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1 Corinthians 13, a text commonly read at weddings, would be so much easier if it were about 2 people young and in love. Instead, it is one of the most difficult texts to put into practice because it is about the church; it is a challenge to Christians to love our brothers and sisters in Christ like Christ loves us… there will be times when that is difficult, when we don’t “feel it”, but the text still reads “love.”

“You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” When I hear someone say this I often wonder if they understand the gospel. Part of the work of salvation involves the church… Our text (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) points out that a Christian is especially gifted by the Holy Spirit to benefit the other believers you worship with. So, what is your spiritual gift? And, are you using your gifts for the common good?

“I am a spiritual person,” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 speaks to a church who thought they were spiritual but in reality were not. So the question comes then, what makes a person spiritual?

When I sat down to prepare a message from 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, I anticipated having to answer questions I have heard for years: “Was Paul a misogynist? Do women really have to wear coverings for their heads? Is the Bible so tied up in 1st century culture that it is now irrelevant to ours?” But the question that I came away from this text with was this- “How does marriage demonstrate the Gospel?’

Self-centeredness is easy to diagnose in other people, but it is more difficult to perceive in our own selves. However, most of the problems that occur within churches are at the root issues of self-centeredness. In 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1, there is an issue of self-centeredness. The remedy: being intentional about doing everything (even the smallest of things) for the glory of God.

The Lord’s Table is rich in meaning; there is an invitation to commune with God through the blood of Christ, to join with Him (and others who believe in Jesus). 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 tell us that the same things that we experience at the Lord’s Table is also experienced when we chase after idols… we become compromised.

1 Corinthians 9:19-27 teaches us to be intentional in the work of salvation. “I have become all things to all people that I might save some”- I wish we who are the church would have the same desire that the Apostle Paul had for evangelism.