• What Do You Smell Like?

    July 20 Paul continues his thoughts on comfort as he moves into the second chapter of 2 Corinthians. He says that he doesn’t want his next visit to be a painful one, but rather one that brings comfort and reconciliation. Paul is probably referring to his harsh words in 1 Corinthians about dealing with Church…

  • Affliction and Comfort

    July 19 In 2 Corinthians 1, we see several words repeated multiple times. Normally, the presence of repeated words and phrases gives us clues to what is most important in the passage. The word comfort appears ten times. In the Christian Standard Bible, Afflict appears four times. Suffer appears five times. Trouble appears once. Burden…

  • According to the Scriptures

    July 17 On May 3, I said that the Resurrection of Jesus is the “lynchpin” of the Christian faith; I referred to today’s Bible readings in 1 Corinthians 15. In this chapter, Paul drives home this point. Without Jesus’ Resurrection, there would be no Christian faith. If the Resurrection isn’t true, the wheels of the…

  • Propriety in Worship

    July 16 Paul addresses propriety whenever the church meets together. He sums up his position in 1 Corinthians 14:40. He says that everything that’s done in the public assembly of believers is to be done with excellence to the glory of God and the building up of the body of Christ. We have already seen…

  • The Love Chapter

    July 13 Paul sandwiches 1 Corinthians 13 between chapters 12 and 14 for a reason. Unfortunately, the subject and use of Spiritual gifts is often divisive in churches and denominations. Paul says that love must be the driver of our lives and the guardian of the exercise of our spiritual gift(s). It’s only after making…