Paul longs for the church to use the gifts of the Spirit, given graciously by God, for the unity and upbuilding of the church. He highlights God as a gracious gift giver and the Spirit as the one who exalts the name of Christ. Though there are many different kinds of gifts, they are from the same Spirit and are given for the common good of the body, which is the church.

As communion became a source of division and inequity at the Corinthian church, Paul reminds the believers of the meaning behind the meal, how Christ has given himself, and how we are to examine our sin as we come to the cross.

As we continue to dive into 1 Corinthians, we explore the challenging-to-interpret message in chapter 11 on the relationship between husbands and wives and see how the gospel turns the idea of headship upside down.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul concludes his three-chapter discourse on idol worship with a stern warning to "flee from idolatry," addressing the questions of what idolatry is, why avoid it and how to do so. Paul recounted Israel's failures from Exodus as a caution and advises believers to exercise their freedom responsibly.

Paul uses his own life as an example of how as Christ-followers, we can follow the example of Jesus, and be free in Christ while choosing to lay down that freedom out of love for others.

This week we return to our study of the 1 Corinthians and look at Paul's teaching on sex in relationships, walking a tightrope between shunning nor idolizing sex and marriage. We look at how Paul roots sex and relationships in the gospel message, as in every other area of life.

For this week's Summer Series, we welcome back Wes Walls from the Dwelling Place Church in Magnolia.

This week's Summer Series guest speaker is a longtime friend of the Hallows Church Stephen Searles.

This week's Summer Series guest speaker is Daniel Englehart from the Mountain Church in Des Moines.

This week's Summer Series guest speaker is Wes Walls from the Dwelling Place church in Magnolia.