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1 Corinthians 16 - How Should You Give to Your Church?

1 Corinthians 16 - NIV   Enduring Word Commentary The Collection for the Lord’s People 16 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. The Lord's people were those in the church in Jerusalem. Paul was collecting money to help the church help out the poor among them. They had a large number of poor widows in their congregation. The first day of the week is Sunday. Paul gives guidelines for how much they should give. He coaches them to give weekly based on their income.  The Old Testament law was giving a tithe to the temple, but the New Testament writings of Paul a...
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1 Corinthians 15 - What's At Stake If Jesus Did Not Rise From the Dead!

1 Corinthians 15 Enduring Word Commentary The Resurrection of Christ 15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. Paul frequently uses the word " gospel " in his letters. The word means " good news ". Paul says it is "by the gospel" they received, taken their stand on, and are saved by. Obviously the "gospel" is at the heart of the Christian faith, and by believing in it we are saved.  So what is the gospel? The gospel is the Good News about Jesus, who came from heaven to earth to show us the way back to the Father. The gospel is the Good News that if we believe in Jesus, we will be forgiven of all of our sins. The gospel is the Good News that if we believe in Jesus, when we die we will be raised to eternal life. So often people fa...
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1 Corinthians 14 - Is It Appropriate to Speak in Tongues in Church?

1 Corinthians 14 Enduring Word Commentary Intelligibility in Worship 14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified. Though Paul did not discount or discourage the spiritual gift of speaking of tongues, he needed to set some boundaries for the practice of speaking in tongues for the Corinthians in worship. Paul tells the Corinthians to, " Eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit. " Note, we...
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1 Corinthians 13 - All You Need is Love ... Really!

1 Corinthians 13 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 1 Corinthians 13 New International Version 13 If I speak in the tongues 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. These verses in 1 Corinthians 13 are probably read at least 50% of the time at a wedding, especially a Christian one. But the reality is they are right in the middle of Paul's teaching the Corinthians on the role of the spiritual gifts in their life and mission together.  But, that doesn't mean it is not relevant to a marriage, as Paul's definition of what true love is as good as it gets ... anywhere! One of the situations in Corinth was the believers were enamored with the s...
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1 Corinthians 12 - What is the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts?

1 Corinthians 12 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. The next three chapters are the most extensive teaching on the subject of spiritual gifts in the New Testament. The Corinthians has some misunderstandings about the use of spiritual gifts that he needed to correct. First, he says he does, " Not want them to be uniformed" . Many churches do not spend enough time teaching about the spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts, especially the extraordinary gifts, can lead to confusion and even division in the church. Importantly the Holy Spirit is the only one who can lead someone to say, " Jesus is ...
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1 Corinthians 11 - How Should You Prepare for Holy Communion?

1 Corinthians 11   Enduring Word Commentary 11 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. One might think this is a prideful statement until you really look at what Paul is saying. Paul is saying only follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. This statement says so much about what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be a member in the body of Christ. We could never say this is if we didn't have some confidence that we are actually following Christ. At the heart of being a leader in the church of any ministry is being able to say this to those around you.  Could you say this? Why or why not? If you can't say this how might your life need to change so you COULD make this comment to someone else in the church.  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 t...
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1 Corinthians 10 - What is Christian Freedom and How Should I Use it?

1 Corinthians 10 Enduring Word Commentary Warnings From Israel’s History 10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Paul gives the Corinthians a warning from Israel's history. Though they were God's people and had experienced the blessings and benefits from it, they rebelled against God and never made it to the promised land. Paul says the spiritual rock they drank from was Christ. What does he mean by that? The phrase "drank from the same spiritual rock" from 1 Corinthians 10:4 means that the Israelites' miraculous supply...
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