This Sunday we are returning to 1 Corinthians and our series Seeing Everything Through a New Lens with our second reading service which will cover chapters 7-13. In this section we will hear Paul say, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel (9:23).” We almost called this entire series All for the Sake of the Gospel because turning that statement into a question is how we see through the new lens.
As we consider how we view marriage and singleness, how we exercise our Christian liberty, how we practice our gathered worship, how we steward God’s varied gifts, the grounding question must be, “How do we do this for the sake of the gospel?”
This Sunday Darin Earley will be reading for us and Kenny Clark will be leading us i sung worship. Would you pray for each as they prepare and for Grace as we receive God’s unfiltered, full-strength word read for us this Sunday? How can you prepare to come humbly and hungry? Two suggestions.
- Find some time this week to sit and read 1 Corinthians chapters 7 through 13 in one sitting.
- Ask God to give you a heart that receives every word read, “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers (1 Thess. 2:13).”
At first read, some of the things Paul writes in these chapters may “ruffle your feathers.” But as Tim Keller has wisely (and I think accurately) said, “If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.” All of God’s word is good and good for us. We need humble hearts to trust Him and to see His good designs in all of it.
See you Sunday, Grace. Come hungry!