Saturday, November 27, 2010

Weekly Recap #47 - (Part 2) I Corinthians 1-16

 I really enjoyed reading I Corinthians.  
It was jam packed with things that happened to Paul....and was so very interesting!!!

I took lots of notes....and have a lot of ground to cover....so let's get started!!!

I Corinthians was Paul's first letter to the people of Corinth....which was a city in ancient Greece that was the connecting between Rome (the capital of the world) and the East.  Paul had established a flourishing church in Corinth.  The city was made up of merchants and sailors, professional gamblers, athletes, slaves, and both male and female prostitutes.  These were the people who eventually made up the Corinthian church....so they had to learn to live together in harmony.  Corinth was one of the wealthiest and most immoral of ancient cities.  I Corinthians was written from Ephesus during Paul's third missionary journey.

I Corinthians 1:4
I always thank my God for you and for the  gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

Paul appealed to his "dear brothers and sisters" to live in harmony with each other....asking for no divisions in the church....but to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.  Paul had been told about quarreling in the church.

If you want to boast....boast only about the Lord.

I Corinthians 2:9
....no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who live him.

 Paul spoke words given to him by the Spirit.

Paul told the church that he had planted the seed of the Good News of Christ in their hearts....Apollos had watered the seed....but it was God who made it grow.  It's not important who does the planting....or watering. What's important is that God makes the seed to grow!!!

Don't make judgments about anyone.  Only the Lord can fully know a person's heart.

Paul wrote to the church about their sexual immorality....and how proud they were....but how they should have been mourning in sorrow and shame.  Paul urged throwing a man out of the church who was living in sin with his stepmother.

Paul told the people of the church not to associate with people who indulged in sexual sin, but claimed to be a believer.

Paul discouraged the believers from filing lawsuits against one another....but to settle any disputes among themselves.

I Corinthians 6:12
I am allowed to do anything, but not everything is good for you.  And even though I am allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anything.

Our bodies were made for the Lord and He cares about our bodies.  Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ?

Paul told the believers to....
I Corinthians 6:18
Run from sexual sin!
(this reminded me of Joseph running from Potiphar's wife)
No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does.  For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

I Corinthians 6:19-20
Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself.  For God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.

When married, the wife gives authority over her body to her husband and vice versa.  Do not deprive each other of sexual relations unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer.  Afterward, you should come together again so Satan won't be able to tempt you  becuase of your lack of self control.  Paul's general advice was that it is better to stay unmarried because of the opportunities it provides to serve Christ without distraction.  But, even with its distractions, an honorable marriage is much better than living a life dominated by unsatisfied sexual desire.

There is hope that if one of the marriage partners isn't saved...the believer will win his/her mate to faith in Christ.

Don't became attached to things of this world....because they will pass away.

I Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

I Corinthians 10:24
Don't be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

I Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 

The Lord's Supper
The bread represents the body of Christ. 
The wine (grape juice) represents Christ's blood that He shed for our sins....the "new covenant" between God and His people...an agreement  confirmed with Jesus' shed blood. 

Spiritual  Gifts
I Corinthians 12:4
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

I Corinthians 12:7
A spiritual gift is given to each  of us so we can help each other.


I Corinthians 12:11
It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts.  He alone decides which gift each person should have.


LOVE is the most important thing. 
If we don't love others....we are nothing.


Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous....or boastful....or proud.
Love is not rude.
Love does not demand it's own way.
Love is not irritable.
Love keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out.
Love never gives up.
Love never loses faith.
Love is always HOPEful.
Love endures thru


Three things that will last forever....
1)  FAITH
2)  HOPE
3)  LOVE


The greatest of these is LOVE.


I Corinthians 14:1
Let love be your highest goal!!!


I Corinthians 14:33
For god is not a God of disorder, but of peace....

I want to leave y'all with these verses that really stood out to me and spoke to my heart!!!


I Corinthians 15:10
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me....


AMEN!!!


and....


I Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on guard.
Stand firm in the faith.
Be courageous.
Be strong.
And do everything with love!!!


AMEN...and AMEN!!!


HOPE each of you have a blessed Saturday!!!


In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!


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Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24