Scripture: 1st Corinthians 4:16-18 I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. For this reason I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church. But some of you, thinking that I am not coming to you, have become arrogant. Thought for the Day: Paul suggested
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 4:1 Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Thought for the Day: Paul uses two important words in this passage – Servant and Steward. Interesting, though, is that the word we translate as servant is not the one we have seen before (Jan. 14), but one that Paul only uses this one time. It describes the under
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Thought for the Day: Paul begins these verses with a question that is in fact a rebuke of sorts. It could even contain a hint of sarcasm, almost
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 3:5-6 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Thought for the Day: If you remember from Sunday, the community in Corinth had splintered over different issues, and in doing so, had forgotten the oneness of the church. People were saying, “I belong Apollos;
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 3:1-3 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 2:12-14 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 2:1-2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Thought for the Day: For Paul, the cross is a terribly complicated and confusing concept. It was, most definitely, the greatest stumbling block for him even
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Thought for the Day: I used to describe myself a neo-Barthian. Karl Barth (1886 – 1968) was a
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 1:11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. Thought for the Day: In any good story, there is a moment early on when a conflict arises and a response seeking resolution follows. A story without some tension, friction, troubling question, emotional rift or unexpected bad news, is not going to be a