Sermon Archives

Paul express his frustration and bewilderment with the Corinthians through a series of tensions that being a leader in the church requires. In this, we see that being a Christian sometimes requires us to hold seeming conflicts together. We call this a paradox, and it makes us NEED God more and more.

Paul continues the theme of boasting in weakness, this time showing us how humility leads to strength. Paul is willing to show his weakness because it is through admitting his inability that he becomes comfortable in his humanness.

Paul continues to give us a vision for faithful ministry, setting himself against the false teachers who have come in to draw people away from the gospel. In this section, he boasts in what sets him apart and above them; it is not strength, but weakness that he chooses to highlight.

We play all sorts of games to feel better about who we are. One of the things we do is compare our strength to other people’s weaknesses. In this, we get to decide what is compared and we can always come out on top. We also create division and allow ourselves to distort God’s Word. […]

Paul once again defends his ministry, this time by showing the Corinthians that they are looking for power and strength in the wrong places. As they dismiss Paul as weak and not very well spoken, he tells them that the power of God does not work as we want it to. For this reason, God’s […]

Paul continues to talk about the source of giving, this time trying to point the Corinthians away from seeing their money as theirs to seeing it as a tool for God’s glory. All that we have is for us to use to advance His eternal kingdom and we should budget with this in mind.

Paul praises the giving of the Macedonians, whose generosity well outpaced their wealth. They were able to give out of little because they were aware of how much they had been given. Their generosity was not based on how much they had, but on how much they had received.

Paul expresses great joy that the letter that he sent to Corinth created a godly grief which produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret. Paul points to how God has used his affliction to grow and mature him, and encourages us to do the same.

Paul encourages the Corinthian church to recognize their identity as people who have been saved from sin into righteousness. With this, they should live INTO their salvation. The way to do this is to avoid putting obstacles in their own way, yoking themselves to unbelieving ways of thinking and acting. Paul challenges them to pursue […]