verb (used with object): knew, known, knowing – “to be acquainted with (a thing, place, person, etc.), as by sight, experience, or report. To be able to distinguish, as one from another”.

Does anyone really know you? Do you invite being known by others? Alongside the power of comfort comes the comfort of being known. Paul does not want the Corinthian church to be ignorant of what he went through, the weight of his circumstances, and the emotion of how that all felt. Do people know the weight you carry? Are you willing to open your heart to the care, prayers, and even the hurt of others? Is your hope set on the God of deliverance who knows you so that you can be open to being known by others?

1. Known by Others [1:8-9a]

They know our circumstances

They know what we are feeling

2. Known by God [1:9b-11]

The God who raises the dead

The God who delivers

The God who hears prayer

- Gaining Gratitude – It’s one thing to be loved; it’s an even greater thing to be loved by those who really know you. Thank God for the love He has poured out on you in all your weakness, sinfulness, and foolishness. Thank God for those rare people He has brought into your life who know your mess and still love you unconditionally.

- Prompting Prayer – You’ve experienced the hurt of family and friends who have used your weaknesses against you. As a result, you have learned to keep your heart guarded behind thick walls. You feel more comfortable with people being ignorant of your life and feelings, but that is not living by the power of God’s comfort that makes you brave. Ask God to help you deal with those hurts, to forgive fellow sinners and move deeper into real relationship with others.