1 Corinthians

Relevant instruction for the modern church from an ancient church’s example. Come and learn what God intended for His church, the gospel in the believer’s life, and His calling upon us to walk in holiness.

Welcome To Worship

Sermon Preview for Sunday, June 15, 2025

The definition of “building up” as it relates to the church is about each one of us growing up in maturing in Christ NOT simply having more and more people. The problem is that it is far easier to recognize an increase in numbers, then it is to track maturity in Christ. It is also easier to get people in the door than it is to see their life transformed. When the church's focus is to get as big as possible, numerically speaking, then it often abandons some of the essential things that are difficult by nature but necessary for true discipleship and maturity. We worship God with our minds. We grow through thinking deeply about all God has revealed to us about Himself and we grow up from being children when the things of God govern and influence more and more of our daily life. The process looks like this to Paul, when we are children in thinking of the things of God, we are mature in doing evil, but the more mature we are in our thinking being centered around all God has revealed to us the more we are infants in evil. This is so important to understand, growing up in the Word of God is not a process where you move on to new information, or graduate to a new book, it is moving into a deeper application and surrender to the same doctrines. We grow up into maturity when the same truth of God governs more and more of our lives. Stop looking for the new and improved verses in the Scriptures, or new and improved ways to see the Scriptures and start looking for more areas of your life that these Scriptures much rule and reign. This is the process of Biblical maturity and nothing else will do. 

Sermon Preview for Sunday, June 8, 2025

This is not a technical discussion on the definition of “prophecy” and “tongues” meant to determine which one is better. This is not even a discussion primarily about the specific roles both of these have in today’s worship service. The main point here is not about our denominational differences regarding spiritual gifts at all. No, all of this pales in comparison to the greater point which is that there is power and authority in the completed Word of God, and this power comes forth when it is preached and spoken both within the gathering of believers who are in need of encouragement to keep following it, and to the lost world outside the church who are in desperate need of repentance from sin and an unhindered vulnerability before Almighty God. Brothers and sisters let us not be complacent and confused into thinking that merely speaking the Word of God is enough. The church is not built up by words alone. We are a people who feed on “every word that comes out of the mouth of God” but we are fed to be nourished and energized in order to be used by God to be examples of that very same Word to the world around us. As the example prayer Jesus gives us says, “Give us this day our daily bread”, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us”. What it means to be an excellent bugle is to speak the Truth and nothing else. Speak it at all times and in all seasons of life. But also, to commit to living it out in such a way that when it is spoken it is merely explaining what others have already seen in one’s life. Nothing else matters in our lives more than this. Let us gain what we need for nourishment from the Word of God today, and let us commit to use that nourishment for no other purposes rather than to live it Word of God out with boldness in our lost and dying world.