Based on Revelation 1-5 (ESV)
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (1:1-8)

1. Remember that God is – over the past, present, and future. 

2. Keep your eyes on and be for his return. 

⁹ I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (1:9)

3. Expect there to be and prepare yourself to .

4. Live with the mindset of one who , not with one of or defeat.

• To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (2:7b)
• The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. (2:11b)
• To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. (2:17b)
• The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, (2:26)
• The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. (3:5)
• The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. (3:12)
• The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (3:21)

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ² At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
³ And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, ⁶ and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷ the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
         “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
          who was and is and is to come!”
⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
    for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.” (4:1-11)

5. Remember that God is in , is worthy of our , and we should lay down before him everything of in our lives.

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying,
         “Worthy are you to take the scroll
          and to open its seals,
         for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
         from every tribe and language and people and nation,
   ¹⁰ and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
       and they shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,
         “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
         to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
         and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
         “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
         be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (5:1-14)

6. Remember how the story – Jesus will be victorious; and if we trust and follow him, we will be too!

 

The Backstory of Hosea

• Hosea’s ministry was to the Northern Kingdom – (also called Ephraim) – in the years prior to 722 B.C.

930 B. C.    Northern Kingdom begins; first king is Jeroboam
722 B. C.    Assyria destroys the Northern Kingdom

• The first three chapters tell the story of Hosea’s marriage to his wife, – a story of unfaithfulness, redemption, and restoration.

And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” (Hosea 3:1, ESV)

• The remaining 11 chapters are mainly “oracles of judgment” – God’s of his people for their unfaithfulness, with a few pointers to the way of salvation.

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
² And now they sin more and more,
and make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
“Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
³ Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes early away,
like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.

⁴ But I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no savior.
⁵ It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
⁶ but when they had grazed, they became full,
they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
⁷ So I am to them like a lion;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
⁸ I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹ He destroys you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against your helper.
¹⁰ Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
Where are all your rulers—
those of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
¹¹ I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him away in my wrath.
¹² The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
his sin is kept in store.
¹³ The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
at the opening of the womb.

¹⁴ I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
I shall redeem them from Death.
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵ Though he may flourish among his brothers,
the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
rising from the wilderness,
and his fountain shall dry up;
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.
¹⁶ Samaria shall bear her guilt,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.

1. God will eventually judge and persistent and unrepentant rebellion and unfaithfulness . . .

• of ,
• of , and
• of . 

14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
² Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows of our lips.
³ Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴ I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
⁶ his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷ They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸ O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.

⁹ Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

2. God promises to heal and to restore those who to him in repentance, faith, and obedience.

3. If you are a or a , now is the time to come . . . before it is too late! (cf. Luke 15:11-32).

Theme of Hosea
God is “the God of grace who gives his loving heart to sinners,
so that he might redeem us as a people for himself.”
(Richard Phillips, Hosea, p.4)

Hosea 1, ESV
¹ The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

²When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.”

• Lesson: Our sin is spiritual .

³So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ⁵ And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

• Lesson: Sin will be .

⁶ She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. ⁷ But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” 

• Lesson: Do not on the mercy of God.
  

⁸ When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹ And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

• Lesson: Those with in Christ are God’s people.
  

¹⁰ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” ¹¹ And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

¹ And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” ²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. (Hosea 3:1-2, ESV)

⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. ⁷ Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; ⁸ it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Revelation 19:6-8) 

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:1-3, ESV) 

• Lesson: In His , God will sinners who trust in Jesus.

 

The Backstory of Lamentations

• The author is not identified, but some think Jeremiah.
• Written after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in B.C.
• Five intricately connected .
• It is “a collection of , or melancholy dirges, for a ruined society. The poems in the book could also be termed elegies or funeral orations, in which the author expresses deep personal and communal grief for the dead and for all the suffering that surrounds their loss.” (ESV Study Bible, p. 1,476)

Lamentations 1
1 How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
 ² She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
³ Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
and hard servitude;
she dwells now among the nations,
but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.

1. We should not assume days of peace and prosperity will . 

⁵ Her foes have become the head;
her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has afflicted her
for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe.

¹⁸ “The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity.

2. God will eventually bring judgment on individuals and nations that persistently, flagrantly, and without repentance against him and his word. 

Lamentations 2
¹⁴ Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading.

3. Courageous spiritual is necessary to call us to confession, repentance, and restoration. 

Lamentations 3
3 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
² he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
³ surely against me he turns his hand
again and again the whole day long.
⁴ He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
he has broken my bones;
⁵ he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
⁶ he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago.

4. about our circumstances and spiritual condition is essential – be authentic, don’t pretend. 

⁷ He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has made my chains heavy;
⁸ though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
⁹ he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
he has made my paths crooked.
¹⁰ He is a bear lying in wait for me,
a lion in hiding;
¹¹ he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;
he has made me desolate;
¹² he bent his bow and set me
as a target for his arrow.
¹³ He drove into my kidneys
the arrows of his quiver;
¹⁴ I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
the object of their taunts all day long.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness;
he has sated me with wormwood.
¹⁶ He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
and made me cower in ashes;
¹⁷ my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
¹⁸ so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”

5. God is over the depth and duration of our sufferings.

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

6. is when I call to mind and trust in the character of God – his steadfast love, his mercies, and his faithfulness.

Lamentations 5
²¹ Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
Renew our days as of old—
²² unless you have utterly rejected us,
and you remain exceedingly angry with us.

Hebrews 12:1-11

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (ESV)

Key #1:  Lighten your . (v. 1a)

    

Key #2:   Don’t just because it’s . (v. 1b)

Key #3:   Stay on the . (vv. 2-3)

⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
  ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (ESV)

Key #4:   Embrace .

• Discipline is an expression of .
• Discipline is both and .
• Discipline is related to .
• Discipline is for our .
• Discipline always involves some .
• Discipline produces positive results .

Jesus said:
“I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Matthew 16:18b, ESV)

Acts 2
³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:36-47, ESV)

God expects our church to be devoted to . . .

1. and the truth of God’s word. (v. 42a) [Discipleship / Maturity]
2. with other believers in the body of Christ. (vv. 42b, 44) [Fellowship / Membership]
3. together. (vv. 42c, 47a) [Worship / Magnification]
4. for and one another as we have needs. (v. 45) [Service / Ministry]
5. Verbally sharing the so that others might be . (v. 47) [Evangelism / Missions] 

When God’s Spirit empowers our efforts, we should expect to experience, to feel, and to see . . .

1. in the presence of God (v. 43a)
2. Life (v. 43b)
3. (v. 46b)
4. (v. 46c)
5. Numerical . (v. 47b)

At Ingleside we say:

Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ
for the glory of God. 

Our goal is to make disciples who . . .

to worship,
in a group,
in the body, and
with the gospel. 

As we begin a new school year and church year, I need to ask your help and offer some challenges:

1. Unless your health or driving distance precludes it, move from livestream or TV to in-person participation at Ingleside.
2. When you come to Ingleside on Sundays, be guest friendly by parking farther away and sitting closer to the front.
3. If you are “worship only” right now, take the next step by connecting to a small group, class, or study. ([email protected])
4. If you have not done so yet, make the commitment to membership at Ingleside. ([email protected])
5. If you are not yet serving regularly, find your place and use your gifts to serve others in Jesus’ name at Ingleside.
   • Preschoolers ([email protected])
   • Children ([email protected])

Pray earnestly, serve joyfully, give generously,
prize and protect our unity diligently, and
anticipate the next chapter optimistically.
The best is yet to come!

But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9a, ESV)

Grace = Greek NT word, χάρις (charis)

=  

= G R A C E

Sufficient = Greek NT word, ἀρκέω (arkeo)

= to be sufficient or adequate for a particular purpose, with the implication of leading to satisfaction—‘to be sufficient, to be adequate, to be enough.’ (Greek English Lexicon)

= to be possessed of unfailing strength. to be strong, to suffice, to be enough. to defend, ward off. (Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon)

God’s grace is enough for me!

 

1. God’s grace is enough to me.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV)

2. God’s grace is enough to me.

I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. ³ And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴ and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵ On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— ⁶ though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷ So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. (2 Corinthians 12:1-7, ESV)

• When God me to address my spiritual .
• When I have a , ailment, affliction, or disability.
• When I am under direct spiritual .

⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10, ESV)

• When God says to my requests.
  
• When I am most aware of and freely admit my own limitations and .
• When I face challenge or difficulty this fallen, broken world has to offer.

43 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1-3a, ESV)

3. God’s grace is enough to me  and me all the way .

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30, ESV)

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8, ESV)

God’s grace is enough for me!

1 Corinthians 15:1-2, ESV
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

The church prevails in a broken world by the and in the hope of the .

1 Corinthians 15:3-9, ESV
³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 

Four Key Components of the Gospel:

1. Jesus for our .
2. Jesus was in a .
3. Jesus was from the .
4. Jesus was by . 

1 Corinthians 15:10-11, ESV
¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 

God’s grace…

• us.
• us.
• us.

1 Corinthians 15:12-21, ESV
¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. ²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The reality of the resurrection means that we should…

• Remember that and are temporary.
• Place our and in Christ.
• Lay aside and live in light of our .
• and the gospel.

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-13, ESV
¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1. Every member is by the .

1 Corinthians 12:14-20, ESV
¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

2. Every member is to the .

3 types of spiritual gifts according to Tim Keller:

• Prophetic Gifts
• Priestly Gifts
• Kingly Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:21-27, ESV
²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

3. Every member is .

1 Corinthians 12:28-31, ESV
²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

4. Every member should be a .

 

 

1 Corinthians 3
Metaphor #1 – Spiritual  

3 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 

How very rich are God’s wisdom and knowledge!
How he judges is more than we can understand!
The way he deals with people is more than we can know! (Romans 11:33, NIRV)

 

Summary of Truth – The church is unified when God’s people are actively in .

 

Metaphor #2 – Partnership in the

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

 

Summary Truth – The church is unified when God’s people .

 

Metaphor #3 – Kingdom

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³ each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

 

Summary Truth – The church is unified when God’s people spend their , , and doing what builds the kingdom.

 

Metaphor #4 – The Sacredness of

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

 

Summary Truth – The church is unified when God’s people his , his dwelling place.