February 28th

To the Corinthian church, Paul wrote: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect (1 Cor. 1:17).  Pride empties the cross of its power.  What I mean by this statement is that pride moves ones focus away from Christ and onto the individual.  Paul reminded the Corinthians that he came to Corinth for the sole purpose of preaching the gospel, not for the purpose of baptizing them.  Baptism comes after belief in Jesus, but until a person hears the gospel and then receives it, baptism is pointless. 

When the apostle Paul arrived in Corinth for the purpose of preaching the gospel, he did so as one who was not all that impressive.  He didnt come with the eloquence of Apollos because he was not Apollos, and he did not come with the reputation of Peter, because he was not Peter.  Paul came to Corinth with something much more beautiful than skill and reputation; he came with the gospel of Jesus Christ: ...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:34).  In Romans 1:16, the apostle wrote, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Rom. 1:16). 

This Sunday I will be addressing another comment I have heard over the years from Christians said in various ways but can boil down to three words: I am offended...  We will consider James 1:19-27 together and how being offended may not be a bad thing, especially if God is using what bothers, hurts, and aggravates us to remove whatever pride in our lives that may be emptying the cross of its transformative power to mold and shape us in the way God sees fit.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday during our 9AM and 11AM worship services.

Grace,

Pastor Keith