Monday is my day off, so Tuesdays are a hectic day for me.

I'm catching up on all the phone messages, texts, and emails, along with starting the sermon message for Sunday.

Tuesday morning, Amy asked me what the Scripture passage was for this week's sermon, and I gave it to her.

A few minutes later, she came back and asked, "Do you really think it's a good idea to preach another message on sex a few days before Christmas?"

Gentlemen, I don't know about you, but sometimes when the Holy Spirit of Almighty God speaks to us, His voice sounds a whole lot like our spouse.

So, with that said, we once again, hit the pause button on our current study, and we're going to have a prelude to our Christmas Eve message.

18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 See, the virgin will become pregnant

and give birth to a son,

and they will name him Immanuel,

which is translated “God is with us.”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Last Sunday, we looked at the birth of Jesus. 


We focused on God’s “marketing program”—how He decided to tell the world that the Savior is born. 


God’s marketing program was to tell the most unlikely people - the dirty, the lonely, the unwanted… Shepherds.


We also looked at when Jesus announced to the world— that He was the Messiah.

We learned that He didn’t go to the VIP’s at the Temple, the hotshot theologians at the Jerusalem seminary.


Jesus told the most unlikely person—a Samaritan woman whose been divorced five times and now is sleeping with another man.


That’s quite the marketing strategy!


And then on Christmas Eve, we learned WHY Jesus was born—to save sinners.


Contrary to popular belief…you don’t come to God with your act together.


It doesn't matter if you drink too much, smoke, take drugs, or have tattoos, overeat, or watch pornography, or you just fill in the blank.


It doesn't matter if you're angry, bitter, or disappointed in God.


Because Jesus came to SAVE sinners.

Jesus came to save you from all of that—and give you something you can’t achieve on your own—eternal life.


Saving sinners is what Christmas is all about.  


Jesus is giving you a gift- Himself. Salvation.


Jesus was born so that we could be re-born, spiritually.


But what’s that mean?


Well, let’s find out today.

Guest Preacher: Thomas Amos

Unlike most of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 is devoted entirely to doctrine.


Doctrine—what Christians believe.

The doctrine in this chapter is belief in the resurrection of Jesus.


Starting today, we are going to look at the resurrection of Jesus in a five-part series.


It's here in 1 Cor that The Apostle Paul gives the most extensive treatment of the resurrection in all of Scripture.


Without the resurrection, Christianity is wishful thinking.


It is no different than any other religion.

If Jesus didn't walk out of that grace three days later, just as He said He would, everything that Jesus said and done was a lie.

The resurrection was the focal point of everything that Jesus taught.

Keep in mind the context of 1 Cor. 13—Church. 

Cor 12. talks about how spiritual gifts are to edify the members of the local Church.

1 Cor. 14 presents the plan in how God has designed these spiritual gifts to work in the ekklesia—the Body of Christ.

Many aspects of church life will end at the end of this current age, but love never ends. 

Agapē Love signals love's priority within the local Church.

Today, we come now to one of the most famous and treasured parts of Scripture.

1 Cor. 13 —the Love Chapter.

We hear this read at weddings, don't we?

I found that very interesting because 1 Cor. 13 comes directly after 1 Cor 12, which talks about how your spiritual gifts are to edify the members of the local Church.

1 Cor. 12 discusses the action and interrelatedness of all the different gifts.

1 Cor. 14 presents the plan in how God has designed these spiritual gifts to work in the ekklesia—the Body of Christ.

But before we get there, we have to read 1 Cor. 13.

Chapter 13 is the pivotal chapter on spiritual gifts.

It is the key that unlocks the door to this life and the next.

Without 1 Cor. 13, nothing in life matters.

Now, that’s a big statement. Let’s find out why.

Last week we discussed spiritual gifts = spiritual life.


Spiritual gifts are God's supernatural provision for the building up of the Church and the evangelization of the world. 




A spiritual gift is supernatural gifting from God that is enabled by the Holy Spirit to edify the Church and bring glory to Jesus Christ.


A spiritual gift is a unique ability given to a Christian by The Holy Spirit that is used to minister to the Body of Christ (Church).


Not only is every Believer gifted, but they are gifted supernaturally.


God gives His gifts to us, but for others.


Key Point: Nothing is more critical to the spiritual health and effectiveness of the local Church than applying your personal spiritual gift. 

Did you notice that the recipient of all those gifts was the Church? The Body of Christ.

And that's where the Apostle Paul leads us today in our study of 1 Corinthians—The Body of Christ.

Think about that term—Christ embodied.

The Church is a tangible and visible form of Jesus Christ.




A formal definition of the Church—

"Church" comes from the Greek word (ekklēsia), meaning 'assembly' or 'gathering.'

Scripture emphasizes that the Church is the Body of Christ, whose members are filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Scripture underlines that the Church is corporate, rather than solitary or individual.

Cyprian of Carthage (Church Father in the 3rd century/Bishop in North Africa)--"No one can have God for his Father, who does not have the Church for his mother."

Cyp wrote this in his most significant work, "The Unity of the Church."

He wrote this after he watched the Church get persecuted for eleven years straight, and thousands of people died around him.

Cyp was also martyred.

He witnessed people renouncing their faith in the face of persecution.

As we read through this text today, I want you to notice how many times the Apostle Paul says the word "member."

Last week we learned the different phases of spiritual growth, from being a Baby Christian, growing up into a young man in Christ, and what it looks like to be a spiritual Father.

Today the Apostle John turns the corner here in our text, from teaching us how to grow up spiritually to giving us a stern warning. And it’s almost like he takes us by the shirt collar here, pulls us in and looks directly into our eyes.

From the beginning of human history, how many songs do you think have been written about love? How many poems? How many novels, movies, and TV shows have been produced about this thing called love? We sing about it, read about it, watch programming about it. And with all of that, it’s really hard for us to define? The good news is that God’s Word certainly clears up this confusion. This is where the Apostle John is taking us today in 1 John 2:7-11. Today, we going to be talking about The Kind of Love God Loves.