Passage: Psalm 3

Passage: 2 Corinthians 13:1-4

[tuhf] Adjective - “Capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy”

When we see others in sin, it’s really easy to either ignore it or get angry about it. It’s hard to address it with grace and truth, and even harder to endure persistently in relationship as you wait for repentance. Paul’s pursuit of the Corinthians involved what we often call today ‘tough love’. A love that rebukes, admonishes and exhorts for the good of another. We always have much to learn in this area of church life and real relationships, so let’s listen to what the Spirit through Paul has to say this morning ...

Because Paul truly loves those he serves, he will do the hard work it requires. So, consider these three ingredients to the work of tough love in others lives:

1. Established Witnesses [13:1]

2. Persistent Warnings [13:2]

3. Proper Power [13:3-4]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those who have issued loving warnings to you in your life. Thank God for His patience with you that compels your patience with others.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you ears to hear the warnings of witnesses in your life. Ask God to use your insights into others struggles with sin to help lead them to repentance.

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” - 1 Peter 3:13-16

Does the church in America have any relevance in our culture? What should it do to seek or maintain relevance? Does it even matter what the culture thinks? Having established the Biblical trajectory that God has for His people in culture (Part 1), we now turn to how we as the Church are to do this today. It will look different for each one of you where God has planted you, but together our witness as a local church will be strong and loving to our neighbors. May God bring an increase to His Church for His glory!

“What is called for today is a new generation of people who are confident that the Bible speaks the truth of God and who are not afraid to believe what it teaches, build their lives on its doctrines and proclaim it without compromise to others. What is needed is a generation of Christians who know the Bible well enough and obey it radically enough to be a new people or new society to stand over against the world and its system.” - James Montgomery Boice

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” - Philippians 2:14-16

Does the church in America have any relevance in our culture? What should it do to seek or maintain relevance? Does it even matter what the culture thinks? These questions, and many more, are the discussions that take place inside church leadership meetings, denominational councils, and within congregations. But, what are the answers? In this year’s installment of our “Gospel & Culture” series, I intend to do my best to address this very issue. Please listen well, go back and read the notes, discuss where you agree and disagree with one another, and let’s sharpen our thinking on the church’s role and relevance in our culture today.

“We must repudiate our confused loyalties and concerns for the passing world and put aside our misguided efforts to change culture externally. To allow our thoughts, plans, time, money, and energy to be spent trying to make a superficially Christian America, or to put a veneer of morality over the world, is to distort the gospel, misconstrue our divine calling, and squander our God-given resources. We must not weaken our spiritual mission, obscure our priority of proclaiming the gospel of salvation, or become confused about our spiritual citizenship, loyalties and obligations. We are to change society, but by faithfully proclaiming the gospel, which changes lives on the inside.”

- John MacArthur

Passage: 2 Corinthians 12:14-21

[pou-er-fuhl] Adjective - “Potent, Efficacious, Having great effectiveness”

Do you think your love for others really matters to them? Do you judge its effectiveness by how it is received? Paul’s pastoral love for the Corinthians runs deep and yet is still viewed with suspicion. But, his love for them is no less powerful or God-honoring just because they don’t like it. May this text give you the strength to keep a strong heart of love for others, proving you too have a powerful love.

Because Paul truly loves those he serves, he can clearly speak of it and show it to them. So, consider this morning three pictures of a powerful love for the good of others:

1. A Being-Spent Attitude [12:14-15]

2. A Crafty-Less Approach [12:16-18]

3. A Growth-Driven Aim [12:19-21]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the powerful love of Jesus as the anchor to your soul. Thank God for the pleasure of the Father who see your heart to love and provides the grace to keep loving others.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater trust in the lavish provision of God as you move out to love others. Ask God to spend you as He sees fit for the mission of the Kingdom in this world!

Passage: 2 Corinthians 12:11-13

[self-lis] Adjective - “Having little or no concern for oneself; unselfish”

Do you think rightly about what matters most in serving others? Do you think rightly about what you commend in those serving you? In Paul’s final defense of his apostolic authority in the lives of the Corinthians, he points not to his power over them, but his service to them. Serving always involves certain tensions, consider what Paul faced as you think about your own service to others.

Because Paul understands what God has called him to in serving others, he can face the tensions of service with

Godly wisdom. So, consider this morning three crucial tensions in selfless service:

1. A Healthy Humility [12:11]

2. A Posture of Patience [12:12]

3. A Fair Favoritism [12:13]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for a sure identity in Christ even when you don’t feel it from others. Thank

God for the patient, personal care you have received from God through others.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater wisdom in your service to others. Ask God to open your eyes

to how you serve and what might need to change.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

[kuh n-tent-muh nt] Noun - “Satisfaction; ease of mind.”

Do you take pleasure over the right events in your life? Do you find contentment in the right place? In considering the pattern of Paul this morning, you just might be convicted that you have it a little

backwards. He downplayed perhaps his most unbelievable spiritual experience while boasting in one of his most earnest prayers that God said “No” to answering. Warning: This one may hurt a little

Because Paul trusts the promise of God’s grace more than any experience, he gets excited about the right things. So, consider this morning two experiences that produce two very different effects:

1. An Amazing Experience and Modest Boast [12:1-6]

2. An Awful Experience and Exuberant Boast [12:7-10]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those amazing ways that He has met you personally and brought you great encouragement. Thank God for the thorns in your life that keep you content with the amazing grace of God.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to help you take pleasure in the right experiences of life. Ask God to give you contentment over prayers that don’t get answered the way you want.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 10-13

[san-i-tee] Noun - “Soundness of mind; soundness of judgment.”

Do the circumstances of life often feel overwhelming? Do you ever think: “How am I going to make it?” Take heart my friend, you have a strong identity and an even stronger Savior. God may not do it the way you want Him to, but He intends to make you strong in faith when you are weak of body, mind and soul. This testimony of the apostle Paul takes us into the insane suffering he faced and the confident man of grace it made him. We all have much to learn here...

Because Paul knows the sovereign almighty care of His God, he can embrace and endure insane suffering for the sake of the Gospel. So, consider this morning these three characteristics of spiritual sanity that make you strong in the grace of God

1. A Madman’s Boast [11:22-23a]

2. A Servant’s Suffering [11:23b-29]

3. A Weak Man’s Confidence [11:30-33]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for an identity far greater than skin color or last name. Thank God for the sufferings you face that work to empty you of the thinking that you have what it takes.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you great courage to face hardships and calamities. Ask God to help you see even clearer where “you can’t”, so you see that “He can!”.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 11:16-21

[fool] Noun - “A silly or stupid person, a person who lacks judgment or sense.”

Do you like being thought of as foolish? Are you willing to be thought of as foolish for the sake of the Gospel? In an amazing display of humility, Paul is willing to risk his reputation to get the attention of the Corinthians he loves. In boasting in his integrity, weakness and suffering, he exposes the real foolishness present in Corinth ... and it’s not him!

Because Paul understands the servant nature of his Savior, he too can risk being misinterpreted for the sake of serving the Gospel in Corinth. So ... Consider this morning who the real fool in the relationship is:

1. A Fool’s Boasting [11:16-19]

2. A Fool’s Slavery [11:20-21]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the personal confidence found through the work of Christ. Thank God for the foolishness of the Gospel that is wiser than the wisdom of the world.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you greater freedom to serve others regardless of how it is perceived. Ask God to give you wisdom to avoid the dangers of spiritually abuse leaders.

[skan-dl-uh s] Adjective - “Disgraceful, shocking, improper”

Does it shock you to imagine a teacher in the church might be a servant of Satan? Do you think it improper for a leader to seek division? In some of Paul’s most inflammatory words in the New Testament we are faced with the absolute need for discernment in determining just what is scandalous in those who serve. May this text be a great help to you in exercising good judgment and not being deceived and led astray from your devotion to Christ!

Because Paul understands the schemes of Satan’s deception he seeks to undermine the influence of Satan’s human deceivers in the church. So ... Consider this morning the clear distinctions between Satan’s servants and a true servant of God.

1. The Superior and the Simple [11:5-6]

2. The Patron and the Partner [11:7-9]

3. The Disguising and the Dividing [11:10-15]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the Spirit who guides you into truth. Thank God for examples of Godly service that make spotting the real thing an easier task.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you discernment coupled with grace toward the human men and women who lead God’s church. Ask God to give you greater confidence in the reality of a literal Satan.