The world should be able to come to the church to experience the power of God. But, too often, the church itself won’t even go to the church; they go to the world for solutions to their problems. How can we handle the “keys of the kingdom” if we can’t even handle the trash in our pews?

When a church takes the gospel and the spiritual health of its members seriously, it will practice church discipline. Church discipline is meant to protect the testimony of the church and the purity of its members. The goal of discipline is restoration, holiness, and health.

Paul admonishes the church to follow his fatherly example in humbly seeking unity and avoiding the dangerous consequences of their pride.

What does a successful life look like? Paul gives a vision of success that looks different than the definition the world often provides.

What does it look like to take seriously that we (as believers) are the temple of God? The reality and significance of God's presence that changes what we value and how we live.

If all of life is meant to be lived for Christ, then what kind of life are you living? What kind of church are we building?

There is wisdom hidden from the world available to anyone in Christ. The Spirit of God reveals it, but it remains opaque to the unspiritual. We are called to the wisdom of God, not the wisdom of this age; the Spirit of God, not the spirit the world offers; the revelation of God, not what the rulers of this age know. If this is going to happen, we will have to grow in our knowledge, love, and trust of the Spirit more than the world. We must make space in our minds, hearts, and schedules for uninterrupted time with the Holy Spirit. We need to comprehend the plan and character of God to know when he is revealing himself to us.

God can use a simple message from a trusting messenger to communicate his love to the world. In God’s economy, the weakest and most dependent are the most useful for him.

Rather than being united in the gospel, the church in Corinth was just as divided as the rest of the world. The church should be a place of diverse unity but, too often, it has just as many internal cliques as everyone else.

Paul is calling the church in Corinth to live differently than the culture around them. God is calling our church to the same kind of holy living.