As Paul writes to the Corinthian church, it would be difficult to claim the Bible is removed from real life! He tends to deal with the very earthy things of this world, and show how our faith in Christ reshapes our perspective on them. In Sunday’s text (1 Cor. 6:1-11), Paul moves from various expressions of immorality to conflicts over money, where he challenges believers to view disputes and lawsuits from a new vantage point. His vision of living out the Gospel is so radical that being cheated is preferred to maintain its integrity! That is certainly putting your money where your mouth is. It leaves one wondering: how might I seize opportunities to do the same?

Paul’s treatment of a grave instance of immorality is instructive: sin is to be taken seriously. Its goal, as we will see, is restoration – but that cannot occur without feeling the weight and sting of damage done. Of course, without the Gospel, there is also not a clear pathway to restoration. All of this is done in the context of community, which can get dicey. Let’s pray for understanding and conviction as we consider 1 Corinthians 5 together: “Taking Sin and Restoration Seriously.”

This week, we celebrated ten years of public worship as Redeemer Church! Given the milestone, we will look together at 1 Corinthians 3, Joshua 4:1-7 and 21-24 to consider God's work in our past and present, while continuing to pray for and anticipate His work in the future.

In 1 Corinthians 4:1-21, Paul’s overarching concern is to demonstrate for this church, “The Way of the Cross.”

He argues that as an apostle, he is like a household servant of Christ, a steward of what has been entrusted to him. Paul concludes that such faithful stewardship if for all of us.

He then highlights, with dripping satire, the beauty of humility – a quality the Corinthians are lacking in spades.

Finally, Paul urges them to follow his example as their spiritual father. Like all caring dads, he wants his children to make right choices (and rebukes them when they don’t!).

The way of the cross for Paul in this text is threefold: stewardship, humility, and imitation. Let’s pray we are attentive to God’s words, and willing to walk in the way of the cross.

Paul continues to set the stage for why there should be no factions, no divisions, within the body of believers.

It’s easy to admire the wrong things (like people) disproportionately and celebrate the created instead of the Creator.

That is a fundamental mistake, so Paul focuses on a “bigger picture” perspective that encourages us to live lives of integrity and offer praise in the right direction!

This week, Drew Trenz preaches from 1 Corinthians 3:1-15. We are grateful for the teaching gifts present in our congregation and thank Drew, who served as a pastor for several congregations, for his willingness to bring us the message on occasion!

Sunday’s text is 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, where Paul concludes with a statement that we will also use as the title for the message, “But We Have the Mind of Christ.” That declaration reflects one of the many benefits received from the work of Christ on the cross, and is an application of the Spirit’s work as well. It is a statement of dependence, of hope, and of promise. Please pray, with me, that we come with listening hearts and the Spirit’s quickening for listening and living out the realities of God’s Word.

In last week’s text, Paul’s appeal to unity found its grounding in the Gospel he preached – a Gospel whose power is rooted in the cross of Christ. Pauline theology, as we noted, is both Christocentric and cruciform. He makes this eminently clear in a portion of the text for Sunday (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5), “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” His message, his preaching, looks to a source of power beyond himself, and that power source is divine. What is so remarkable about the Gospel is that, to the human mind, the message of Christ crucified which he finds so life-changing does not appear so to everyone. For Paul, it was precious. May we pray that the Holy Spirit enables us to be captivated and consumed with the wisdom and power of God displayed on the cross.

Let’s face it: church people are pretty good at dividing. That very tendency is what Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, where he confronts the matter head on and casts a compelling counter-vision to our human squabbling and leader-veneration (patent pending phrase!). I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that the ancient pattern can repeat so readily. It simply demonstrates the ongoing need for the Church universal to combat our divisive proclivities with the only true source and hope for aligning with God’s will instead of our own, which for the Corinthian church was the same as it is for Redeemer: “The Unifying Power of the Gospel.”