Intro To 1 Corinthians - Church, Community, Culture

Unity

We are opening the Book of 1 Corinthians this week and will be here for the best part of the year.

My Mission is to explore, examine, encourage and educate all of us on the Need for Unity, to explore the Biblical call

I pray for us all to gain wisdom through this study in Three Main Areas

Church

Community

Culture

If we concentrate in these area, we should discover how WE CAN BE

a CHANGE AGENT in ourselves and Others so to Honor our Christ.

Change is hard when we don’t truly want to do it.

yet we know we must put away the old, and become the NEW

Therefore Change is important

The Goal is to CHANGE to Become What Christ has Prepared for Us, and nothing else

We cannot mix Good and Evil in our Conclusions

We can not be responsible for Creating Chaos in life.

We must be like Jesus — The King of Peace

I love that the Book of First Corinthians is aligning with our study of Theology in our morning class.

Disciplemakers must be firmly grounded in Scripture

and that is only to state that we MUST be In Christ Daily.

Corinth

English Standard Version (Introduction)

The city of Corinth was at the heart of an important trade route in the ancient world.

Like many cities that thrive on trade, Corinth had a reputation for sexual immorality, religious diversity, and corruption.

The church that Paul planted there (Acts 18) floundered under all of these influences and began to divide over various issues.

First Corinthians addresses many practical questions dividing the church

Paul urged the Corinthians to be unified

and to give themselves fully to “the work of the Lord” (15:58).

Chapter 13 includes a well-known passage on the nature and importance of love.

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus about A.D. 55.

Map of Corinth

The site was built along the coastal plain rising up to an impressive acropolis.

Its proximity to the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land

that connects the Peloponnese peninsula to mainland Greece,

put Corinth at a very strategic crossroads.

Due to location and commerce in the City.

There was an influx of foreigners

and likely the Culture became one of

Compromise

Seeking to please ALL people a Little

to Stay Attract to them for Commerce

Lets get some grounding

Since 2012 I see a difference in the Culture of Los Lunas, Peralta, Belen, and Bosque Farms

than in Albuquerque

and much of that i suspect is the different culture, intermingling in the BIG City.

I have often said that THINGS you see and accept in ABQ are not as openly acceptable in Valencia County

I truly believe that much of this is the Strength of the Believers here, but also the Community and its lack of influencers.

But if we don’t STAND FIRM, we will FALL — or at least SLIP

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Called to Consecration in a Fallen Culture (1:1–16:24))

Paul writes 1 Corinthians to deal with numerous problems in the Corinthian church and to answer questions posed by members of that church (see 1:10; 5:1; 6:1; 7:1; 8:1; 11:2; 12:1; 15:1; 16:1).

Unified in Doctrine

Sexuality

Lawsuits

Marriage

Idols

Traditions in the Church

Spiritual Gifts

The Resurrection of Christ

Giving and Money

The Corinthians have not yet gained the skill of applying wisdom

in Christ to the various questions and difficulties they face.

Paul therefore instructs them in practical Christian living by correcting the disorders

and abuses

that have arisen among them and showing them

how to think and act

based on Christian principles.

Some have called

1 Corinthians the very first Christian counselor’s manual

it is also a HOW TO and HOW NOT TO manual for the Church

Church

Paul will address in our Study

Divisions in the church - Doctrine outside of Bible, Too much Conjecture of Scripture

Discipline in the church - Weak teaching, and Watering down of Commands

Disputes in the courts - Seeking “I deserve” instead of “trusting in the Lord”

Defilement of the world - Seeking to live a life in Two Worlds

The Corinth Church was dividing ---- seeking to Balance and to Limit God

and Paul is Writing to FOCUS them BACK to GOD

We all KNOW that AMERICA needs Revival

and Revival must start INSIDE each of US

And we will explore Paul’s Inspired Instructions on Living Life as a Believer

i want you to hear many of them again

Marriage

Food offerings

Church Ordinances

Spiritual Gifts

Resurrection

Giving and Generosity

Christ is our Focus, but His Church is our Training Ground

We MUST accept that

Our Church should be our Community, so to combat Culture

The Christian Life is Tough

I want to encourage you this morning.

Our Horizon Church is active and involved.

I cannot think of any one in this congregation

that doesn’t participate in some way

to serve the Lord and support our Church.

Our little family had 10 minutes of praise for serving last week in our Vision Sunday

I encourage you for asking questions and therefore seeking unity.

We have had people leave our Church due to

Relocation

Call to another

and honestly ---found they didn’t fit

Some want the SHOW instead of the WORD

We don’t have LIGHT, and SMOKE

All focus on the GLORY of GOD’S Word

This LIGHT to Illuminate the WORD

We Disciple to ATTRACT

We seek the person that WANTS the GOSPEL explained so that

they can GROW in their FAITH and THEIR WALK

But Friends we don’t need to be the Church for Everyone

We need to be a Church that creates

CHANGE in our COMMUNITY and CULTURE

In fact we believe that we can NOT compromise

on God’s Word

and we Seek to follow God’s Way

Think through these verses

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We Center our life on Christ

Seeking to have our WHOLE life integrated with our Christian Faith

Compromise is a battle we must fight daily.

Friends

Partially IN is OUT

We are all a work in progress

But you cannot HALF take the Class

You cannot partially walk in to a store

so don’t walk partially with Christ

Marriages fail because of Lack of Commitment --- Seeking Self Fulfillment

Our command is

Matthew 22:37 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Our Commission is

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Community

So Paul will start our Letter with a call to the Community in Christ

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 ESV

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul states his Authority to Call and Speak

To the CHURCH OF GOD

this is important --- Paul is not calling to “anyone who will listen”

Paul is calling to the SAINTS

TO US

This letter is written to a church with challenges

and we should pay attention TODAY

We are a church with challenges

The Church In the world

is a Church in Challenge

God is not with out Power to Change

God is not absent in our Challenge

God is calling us to Church to Community

to live in a DIFFERENT Culture.

We are NOT of this WORLD

we are called and appointed

Ambassadors to this World

Our Growth ---- Remember Glorify God to Grow Others.

Our Growth is to draw others to Christ

Our Goal is to GO

Culture

Friends a power sentence we often state here at Horizon

is

“Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”

That's the famous quote attributed to St. Francis.

My Mission which I fully believe is the Result of my Pastoral Praying

is to teach this Book this Year.

I am planning on 26 Weeks --- But I will submit to HIM and HIS plan

I have an outline, and He will have the Plan

I will state today --- Myself and Cory will fully submit to God’s Plan

If we need to skip a planned sermon, or add a week to a point or precept than that is what will be done.

That is my First CULTURE challenge in 2025

We don’t require a fixed, firm, unmovable plan

We need to be OPEN and WILLING to Fully OBEY

the Direction of the HOLY Spirit

Friends we hear the Word == HOLY

and i assume we think of Church --- We think of GOD ( I HOPE) for HE IS HOLY

Revelation 4:8 (ESV)

8 ... “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

We need to learn WHEN TO SPEAK, and do it in Love and Boldness

and we need to learn WHEN to LET GO and LET GOD

Our Mission

To Glorify God and Grow Others in Christ

We must be UNITY Makers

and i deeply believe that what Paul is doing in the Book of 1 Cor

is giving us ALERTS

Giving us HEADS UP

Hey Pay attention.

The Church of Corinth is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation

Friends

I most definitely feel a CALL on my Heart in this Series

A call to INSTRUCT and ENCOURAGE you

to

Walk in Wisdom

Walk in Worship

to Wait on the Lord

and to Be WORTHY of our Calling

to be Peace makers, UNITY builders

in our CHURCH, COMMUNITY and CULTURE

Lets Pray