Church at Corinth Tag

April 6, 2008

Converting Trouble Into Joy

The amazing thing about God’s power is He can convert our troubles into joy. When the world does it worst to us, that’s when God can do His best for us! Do you think I’m making this up? Here’s a quick reality check. Joseph in the Old Testament—beaten up by his brothers—trouble. Sold into slavery—double trouble. Spent time in prison for a crime he never committed—triple trouble. Through it all, Joseph kept his focus on God, and he found joy in the midst of his troubles. So that in Genesis 50:20 Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended this to HURT me, but God intended it for GOOD, for the saving of many lives.” Joseph did look at the thorns, he looked at the rose. He never focused on the black clouds, he looked for the silver lining. He never stopped making lemonade with the lemons life game him.

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January 5, 1997

The Limits of Love

The church at Corinth was located within a morally corrupt society. It was the worst society you could imagine. Immorality was rampant. There was a byword used in biblical times, where you would take the word, Corinth, and make a verb out of it and you spoke of “corinthisizing” someone. To corinthisize someone meant to take a moral person and despoil them, introduce them to an immoral lifestyle. Anywhere in the Roman Empire you took a good person and despoiled them, the word they used was corinthisized! That’s how morally corrupt this place was. Paul tells this little church in Corinth, “More important than anything else, you have to have agape love.” Paul’s four observations on the limits of love.

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April 28, 1996

Seek the Giver–Not the Gifts

A gift is something you don’t deserve and that’s the nature of grace. If somebody gives you something because you deserve it, that’s not a gift—that’s payment. You’ve earned it! And a gift is something you are given that you don’t deserve. None of us deserves spiritual gifts. God just says, “I’m going to give you this so you can serve!”

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