Posts with the category “influencers”

Day 20 - Friday, September, 8 Read 1 Corinthians 16 Highlight Chapter 16 includes two sections that are worth giving a quick highlight to.  First, the historical context for the money collection referred to right at the start of the chapter: Paul was collecting funds for the poor (and extremely persecuted) believers in Jerusalem.  This was not only because of real need in the body of Christ, but also...  Read More

Day 19 - Thursday, September, 7 Read 1 Corinthians 15 Highlight In this portion of the letter, Paul speaks to an important concept that is found throughout the Bible.  The theological concept is called “Federal Headship,” and it can be seen in verses 21-22.  Tim Keller explains that, “A federal head is a person who, through a covenant relationship, represents or stands in for someone else.”  In this...  Read More

Day 18 - Wednesday, September 6 Read 1 Corinthians 14 Highlight This chapter focuses on two miraculous spiritual gifts that were present in the Corinthian church and how they ought to be used to benefit the whole church rather than bring attention to the people using them.  There may be confusion about what exactly these spiritual gifts are, so we will define them here.Speaking in tongues (glossolali...  Read More

Day 17, Tuesday, September 5 Read 1 Corinthians 13 Highlight This chapter the Bible’s “love chapter,” is a beautiful description of Christianity’s highest calling. We ought to remember that this chapter was written within the context of conflict and disunity over spiritual gifting. That helps us apply this passage particularly to the context of Christian community.  Read More

Day 16, Monday,  September 4 Read 1 Corinthians 12 Highlight Paul uses a method in 1 Corinthians 12 that is worth highlighting. Sometimes when we are reading the Bible it can be hard to tell when the author has moved on to a different subject matter. But Paul does something in this chapter that Biblical authors frequently use to help their readers stay focused on the main idea. This method is called “framing” or “book-ending” and it can be seen in verses 12 & 27.  Read More

WelcomeWelcome to Week 4 of the 2023 Influencers Reading Plan! This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here.  We are all being influenced by someone or something.  For any follower of Jesus, the important question is whether we are being influenced primarily by our Lord or by the world.  ...  Read More

Day 15 - Friday, September 1Read 1 Corinthians 11HighlightThe first half of 1 Corinthians 11 is a profoundly difficult passage to understand.  On the one hand, it’s difficult because it grates against our modern sensibilities of equality between the sexes.  On the other hand, there are simply phrases that are used by Paul that make very little sense without a serious understanding of the historica...  Read More

Day 14, Thursday, August 31Read 1 Corinthians 10:23-33HighlightVerse 31 is a major verse in this long line of reasoning that Paul has been making: “So whether you eat or  drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  Other translations add a “therefore” with the “so” at the beginning of this verse, which is a literal translation of the original Greek.  Both words, “so” and “therefore...  Read More

Day 13 - Wednesday, August 30Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-22HighlightVerse 13 is a verse that has brought comfort and reassurance to Christians from the time this letter was delivered until now.  The word translated as “temptation” is peirasmos and it covers both the concept of a temptation and a trial.  Paul, both through the word he uses and the references to ancient Israel, is referring to everythin...  Read More

Day 12 - Tuesday, August 29Read 1 Corinthians 9HighlightPaul gives his own personal testimony to strengthen the argument of Chapter 8.  Paul is not saying that paying a pastor is wrong.  In fact, he says the opposite! (see v13-14)  Paul is highlighting the things he has a right to, including insisting on the Corinthians paying him a salary for his ministry, he has voluntarily given up in order to ...  Read More

Day 11 - Monday, August 28Read 1 Corinthians 8HighlightPaul shifts his focus to yet another topic as he discusses the freedom we have in Jesus versus how we are meant to leverage that freedom.  The Corinthians have written Paul about whether or not it is okay to participate in the pagan rituals that surround them.  Paul answered pretty directly - idols are fake, there is only one true God.  Thus t...  Read More

Welcome to Week 3 of the 2023 Influencers Reading Plan This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here .  We are all being influenced by someone or something.  For any follower of Jesus, the important question is whether we are being influenced primarily by our Lord or by the world. ...  Read More

Day 10 - Friday August, 25Read 1 Corinthians 7:25-40HighlightThis section of Chapter 7 is extremely difficult to understand, simply because we don’t know exactly what the situation is in Corinth that prompted this guidance.  Scholars believe it could be that Corinthian fathers are wondering if they should arrange marriages for their daughters.  Or perhaps it’s simply that people who are betrothed ...  Read More

Day 09 - Thursday August, 24Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-24HighlightPaul moves to another issue that the Corinthian church asked him to address: issues of marriage.  Paul covers a wide range of situations, so instead of unpacking individual cases we should note an amazing thing that unites all that Paul says: his sense of mutuality - in almost every one of the questions he deals with, what he applies to...  Read More

Day 08 - Wednesday August, 23Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20HighlightPaul summarizes his argument in verses 18-20, but it is hard to understand what he is saying if we don’t understand the full context.  In this section of Chapter 6, Paul has been quoting Corinthian maxims.  “Everything is permissible to me” is one we are sure of and thus the English translation puts it in quotation marks.  Biblical sc...  Read More

Day 07 - Tuesday August, 22Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11HighlightThe last verse of this section is a powerful statement of new identity.  All followers of Jesus were once wicked and not worthy of the Kingdom of God.  Yet Paul uses three words to describe our new identity: washed, sanctified, and justified.The word for “washed” is only used in one other place in the New Testament, and that is in Paul’s...  Read More

Day 06 - Monday, August 21Read 1 Corinthians 5HighlightThis chapter marks a change in Paul’s focus.  Like the overview video linked above says, Paul is working his way through several issues that he has heard the Corinthian church is dealing with as they are discipled by the world rather than Jesus.  In this chapter, Paul addresses a topic that is often very difficult for followers of Jesus to eng...  Read More

WelcomeWelcome to Week 2 of the 2023 Influencers Reading Plan! This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here.  We are all being influenced by someone or something.  For any follower of Jesus, the important question is whether we are being influenced primarily by our Lord or by the world.  ...  Read More

Day 05: Friday, August, 18Read 1 Corinthians 4HighlightAs we read 1 Corinthians we should remember that Paul is trying to help the Christians in Corinth keep a perspective on life that is formed by the Gospel and not the ways of the world.  Even today, many followers of Jesus struggle with the worldly idea that if God loves us then our lives should reflect it through health and wealth and other fo...  Read More

Day 04 - Thursday, August 17Read 1 Corinthians 3HighlightVerse 5 uses very interesting language.  Paul does not ask “WHO is Apollos/Paul?”  He asks instead, “WHAT is Apollos/Paul?”  It’s a different word in Greek and through it Paul is not talking about their ultimate identity, but rather what their function is within the church.  They are servants (diakonos), a word that emphasizes the voluntary ...  Read More

Day 03: Wednesday, August 16ReadingRead 1 Corinthians 2HighlightIn this chapter Paul continues to highlight that it is foolish to put our ultimate trust in people or anything of human origin.  To emphasize this, Paul is going to argue that the Gospel is proof of God’s power and wisdom.  In fact, Paul goes so far to say that the key to understanding the things of God is for God Himself to empower t...  Read More

Day 02: Tuesday, August 15Read 1 Corinthians 1HighlightIn verses 10 & 11 we get a reminder of what this Book of the Bible is: it’s a letter written by Paul in response to things he’s heard are causing problems within the Corinthian Church.  We don’t know exactly what Paul has heard, but through the letter we will see Paul address multiple things in the church that reflect a worldly perspective tha...  Read More

First Things FirstBefore we look at the Book of 1 Corinthians, we are going to read the account of the founding of the church.  This was recorded for us by Luke in the Book of Acts, Chapter 18.Day 01: Monday, August 14Read Acts 18HighlightCorinth was a city in ancient Greece that was situated at the crossroads of land and sea trading routes.  This made it strategically very important and very pros...  Read More

WelcomeWelcome to Week 1 of the 2023 Influencers Reading Plan! This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name.  We are all being influenced by someone or something.  For any follower of Jesus, the important question is whether we are being influenced primarily by our Lord or by the world.  There was an early church in the city of Corinth ...  Read More