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