"To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:2-3
Church, this Sunday we will begin a long journey, as we open to Paul's first letter to the Corinthian believers. Not only will this be a long series, it will be a difficult one. First Corinthians is filled with very solid spiritual food that can be very difficult to digest. Much like those to whom it was actually written, we will read and discover things that will challenge us in our way of thinking, in our culture, and how we do life together as a church.
First Corinthians is full of correction for believers misguided perhaps by false teacher(s) or through their lack of surrendering their former ways to a new life in Christ. They are believed to have been a wealthy society; Corinth being a busy place of commerce. Therefore, it is believed that much of the trouble they fell into was because of their wealth. Remember, Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven. They were plagued by sexual sin, marital trouble, lawsuits, lack of adherence to church discipline, and perhaps worst of all - division in the church.
For a long time I have said, one could substitute "Corinthian" and in its place write "American." I see so many parallels between the church at Corinth and the church in America today. Further, I see parallels between the church at Corinth and The Village Church. We are not perfect. We must never allow ourselves to believe we are. We must continually rely on and return to the things of Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is preparing His bride. Just as Jesus builds the church, Jesus also cleanses the church that at the return of Christ His bride would be without spot or wrinkle or any such blemish.
I'm excited to journey through First Corinthians with you! I'm excited to see what God will do in our lives, in our church, and in our community as we get serious about things that God is serious about. Start reading it for yourself! Prepare your hearts and minds for our journey through this wonderful piece of Scripture. Pray for understanding, pray for one another, that through this we might be more built up into the head of the church - Jesus Christ! I'll see you Sunday!
Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)