This Sunday, we welcome back our Lead Pastor Dean Wertz from his sabbatical! In order to reconnect as a community, Dean will be leading our congregation in a time of sharing words of encouragement and testimonies of the work God has been doing in our lives. Then, next week, Dean will continue us in our study of I Corinthians.
Being simultaneously “In Christ” and “In Culture” can create some real tensions for God’s people, especially when we find ourselves in a dispute with a brother or sister in the Lord. From Paul’s stern rebuke of the Corinthian church on how they handled things, we can learn to succeed where they had failed.
Last week we studied Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian church to prioritize loving others by not exercising personal freedoms when love and freedom conflict. This week we will study the reverse: prioritizing loving others by not restraining freedoms when restraint is unnecessary and deters people from receiving the Gospel message. Love restrains freedom for the sake of other Christians but love also frees restraint for the sake of those who aren’t yet Christians. Join us as we seek to better understand this way of living that Christ himself lived.
We’re Christians. We’re people of deep conviction; primarily about the lordship of Christ but also about lesser things, even things that Scripture doesn’t directly address. When we believe that we’re free to do something that another Christian believes is wrong or is tempted by, should we do it? Should we exercise our freedom or restrain it? Though the Corinthian church had different circumstances than ours, they too grappled with this difficult question and Paul, an Apostle of Christ, answered it, for them and for us.
Bulletin
Two weeks ago, Lead Pastor Dean Wertz established the problem of disunity in the church – both in the at Corinth, and in the world today. Last week, Elder Rob Cupp gave a message on how exalting Christ as our King and surrendering our love to Him can bring us together again. This week, we will discuss how listening to wisdom of the Spirit (and not the wisdom of the world) is absolutely essential to living our lives authentically in unity with Christ and the church. We will also be inviting two special guests onstage to share their personal stories about what it’s like to deny the wisdom of the world, and trust fully in the Spirit of God.
Living in the world we live in; it is easy to fall into a “side” of an argument or discussion. This ease often causes divisions and breaking in relationships. Unfortunately, even in the early days of Christianity, this breaking and division began to happen in the Church. But in 1 Corinthians, Paul begins to lay out the beautiful possibility that we can have a change of mind and live in unity with all who “are being saved” by Christ and His Gospel Message. Not only is this possible, but it is God’s desire and plan to have our relationships reconciled and be fully united in Him.
Should our southern border have a wall? Should our northern border remain closed for non-vaccinated people? Should the FBI have raided former President Trump’s home? What should be included in our schools’ curriculum? So many opinions on so many topics divide so many people every day. In our divided culture, what would it look like if all who call on the name of Jesus heard and obeyed His appeal for a united church? Join us this Sunday at 9 a.m. to worship God and learn from our 2nd message from 1 Corinthians entitled, “Our Lord’s Appeal for Unity.”
Problems exist in the world and church. For us who live in Christ to be of service in the brokenness, the opening paragraph in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Church starts by assuring Christians of our blessed status with God. Join us Sunday at 9 a.m. to worship God as we begin our timely series entitled, “In Christ in Culture” through the book of 1 Corinthians!
Our community is committed to growing, gathering, giving, and going together. Each of these commitments is crucial for us and our church to thrive, especially giving. Giving honors God and empowers Hope to meet the material and spiritual needs of families within our community and within the communities of those we partner with. It’s biblically supported, practically needed, and deeply fulfilling to invest in Christ’s redemptive mission through his local church. May we all freely give as we’ve freely received!