1 Corinthians 1 – A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green

Yearbooks and Anchors

Thanks to sites like You Tube, you can watch your favorite musical groups perform their best songs. It’s a neat way to travel back in time and relive the music you grew up to. I was doing this not too long ago. The group I was listening to had been popular many, many years ago and I was goingContinue reading “Yearbooks and Anchors”

When the Church tries to be Cool (3)

Paul agrees with the Corinthians that his message is lacking in cool rhetorical flourishes that the Greeks esteemed. He is proud that it centers upon the cross–even though the Corinthian culture deems it fit for the fool rather than the cool (v. 18, 22). Paul will accept such a conclusion—but only when the terms areContinue reading “When the Church tries to be Cool (3)”

When the Church tries to be Cool (2)

But there’s another layer to what was going on at Corinth. From what Paul says in the latter part of 1 Corinthians 1, it’s clear that their divisiveness wasn’t solely a matter of trying to best their brother (or sister). They wanted their man to carry the day because they thought his style would beContinue reading “When the Church tries to be Cool (2)”

When the Church Tries to be Cool (1)

That Jesus was crucified is a brute fact of history acknowledged by non-biblical sources (Tacitus, Mara Bar Sarapion, Lucian, etc.), as well as the writers of Scripture. But we recognize that history is only in a small sense about dates, names, and places. These things are better thought of as the starting point for itsContinue reading “When the Church Tries to be Cool (1)”

Staying on the Same Page (2)

When I was in elementary school, we played a game on the playground called Red Rover. The rules were simple. The class divided into two groups. Each side formed a line by holding hands and the two lines faced each other with about ten yards between them. One group would call out the name ofContinue reading “Staying on the Same Page (2)”

Staying on the Same Page (1)

Paul shares some wonderful things with the Corinthians in 1:4-9. He speaks of: the grace given to them in Jesus (v. 4), their enrichment in every way (v. 5), confirmation that Christ was present among them (v. 6), their abundance of spiritual gifts (v. 7), how God would keep them to the end so that theyContinue reading “Staying on the Same Page (1)”