After 2 Sundays of Christmas, we begin a season called Epiphany. It’s a season that deals with Christ revealing who he is. Last year, we stayed in the Gospel passages which makes it real easy to see Jesus. This year however, we will be in 1st Corinthians (for the majority of the time).
A couple of things that Jon wants us to keep in mind as we preach from Paul’s writings:
- There’s always something that Paul is trying to address
- Be sure to put the passage in context.
Corinth was like our present day Las Vegas. What happened there, stayed there. Sin was rampant. So a young church in that city took a lot of work on Paul’s part as their founder and spiritual leader. So keep that in mind as you look at how Paul writes to them. What words he uses to describe them and then how he calls them to live a better life. And also, begin with the corporate aspect, not the individual.
As we look at this passages in particular, for the season of Epiphany, we asked 2 questions of each.
a) What authority is challenged?
b) Where is Christ revealed?
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Week 1 – Jan 9 – Acts 10:34-38
a) Religious authority, dogma of the then current Jewish system
b) Christ is revealed in Peter’s dream
Week 2 – Jan 16 – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
a) Their current way of life.
b) Paul calls them holy even thought he is going to tell them how they’re missing the mark. This is where Christ is revealed. He makes the Church blameless, and Paul sees their holy potential.
Week 3 – Jan 23 – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
a) divisions in the body. for today, maybe denominations. They wanted to follow the teacher, brag about it.
b) Paul’s reaction. It’s not “hey look at me!” it’s ” hey look at Him!”
Week 4 – Jan 30 – 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
a) wisdom of the Greeks
b) in the fools
Week 5 – Feb 6 – 1 Corinthians 2:1-11
a) common sense, conventional wisdom (ie. “everything happens for a reason”)
b) in the crucified God. the paradox of a King crucified
Week 6 – Feb 13 – 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
a) dividing lines, fandom, competition
b) the unified Church, collaboration
Week 7 – Feb 20 – 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
a) todays’ wisdom, style of music, (all the “you”s in this passage are plural)
b) the Church, His people
Week 8 – Feb 27 – 1 Corinthians 4:1-8
a) i’m fine, i’m special
b) the difference that God makes in us, we are stewards of mystery
Week 9 – Mar 6 – 2 Peter 1:16-21
a) my own right to be “right” about my faith
b) the Holy Spirit revealing the intent of God’s scripture
Please share your thoughts on the passages in the comments section.