1 Corinthians 1

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Why the Cross?

March 10, 2024 | 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 | cross, exposition, jesus

Do you see the need for Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for your sins? Do you understand its significance? Do you believe that people are separated from God in this world, struggling with sin, addiction, and death without God’s intervention? Do you believe that people who die separated from God will spend eternity without Him in a place called Hell?

In the apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, he explained why the message of the cross of Christ was crucial to their salvation.

“Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT).

August 4, 2022

DOES THE LOCAL CHURCH HAVE THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS IT NEEDS? Paul told the Corinthian church that it already had every spiritual gift that it needed. Is this true for every church? Does God give every local body of believers every spiritual gift that they need to stand faithful until Christ’s return? Perhaps it is an

“Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT).

August 4, 2019

DOES EVERY CHURCH HAVE EVERY SPIRITUAL GIFT IT NEEDS? Paul told the Corinthian church that it already had every spiritual gift that it needed. Is this true for every church? Does God give every local body of believers every spiritual gift that they need to stand faithful until Christ’s return? Perhaps it is an overstatement

“For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17 NLT).

August 4, 2018

THE POWERFUL MESSAGE OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Perhaps more than any other epistle, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was corrective. He had heard that there were divisions among them based on who had baptized them, claiming superiority by some fleshly view of spiritual lineage. But Paul would have none of it. He reminded them that it wasn’t who baptized them that mattered, nor was it important that the preacher who had led them to Christ was the most eloquent. What mattered was the simple yet powerful message of the cross of Christ.

The Corinthians were lovers of Greek culture and rhetoric. They seemed more enamored with the quality of the speaker, than with the power of the message. Paul made the point that it was the simplicity of the gospel that was key to its power. The point of preaching the gospel wasn’t to make the preacher famous, but to make Jesus famous!

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV)

August 5, 2016

Some consider the story of the cross foolishness. They dismiss the gospel as folly. They see only weakness in Jesus. They are ignorant of His life-giving, resurrection power for those who believe. Yet, Christ is both the wisdom and the power of God. His wisdom and power are revealed to those who believe. Their minds and hearts are transformed, so that foolishness and wisdom, and weakness and power, reverse poles from North to South. They are made right with God and see all things as they really are, no longer walking in darkness, but in light.

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT)

August 5, 2014

It is God’s plan that the “message of the cross” should enliven human hearts, yet it is also that which certifies that others are already dead. We often try human wisdom to reason and persuade, but it is the gospel alone that saves. And it is the gospel that reveals others to be lost. Only the message of the cross has the power to show we are already dead in our sins before making us alive in Christ. This message is a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others, but to us who believe it is the very power of God.

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

August 5, 2012

The message of the cross is spiritual wisdom. We are called to proclaim it to all, but not everyone will understand. God’s Spirit is the power that reveals the truth of the gospel. Explaining it with human wisdom falls short. Instead, we preach it, asking the Spirit to reveal the truth of it to human hearts. What happens when you survey the wondrous cross?

Why the Cross?

April 3, 2011 | 1 Corinthians 1:17-24 | easter

Pastor Gary Combs begins a new sermon series entitled “The Cross.” This series will answer three questions about the cross of Christ. This first sermon looks at the question of why Jesus had to die on the cross in order to save us.