Paul has recalibrated the Corinthians understanding on the importance and the place of sex in a believer’s life. He has done this by reinforcing the biblical foundations of sex as a covenant act within the biblical covenant of marriage. He has reminded them that the covenant of sex is rooted in creation and points towards the greater covenant between Christ and his church. In the previous chapters he has brought this teaching to counteract sexual promiscuity, now he is seeking to correct a misunderstanding about abstinence and celibacy within marriage. The first foundation Paul lays for his te ..read more

Belong, believe, behave - how grace changes the rules ..read more

As we celebrate Easter, we’re going to look at the most important promise ever made, one that changed the course of history, and a promise that we celebrate coming to pass at Easter. It’s the promise of the resurrection – when Jesus, the Son of God, died on a cross, and then rose from the dead three days later. Just as he said ..read more

We can see the issue for the Corinthians, and we can work through Paul’s arguments. But what about us? We live in a sex obsessed world. We all have our own sexual history both in terms of how we think and how we behave. How do we process this teaching without simply being paralysed by guilt and or shame? How do we apply this truth personally and corporately ..read more

The use of the past tense in this passage is hopeful as well as humbling. Paul is not setting them or us up for a fall. We do not have to give in to our flesh. We can move on from our petty intolerances. Because we have been washed, sanctified, and justified. God has done a work in us, is doing a work in us, and will finish the work he is doing in us on that day of days when Christ returns. We are not helpless or hopeless - which is what guilt tells us. We have hope in the one who promises to help ..read more

Your heart really matters to God. In a world full of distractions, we are called to guard our hearts and keep Jesus at the centre. Come with us as we discover the importance of God's grace, church community, and staying close to the Good Shepherd ..read more

If we’re going to take collective responsibility for the holiness of the church, then we need to be sincere about our own discipleship, which will mean regularly dying to self. And we need a high bar on what we mean by Christian community, sharing lives and discipling one another, which will mean having difficult conversations with one another from time to time ..read more

Be patient with everyone. You are going to meet people in church or in Life Group who are going to rub you the wrong way. It’s just going to happen. But when we remember we are all made in the image of God, and if we remember what Paul said at the beginning of the letter to the Corinthians that none of us can boast that we are better than anyone else, then we can learn to have grace with one another ..read more

Paul is sarcastic about the Corinthian’s boasting which is rooted in pride – regarding one person as better than another in race, class, roles in the church, wisdom/eloquence, factions re leaders, and gifts of the Spirit. Paul followed the lead of Jesus, the God who came in low, fully God, fully man, – a picture of the ‘suffering servant’ who came low to serve, to die on the cross ..read more

Paul starts of chapter 3, by DISCIPLING the Church to see with some clarity and conviction where they might be getting stuck. Where immature theology and worldly values ARE hindering them from a life of spiritual GROWTH. BUT… he ends the chapter by giving them a vision of how God sees them / of how God has positioned them / of what GOD has in store for them ..read more