Providence Church

Some in the Corinthian church were claiming to have extraordinary spiritual gifts. They were positioning themselves as the “spiritual ones,” and everyone else was a second-class Christian. Paul corrects this thinking with the Corinthians and shows them (and us) the nature of true spirituality.

The Lord’s Supper is meant to be a sign and seal of the church’s unity in Christ. But for the Corinthians, it had become an occasion for division. They were coming together for worship, but they were coming together apart.

We do not live unto ourselves. We live in divinely ordered relationships, and that should be reflected and honored in our worship.

As Paul comes to the end of his long answer to the question of food offered to idols, he addresses some less-clear scenarios the Corinthians might have found themselves in. How should they navigate the gray areas of the Christian life? And how should we?

We are often unaware of the spiritual forces at work in our world and how we might be entangled in them. This text warns us about the reality and the power of idolatry, and how we can escape it.

Paul (of all people) is free in Christ. But he doesn’t use his freedom to serve himself. He uses his freedom to advance the gospel. He wants the gospel to win more and more people, so he adapts his life accordingly. In this passage, he gives a method and a mindset to help us live out this high calling.

God is often in the background of our lives and plans. We believe in him, but we live as though we don’t really need him. This feels normal to us, but it is laced with pride. James calls out the subtle pride and foolishness of presumption, and invites us to a life of humility and grace.

His glory is full of grace. Get up close to his grace, and you will see his glory: “The Lord, The Lord, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

John tells us that the setting of the Christmas story is the world. And he wants us to see something very particular about the world: its darkness. When we think about the Christmas story, we like to think of brightness and light. But the story loses its meaning if we don’t consider the darkness.

John 1:1-18 has been called “a theology of Christmas.” These verses give some theological categories to help us think about the ancient story of Christmas. It’s a story that forever changes our story. In this sermon, we’re just looking at the subject of the Christmas story, this mysterious person called “The Word."