At the beginning of Chapter 5 the teacher gives instruction about how we ought to worship. The Teacher wants us to know that real worship, meaningful worship, doesn’t start with our mouths but with our ears. More than ritualistic praises, he longs for followers who give Him thoughtful attention and obedience.
As we approach the end of one year and beginning of a new year it can be overwhelming to think of all that change that has taken place. For some of us, the extent of change that has taken place over the course of our lifetime is staggering to consider and it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that doesn’t change? Is there anything that we can truly anchor ourselves to? The answer is yes, because even if everything around us changes we believe in and serve a God who is immutable, a God who does not change. The unchanging nature of God means that everything we have learned about God over the past 10 weeks provides us a firm foundation upon which we can build our lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In a world that is desperately in need of hope. In a world where the objects of hope that our culture holds up seem increasingly unstable, where can we find a hope that is worthy of our trust? In the reality that our God is a promise keeping God. Paul recounts the hope we have in Christ by telling him: “If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him.” The reason we can have a secure hope in these promises is because Hebrews 10:23 tells us that “He who promised is faithful.” And we see evidence of His faithfulness written across all the pages of scripture and all the days of our lives.
If we have received the forgiveness that has come through Christ death on the cross one day, we will also receive a new and imperishable body like Jesus did at his resurrection. The hope of the Christian is not a disembodied existence in the clouds, instead is a new, imperishable, physical body enjoying eternity with God in a new heaven and new earth.
Sermon Notes:
Question: What do you believe about your body?
Although you’ll need to deal with what Paul is talking about here as he deals with the issue of tongues and prophecy, Paul’s primary concern here is not about answering all our questions about tongues and prophecy and instead is about the benefits of each of those gifts. In short Paul’s argument is that prophecy is a more desirable gift because it benefits the hearer while tongues benefit only the one speaking in tongues.
We learn a few things from this:
1. The word of God is incredibly important for the building up of the church.
2. The purpose of corporate worship services should be the building up of all believers not merely self-fulfillment.
If you are preaching this message make sure to speak to the other person scheduled to preach this Sunday so we make sure we are delivering a consistent message on this topic.
Sermon Notes:
Partaking in the Lord’s supper together is an essential part of Christian worship and community. It is a regular reminder of the foundation of our faith, the forgiveness and grace we have received through Christ’s death for us. In taking it we confess our communion together as a church family and our communion with God through Christ. In light of this, before partaking in the Lord’s supper, we should always take time to examine ourselves making sure that we are in right relationship with God and with each other.
Sermon Notes:
In this chapter, Paul asks the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive?” This question encapsulates Paul’s theology of grace, which holds that everything we have is a gift from God. In order to encourage the Corinthians to live a life shaped by God’s grace, and the sacrifice and surrender the cross calls us to, Paul employs a combination of irony, sarcasm, and tender love to guide them. However, he recognizes that mere teachings are not enough; the Corinthians need an embodied example to follow. As such, he sends them Timothy, a living embodiment of humility and grace, to model for them what it means to live a life in accordance with the gospel.
Sermon Notes:
In Acts 4:2 Luke writes that the Sadducees were “greatly annoyed” with Peter and John “because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” When we function as Christ’s witnesses in this world, sooner or later (and likely sooner rather than later), we will end up saying things that greatly annoy the people and the culture that we find ourselves in. We should expect opposition and even persecution. That opposition and persecution shouldn’t cause us any worry or fear though, instead, we can speak with boldness like Peter and John did because we are convinced of the truth of what we have believed, seen and experienced and because God is in control and sovereign over all things.
We might also think of this filter as the thankfulness filter. This filter is quite similar to the Honour filter, expect that the object here is God rather than people. Are we a people that are constantly in awe of God and all that He has done for us? Are we focused on the beauty of the grace He has shown to us through Christ? Yes, but also the common grace of a great meal, a beautiful sunset, a stunning vista? How would it change our entire disposition if we were rejoicing always and giving thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). What if we recognized that every good thing, every gift we received was actually a gift from God (James 1:17)? What if we cultivated a prayer life that was less focused on all that we lack and more focused on all that God has provided?