{"id":83,"date":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/01\/4th-sunday-after-epiphany-year-a-1-corinthians\/"},"modified":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T00:00:00","slug":"4th-sunday-after-epiphany-year-a-1-corinthians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/01\/4th-sunday-after-epiphany-year-a-1-corinthians\/","title":{"rendered":"4th Sunday after Epiphany &#8211; Year A &#8211; 1 Corinthians"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<strong>The Word This Week:<br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"color:rgb(0, 0, 0)\">\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=16#hebrew_reading\">Micah 6:1-8<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=16#psalm_reading\">Psalm 15<\/a>\u00a0\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=16#epistle_reading\">1 Corinthians 1:18-31<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=16#gospel_reading\">Matthew 5:1-12<\/a>\u200b\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wsite-content-title\">Watch:<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div id=\"906803571165285438\" align=\"left\" style=\"width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden;\" class=\"wcustomhtml\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwwanglican%2Fvideos%2F1591805804182931%2F&amp;show_text=1&amp;width=270\" width=\"270\" height=\"610\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wsite-content-title\">Read:<\/h2>\n<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<font size=\"3\"><span><span style=\"color:black\">Well good morning again everyone.\u00a0 Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul\u2019s first letter to the church in Corinth.\u00a0 Today we are focussing on verses 18 to 31 of chapter 1.\u00a0 Before we begin looking too closely at these verses though I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in lour readings from the last \u00a0couple of weeks exploration of verses 1 to 9 and 10 to 18.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">To recap Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey.\u00a0 Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea.\u00a0 You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">You will remember that those first 9 verses which we read in our fist week involved Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God.\u00a0\u00a0 They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart \u2013 sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God.\u00a0 Those first 9 verses point us to the great truth that it is God at work in us that is what redeems us \u2013 that it is God\u2019s grace \u2013 his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us.\u00a0 Above all it shows us that though we are fickle, that we often get caught in our own desires, or think we are the ones doing great things that it is in fact God and his faithfulness that enables us to do all things.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, that they are all one body \u2013 Paul moved into discussing factionalism and division in the church.<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Paul called the church to unity, to be of one mind. Now remember Paul mean when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind wasn\u2019t calling us to blind faith or conformity \u2013 rather he was calling the church to focus on the core thing \u2013 the Gospel. He was also emphasising that what we do and how we behave matters and effects how we are able to promote the Gospel.<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">He also gave us that model of evangelism \u2013 that being straight forward and honest about the Gospel without embellishment and without compromise.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Now we begin our reading for this week.<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><strong><span style=\"color:black\">For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.<br \/><\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">This is the key passage for the whole reading \u2013 Paul continues this theme for the next several verses \u2013 verses 18-25 are all dealing with the foolishness of the cross and how it stands against what the world would deem to be wise.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">So what does he mean that the cross is foolishness? Well let me ask you some questions \u2013 if you are a Jewish person living in first century Israel, and longing for the arrival of the promised Messiah to free you from the oppressive Roman empire \u2013 would you accept the idea that a man who was brutally tortured and executed as a criminal was in fact that promised saving Messiah?<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Or what if you are a citizen of the city of Corinth \u2013 you are living in a city only around 50 miles from Athens, in a culture that prides itself on its philosophical prowess and superior knowledge.\u00a0 Would the best way to convince you that Jesus was your saviour \u2013 the living son of God \u2013 to explain how he was arrested tortured and killed on a cross? Remembering that the cross was the ultimate symbol of shame \u2013 it was the death of the most despised in society \u2013 there was no greater shame than that\u2026<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">No\u2026 It probably wouldn\u2019t be the best place to start would it! But that is precisely what Paul did when he came to the church at Corinth.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">One of the things that is often thrown at Christianity is that it is just so implausible \u2013 that it is ridiculous to believe that the God of the universe \u2013 the one created all that is \u2013 seen and unseen \u2013 this God, not only actually cares about us, but that he cares about us so much that he was willing to become one of us \u2013 live a life of service and love and then to give himself up to suffer a slow torturous death on a cross \u2013 the shameful death of a criminal.\u00a0 It is foolishness, isn\u2019t it? It was foolishness 2000 years ago too.\u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">But you see that\u2019s kind of the point isn\u2019t it? If Paul wanted to impress the people of Corinth when he came to convert them to this new religion, he would have waxed lyrical with much emphasis on all the wonderful things Jesus did during his life and he would have done everything he could to downplay the significance of the cross.\u00a0 But Paul wasn\u2019t about impressing the Corinthians, or anyone else with his great knowledge of the scriptures or his wisdom.<\/span><\/span> <span><span style=\"color:black\">Paul went straight down the foolish route.\u00a0 He went straight to the cross and what it means.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Why? you might wonder\u2026<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Well let me break it down for you brothers and sisters \u2013 as much as the world would like us all to believe that the most important thing about Jesus was the way he showed love and care for those around him and the great things he taught us about how we should live, the truth is that the world is dead wrong.\u00a0 The most important thing Jesus did for us was going to that cross, as foolish and that may sound to us, it is that cross that is the key.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">You see it is that cross where we are reconciled to God.\u00a0 It is at the cross where the consequences for our sins are dealt with.\u00a0 It is at the cross where God incarnate says \u2013 even though you may think it is foolish, here I show you my love, here I do what I must to bring us back together.\u00a0 It is at the cross that the bill we owe is paid.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">You see when we sin, when we do that which is opposition to the will of God for us, it creates a real barrier between us and him.\u00a0 It creates a barrier between perfection and imperfection, and it is a barrier that we are not capable of crossing by ourselves.\u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">The God of the universe couldn\u2019t bear that we would be lost to him, and so he came to earth as one of us, so that on behalf of all of us, he could take upon himself those consequences. You see that is the truth about what the cross means \u2013 it means that God was willing to so lower himself that he would be willing to become one of us \u2013 he joined his nature to ours \u2013 one of his created creatures \u2013 so that he could redeem us, so that he could bridge the gap that we had created. So that he could take the consequence, and we could be united with him again.\u00a0 You see that is why he made us in the first place \u2013 to be in relationship with him.\u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">By coming to earth as one of us, by going to that cross and by rising again God joined our nature to his, he took the consequence of our sin upon himself and bridged the gap between us and him so that we are redeemed, remade and restored to full relationship with him.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">What seems even more foolish to many is that we don\u2019t need to try and earn what God has done \u2013 he is offering this reconciliation as a free gift.\u00a0 All we are required to do is accept it \u2013 all we are required to do is to say yes Lord, I accept what you have already done for me.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Foolishness isn\u2019t it\u2026 if you were going to make up a religion and have people try and follow it, this wouldn\u2019t be the way to do it would it.\u00a0 I mean who would want to sign up for this\u2026 it goes against all the wisdom of the world \u2013 it goes against the worldly wisdom that anyone worth following is respectable and looked up to because Jesus died a shameful death as a criminal, it goes against the worldly wisdom that God is just some far off concept, because Jesus is God incarnate as a human being.\u00a0 It goes against the worldly wisdom that says vengeance is required for wrongdoing because God says I will take the punishment on your behalf. \u00a0<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">The cross really is a stumbling block and foolishness for those who refuse to believe. Yet when we are willing to put aside what we think God should be like according to our own \u2018wisdom\u2019 and instead just open our hearts and minds to see what he really has done for us we see that what is foolishness to the world is in fact the very thing that saves us.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">Let us be willing to embrace what God has done for us, let us be willing to give that incredible message to others, and share the Gospel.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to embellish it, we don\u2019t need to add to it or take away.\u00a0 Just as it did when Paul preached it, if we just speak plainly, the Gospel will convict people and bring them to faith&#8230; Lets All be fools for the Gospel.<br \/><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span><span style=\"color:black\">The Lord be with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u200b<\/font>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Word This Week: Micah 6:1-8\u00a0\u00a0 Psalm 15\u00a0 1 Corinthians 1:18-31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Matthew 5:1-12\u200b Watch: Read: Well good morning again everyone.\u00a0 Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul\u2019s first letter to the church in Corinth.\u00a0 Today we are focussing on verses 18 to 31 of chapter 1.\u00a0 Before we begin looking too &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/01\/4th-sunday-after-epiphany-year-a-1-corinthians\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;4th Sunday after Epiphany &#8211; Year A &#8211; 1 Corinthians&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}