LIVING OUT YOUR NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST After admonishing believers in Corinth for suing other brothers in court, rather than handling things within the Church, Paul reminded them that they had a new identity in Christ. He listed some of their former identities, which were really marked by their favorite sins. Identities like: “Fornicators, idolaters,
REJOICE, FOR GOD SEES YOUR AFFLICTION This Psalm of David teaches us to choose gladness and worship, while giving our troubles to God. David wrote that God had “seen” his trouble. In other words David had stopped thinking about his affliction and had given it to God for His consideration. This was how the
FAITHFULNESS IS SUCCESS Paul called himself a “steward of God’s mysteries” (1 Cor. 4:1). A steward is a manager who serves on behalf of the owner. Managers in business are judged by their success. But Paul said that stewards of God are judged by their faithfulness. In God’s Kingdom, faithfulness is success. It’s not
UNDERSTANDING OUR PLACE IN WITNESSING Paul wrote to correct the Corinthian church for its disunity and favoritism. For some were claiming to be followers of Paul and others followers of a preacher named Apollos. Paul told them that “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives
THE SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING Have you ever been asked how you can know that God has saved you? The question may come from someone who lacks assurance of salvation themselves, so they want to understand from where you get your confidence. Or the question may come from an agnostic who wishes to challenge the basis
TALKING ABOUT JESUS Why is it easier to invite someone to church than it is to invite them to follow Jesus? Talking about church is not the most comfortable thing in our modern culture. It signals a shift in our everyday generic conversation with neighbors and coworkers, for it moves from that which we have
OVERCOMING FEAR BY DECLARING YOUR FAITH IN GOD David wrote this powerful declaration of confidence in the Lord, revealing how he faced his fears. For David, like any man, had fears, yet he overcame them by faith in God. There are at least three fears implied here, that are common to man, that David chose
REDISCOVERING GOD’S WORD Under the direction of King Josiah, the Levites were repairing the Temple when they found the Book of the Law. Hilkiah the priest was the one who found it. Apparently, it had been hidden in the Temple to avoid destruction by some of the wicked kings that ruled before. As a result,
THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE NOT THE STEEPLE In Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, he gave greetings to the church that met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. In those days there were no church buildings, so the church met in homes or in public meeting facilities, such as the Hall of Tyrannus
DO YOU HAVE OVERFLOWING HOPE? What is this “overflowing hope” and how can we obtain it? It is Christian hope. This is different from the hope we express as a wish. When we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” we are expressing a wish without any promise of fulfillment. But Christian hope is like