In a world that fights for its rights to get what it needs, the church is often no exception. Don’t we use our rights to make the gospel more appealing? How should the church look different? Paul shows unity in Christ means we surrender our rights for His gospel by leveraging our weaknesses & training in His image.

// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Disciple's Renewal"

Isn't it easy to live united with others today? No? Well, then we need 1 Corinthians 8. Here, Paul opens a discussion lasting through chs.9-10. If 1 Corinthians is all about what unity in Christ looks like, the center of the letter here shows how unity in Christ plays out in pursuing unity with others. Guest pastor Chris Leeper (Director, Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Radford University) shares how we need to be spiritually sensitive to others as ambassadors for Christ.

Is Christ enough for us? We may readily agree to this in theory, but our language/actions/pursuits may say otherwise. How often do we say, “I’ll glorify God when I get _” or “We need to do _ to glorify God?” Paul cautions us that unity in Christ teaches us to glorify God in every season because Christ is enough for us.

// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Repose"

Okay, we get what unity looks like: but how do we apply it when sin creeps in? What is God doing when He works through the church even in light of sin? Paul will show us today how the church is where sin is addressed through Christ, people are transformed by Christ, & new life is learned from Christ.

After showing us what Christian growth looks like, Paul now turns his attention to two things: what’s the enemy of our growth and unity in Christ, and what’s the “best friend” that helps us hold these things together? It’s clear that humility unites us to live out God’s heart and live with God’s people; and pride destroys this.

Paul builds off of last week to show how the way we handle weakness impacts how we view growth. What does it look like to “grow in our faith?” What is “Christian growth?” He reminds the Corinthians of Christ’s example: God alone gives and defines our growth, with us being the thing He’s growing, because of Christ.

We may know God calls us to join His redeeming work & lead others in doing likewise, but why do so many Christians seem so reluctant? And why do so many Christians seem to be driven by different things? Ruth 4 will show us that God motivates His interceders by being with Him rather than what we might lose on earth.

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians as a letter to a group of Christ-followers divided over how to best interpret/apply Christ to their current situation: sound familiar? He draws from examples of Christ’s life & ministry to show we pursue unity in Christ over functionality or uniformity because what we do & how we do it IS Christ!

Scripture has shown us interceding/standing up for others is good, but in practice many Christians today are in conflict/creating chaos over how we ought to do this. How did Christ intercede for us? The letter of Philemon teaches Christ advocates for us by His love & reconciles us by His sacrifice so we can be with God.

When you think of “Christians in action” today, what comes to mind? Activism? Service? Worship? We know God has good works for us to do & plenty needs to address, but He has one main work that drives them all. Naomi shows us in Ruth 3 God calls us where we are to join His redeeming work & lead others in doing likewise.