A Sunny Day for a Bible Study

So Whitney and I went to Tidwell Park, which is just down the street from my house, with a blanket, two bottles of water, Baked Cheetos/Doritos (mmmm...), and our Bibles. We set up camp just above the shoreline (which was normal, and a few years ago receded from the shore and is slowly coming back up), sitting in some shade- just enough light was hitting us to keep us warm.

Now, we have been studying 1 Corinthians recently, and today we finished chapter 1 (and 2:1-5) today. We would like to share our WOW discoveries and, perhaps, enlighten your day as Christ's love shines down on you, and like the sun on us today, will bring you warmth and hope.

We broke it up into 3 sections (well whomever translated it broke it into three sections) and then we further separate the scripture into groupings based on relevance. Make since? Good. Let's go!

I) 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Greeting & Thanksgiving
*vs. 1-3
>Paul begins to greet the people of Corinth... Not much happens here

*vs. 4-6
>Verse 4 speaks of God's grace. Verse 5 is about their blessing of speech and knowledge. Verse 6 is where Paul is encouraging the church by telling them that they are a "success story." Paul is positively encouraging them.

*vs. 7-9
>God has given us spiritual gifts that we should use, because Christ will continue to strengthen us. As God looks down on us He will see that we have been strengthened and covered by Christ's grace, which will make us blameless. God is faithful, and we were made to worship.

***How Does This Affect Us?
-We should be encouraging to others
-Acknowledge our Spiritual gifts and use them
-God is faithful.

II) 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
A Church Divided Over Leaders
*10-17
>Denominations ≠ separation/judgementalism
---We should not let our denominations separate us from other Christians.
---We should not let our denominations be used to judge other Christians.
>We are all covered by God's love and as long as we believe in Christ as our Savior, and as long as we are pursuing Him, then nothing else matters.
>Jesus is for everyone!

***How Does This Affect Us?
-We should not be judgemental to other denominations.
-We should accept everyone because God first accepted us.
-Jesus is for you and I!!! :-)

III) 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 - 2:1-5
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
*vs. 18,19
>The Cross is LIFE for Christians, and for nonbelievers it is a form of death (meaningless; also as in capital punishment) :-(
>Knowledge of God is not enough without a relationship with God.
>Wise people like to spread their knowlede onto other people (whether it is good or bad).
>Intelligent people prefer to keep to themselves.

*vs. 20,21
>Worldly wisdom is powerless, while Godly wisdom is powerful.
*Reference Noah & Gideon*

*vs. 22-24
>Jesus is for everyone, regardless of what they believe. Jesus is the way! :-)

*vs. 25
>Kind of satirical - Even if God is foolish and weak, He is still wiser and stronger than the WORLD can ever imagine.

*26-29
>Pre-Jesus, we failed to meet worldly standards (i.e. influence, class, wealth, education, and importance).
>However, God chose:
>>>foolish things (like PB&J sandwiches; if you don't get this, ASK US!!!)
>>>the weak
>>>lowly things
>>>despised things
>>>things that are not
because it would take God's hands for these things to exceed worldly standards.

*vs. 30,31
>Post-Jesus, we were shown how to meet Godly standards:
---we are redeemed {Godly wisdom through Jesus}
---made holy {Godly wisdom through Jesus}
---made righteous {Godly wisdom through Jesus}
*"Everything Glorious" by David Crowder Band* --- "You make everything glorious/ I am Yours/ What does that make me?" --- Play the video below

>GIVE GOD THE CREDIT AND GLORY FOR EVERYTHING HE DOES IN OUR LIVES.
*Passion --> "Living to make Jesus' name famous."*

*vs. 2:1-5
>Paul is exemplifying verse 1:31
>>>He proclaimed the testimony about God.
>>>He renewed his mind. *Reference: Romans 12:1-2*
>>>He came afraid (weak, fearful, and trembling).
>>>He was REAL --> and demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit "so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power." - vs. 5

***How Does This Affect Us?
-The Cross is Life!
-Knowledge of God is not enough without a Relationship with God.
-Worldly wisdom is powerless, while Godly wisdom is powerful.
-Jesus is the way (sorry Oprah...! :-()
-God is stronger and wiser than the world can ever imagine!
-God chooses the weak and the unqualified. *--- "God doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called." Louie Giglio ---*
-With Jesus, we are made holy, righteous, and we are redeemed.
-Give God Credit for EVERYTHING!
-Be REAL!
-Rest your faith on God's power!

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Now, we want you to tell us what you thought. Let us know if you find something interesting, powerful, challenging, or if you want to challenge us (either question or correct us). We would love to hear from you!


...lovelove...