1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Throughout the centuries when churches gathered, they have partaken of the Lord’s Supper. These were meant to be moments to remember what Christ had done, the sacrifice he had made, as well as the foundation for unity it provided to the church.Yet sadly, a time came in the church of Corinth when the meal became more about them than the Lord. Paul rebuked them for failing to ...

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 When you read this passage how do you initially respond? Do you feel like this is a repressive passage? Do you feel confused? Let us consider how to think through passages like this. Paul pointed out two specific things, one applicable to us today and one that no longer is to ground the way the church was to live. First, he points to the role of men in leading the church and ...

1 Corinthians 10:14-33 Flee from idolatry. When we read these words in 1 Corinthians 10:14, it may feel like we are reading about a world disconnected from ours. Paul was surrounded by altars devoted to idols while we live in a world without altars and obvious idols. Yet the exhortation to flee idolatry is just as urgent for us as it was for Israel and the early church.The first two commandments g...

1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13 Our perceived purpose in life will determine the way we live. So how would you answer the question, what is your life purpose? If you define your purpose related to your job, you will work long hours. If your purpose is related to your family, you will make sure to travel, give gifts, and prioritize family events. If your purpose is related to God, you will find yourself l...

1 Corinthians 9:1-18 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9 that he has certain rights as a minister of the gospel of Christ. This chapter may not initially seem like it has a whole lot of application to your life, but it ultimately provides us with a critical application. Paul said that he had a right to make a living off his ministry. He quoted Deuteronomy, he pointed out other apostles, and used other jo...

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 The Bible continually wants us to understand wisdom is more important than IQ, and obedience to God is more important than accomplishments. Paul takes us to the streets of Corinth where idols and altars were everywhere. He points out that these idols are nothing. Yet beyond teaching this truth, Paul shared essential wisdom and practical principles for the church's guidance in ...

1 Corinthians 7:25-40 What tasks are on your agenda for today? If you could only get one thing done, what would it be? What is your singular focus for today, and what is it for your life? In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul is encouraging us to reflect on our life’s purpose and our aspirations. If our purpose is related to our family, he encourages us to consider something far more important. For many, the na...

1 Corinthians 7:1-24 God speaks to every area of our lives. There are no nooks and crannies we can wall off from him. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul shows specifically how God speaks to sex and marriage. The most intimate of relationships are to be completely directed by God and lived for his glory. For those who are married, we are commanded to give of ourselves physically to our spouse and to do so reg...

1 Corinthians 6:1-20 How easy it is to live for the moment. We so often find ourselves consumed by the pursuit of wealth and material possessions, failing to recognize that there is far more to life. If we live this way, behaving like our eighty or so years on earth is all we have, then we are living for far too little. Instead, God calls us to live for eternity. 1 Corinthians 6 gives us a glimpse...

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 How serious do you take sin? The extreme example of 1 Corinthians 5 shows us the seriousness nature of sin, all sin. The church in Corinth had grown so accustomed to sexual immorality in the church that it even began to celebrate it. Paul rebuked them and told them sin should never be encouraged; instead, sin should be called out for what it is. Sin, every type of sin, is oppo...

1 Corinthians 4:1-21 What propels you forward in your faithfulness to Christ? What motivates you to obey God and stay focused on him? Generally, we are either going to be motivated by a desire to please God or to please people. We will either want to live as a response to God’s grace or because we want to impress people.Paul was a model of living before an audience and judge of one, and someone wh...

1 Corinthians 3:5-23 We live in a celebrity obsessed culture. People who are simply famous for being famous capture millions of views and have influence without expertise. 1 Corinthians 3 shows us this is not a new phenomenon. In the early church people were focused on people like Paul, Apollos, and Cephas and bragged about their connection to them. Instead, attention, affection, and loyalty are t...

1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4 Paul continues to dive deep into the concept of wisdom. How would you define wisdom? How would you get it? Paul wants us to understand that true wisdom cannot be found through our own efforts but can only be revealed by God. Paul speaks of “God’s secret wisdom” in 2:7. This revealing what was formerly hidden is an apocalypse. We often use this word to speak of end times event...

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 Is your life marked by wisdom? How do you even determine this? As we read through the letter of 1 Corinthians, we will discover what true wisdom looks like and realize it is very different than what we encounter in the world.Paul uses the words wisdom and foolishness multiple times in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5. Paul speaks of the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. The w...

1 Corinthians 1:1-17 What is core to your identity? You might begin an introduction with your name, job, number of kids, place where you grew up, etc., but Paul tells us some of the most important aspects of our identity in verse 2. In this verse he identifies the church as those who are sanctified and called to holiness, and those who call on the name of the Lord. When is the last time you introd...

Romans 16:10-27 When we enter a relationship with Jesus, we also have a relationship with the church. The moment we are born again, we are born into a new family. Throughout Romans we have seen the importance and value of relationships, and Paul ends his letter by highlighting this same truth. Are you living out of this reality, that relationships with people are an essential part of the Christian...

Romans 15:23-16:9 Generosity. We probably love the idea but find it hard to live it out. In Paul and the early church, we are confronted by a model of extravagant generosity. Paul traveled throughout the Mediterranean region and expended himself to make Christ known. He knew that his life was not his own, but rather was an instrument to be used by God. So, he willingly traveled in insufferable con...

Romans 15:1-22 The general morality of our day is that we can do whatever we want if it does not hurt anyone else. Though this may sound reasonable on the surface, God calls us to a far higher standard than simply not doing harm. He calls us to “please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself.”God’s ethic is to be willing to sacrifice and serve others. We ...

Romans 14:1-23 Paul continues in Romans 14 with the theme of relationships. In this chapter we are challenged to consider how we respond to people with whom we do not see eye to eye. When we interact with someone with whom we disagree on non-Biblical commands, we are to respond with humility, sensitivity, and love. The issues may range from schooling, entertainment, use of free time, ways we spend...

Romans 13:1-14 In the middle of a section describing our relationships, Paul comments on our relationship with "governing authorities" (v.1). For many of us, we may vacillate between apathy, love, and hatred toward the government, but we do not see those options laid out in Romans 13. Instead, we are to be subject to and submit to them.When Paul wrote Romans his government was heinous. Nero was th...