“Worship, Giving, and Paul’s Proverbs”
1 Corinthians 15
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.
Always work enthusiastically for the Lord,
for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 16 (Enthusiastic Giving)
Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.
2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.
3 When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.
4 And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me.
2 Corinthians 8 -Further Instruction and Direction for My Heart About Giving:
Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us— I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.
11 Now you should finish what you started.
Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving.
Give in proportion to what you have.
12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly.
And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves.
I only mean that there should be some equality.
14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.
15 As the Scriptures say,
“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”
- Eager Anticipation of the Lord’s Work / Enthusiastic Support
1 Corinthians 16.5
I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia.
6 Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination.
7 This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me.
8 In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.
9 There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.
- (Enthusiastic Encouragement)
10 When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.
11 Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.
12 Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.
13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
14 And do everything with love.
- (Enthusiastic Gratitude)
15 You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,
16 to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion.
17 I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me.
18 They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.
19 The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.
21 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed.
Our Lord, come!
23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.
- Paul’s Proverbs
1 Corinthians 15.58
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
Be strong and immovable - In Christ
1 Corinthians 1 - Brought to God by Grace in Christ
2I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people.
He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.Providing Needed Grace
8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Living in Christ and Christ in Me
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
- Always work enthusiastically for the Lord - What Work?
1 Corinthians 1.10 - Live In Harmony
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
(1 Corinthians 10.31: Whatever you do…!)
- 1 Corinthians 5 - Live In Holiness
12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.
13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 6
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
…
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 7 - Live In His Freedom
23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.
Everything to the Glory of God
1 Corinthians 8.6
There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created,
and for whom we live.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created,
and through whom we live.
1 Corinthians 10.31
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
- Living With Humble Trust
1 Corinthians 10
12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.
13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
14 So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols.
1 Corinthians 16
13 Be on guard.
Stand firm in the faith.
Be courageous.
Be strong.
14 And do everything with love.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed.
22b Our Lord, come!
23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.
