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1 Corinthians 13 - This Kind of Love Never Fails!

1 Corinthians 13 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  8 Love never fails. Unless a couple I am marrying specifically has a  reason to pick another verse, I will pick these verses every time I am asked to officiate at a wedding. These were the vers...

1 Corinthians 12 - The Indispensable Nature of Spiritual Gifts For You and Your Church!

1 Corinthians 12 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Concerning Spiritual Gifts 12 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculou...

1 Corinthians 11 - The Role of Men and Women in the Church!

1 Corinthians - NIV Enduring Word Commentary On Covering the Head in Worship 2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,[a] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head,[b] since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have...

1 Corinthians 10 - The Surefire Method to Overcome Temptation!

1 Corinthians 10 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. As I mentioned before, Corinth was a place of all kinds of temptations and sinful practices. Sexual immorality, idolatry, and pagan worship to name a few. Paul points out these practices were really no different than the practices of the Israelites in Jewish history. What made it worse was the Israelites were God's own people, and they still disobeyed him. Unfortunately for them, they paid for it with their lives.  Paul hopes that the Corinthians will be different, especially because he thought Jesus ...

1 Corinthians 9 - How to Become "Winsome" to "Win-Some"!

1 Corinthians 9 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Paul’s Use of His Freedom 19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.  The major theme in this chapter is about the freedom we have in Christ. This is freedom we have from being slaves to the Law. The freedom we have is realizing we are saved by grace through faith in Christ versus measuring up to the Law. The fr...

1 Corinthians 8 - The Precious Gift of Freedom in Christ!

1 Corinthians 8 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. Before we can dive into what this passage means for us today, you need to understand the context of the issue of food sacrificed which was sacrificed to idols in 1st century Roman city of Corinth.  The Context of the Problem In the first-century Roman city of Corinth, much of the meat available in the public markets (macellum) had first been o...

1 Corinthians 7 - Paul's View of Marriage and Sex!

1 Corinthians 7 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Concerning Married Life 7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Once again in chapter ...