- Freedom
- Paul’s defence (v1-14)
- Paul’s example
- Labour and sacrifice (v12, 15-18)
- Flexibility and accomodation (v19-23)
- Discipline and purpose (v24-27)
- What it’s not about
- Asceticism and self-hatred
- The ‘missionary double-standard’
- What it is about
- Purposefulness in the service of the Gospel
- Self-denial for the sake of the Gospel
To see the gospel bear fruit in the Inner West and the World as we commit, grow, engage and send.
Sermons on 1 Corinthians
- An invitation…
- The Corinthian argument: Knowledge and Freedom
- Paul’s response: Love, Conscience, and the Death of Jesus
- What does this look like for us?
- Introduction
- ‘There remain with God’ (v24)
- ‘The present crisis’ (v26)
- ‘The time is short…from now on’ (v29)
- Reasons to stay single (v32-35)
- Decisions for the betrothed and the widowed (v36-40)
- Conclusions
- Love in an age of manufactured discontent
- Particular issues…
- For the married: sex or celibacy? (v1-7)
- For widows and the unmarried: to (re)marry or not to (re)marry? (v8-9)
- For those married to a fellow believer: to stay together or to separate? (v10-11)
- For those married to an unbeliever: to stay or to leave? and if your partner leaves?
- General Principles…
- Accepting God’s gifts (v7, 17, 21)
- Keeping God’s commandments (v10, 19)
- Responding to God’s call (v17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24)
- Living in God’s freedom (v23)
- A scandal in suburbia
- Two scandals in Corinth
- A man and his step-father (5:1-13)
- Predatory lawsuits (6:1-11)
- “Do you not know” Six things the Corinthians had forgotten
- “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (5:6)
- “Do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?” (6:2, cf. v3)
- “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (6:9)
- “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (6:15)
- “Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?” (6:16)
- “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” (6:19)
- You are not your own
- Why care about leadership?
- The Corinthians and their leaders
- Boasting (v 6-7, 18)
- Judging (v 3-5)
- What are leaders?
- Servants (v 1-5)
- Slaves and fools (v 8-13)
- Examples to imitate (v 14-21)
- Polls, Popularity and Power
- Leadership in Corinth (3:1-4)
- Reframing leaders (3:5-9)
- Reframing leadership (3:10-17)
- Careful work (3:10-15)
- Sacred work (3:16-17)
- Final warnings and reminders
- Boasting and wisdom
- Boasting and belonging
- Alexamenos worships his God
- The Wisdom of God (1:18-31)
- Foolishness…and power (1:18)
- God and the ‘Wise’ (1:19-25; cf. Isaiah 29:10-20)
- God and the ‘Foolish’ (1:26-31)
- Therefore we speak…(2:1-16)
- …not with human wisdom (2:1-5)
- …but with the wisdom revealed by the Spirit (2:6-16)
- Alexamenos fidelis
- Something Old, Something New
- Gospel-shaped Church (1:1-17)
- A holy community (1:1-3)
- A located community (1:2a)
- A catholic community (1:2b)
- A graced community (1:4-9)
- A unified community (1:10-17)
- Gospel-shaped Ministry (1:17-31)
- Jesus is the Light, Mark 4: 21-25
- He makes it grow, Mark 4: 26-29, 1 Cor 3:1-9
- Growing it big, Mark 4: 30-34