Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
The Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
This week we continue our study focusing on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Today we are talking about The Preaching of the Cross.
Text
1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 1:18-24 NKJV
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
People hold many varying attitudes about preaching.
To some, preaching is being loud.
To others, it is eloquence.
To still others, it is being illustrative.
Some believe it is a type of teaching.
Some think the preacher ought to use notes, others think they shouldn’t.
Paul believed that good preaching is the preaching of the cross.
- First, think of the meaning of preaching.
The word is found three times in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians.
In verse 17 the word means to evangelise.
It means to cast the net.
The technical meaning is to proclaim glad tidings.
In verse 18 the word is implied in the Greek language, but is well used in the English.
Here the emphasis is on the content not the method.
The content is the cross.
In verse 21 it is used in the form of heralding or proclaiming.
The primary function of preaching is to bear a witness.
Mark 16:15, And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Preaching is the essential function of the Christian minister.
2. Second, think about the preaching of the cross.
The cross is the instrument on which Jesus died.
The death of Jesus is God’s sacrifice for sin and His power for salvation.
Christian’s should not be ashamed of this gospel.
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel [a]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
The preaching of the cross is proclaiming a message.
It is not a discussion of a philosophy.
The gospel is a person, namely, Jesus, on whom to rely, and not a system of truth to be understood.
It is the whole message of redemption.
The preaching of the cross causes a great division, to those who believe, it is God’s power unto their salvation, to those who are perishing, it is foolishness.
3. Third, consider who is to preach the cross and who os to believe it.
All who have experienced God’s saving power should tell the good news.
It is every Christian’s duty.
Also, it is every Christian’s privilege and every Christian’s commission.
All who want to be saved must believe it.
Acts 4:12 declares, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Conclusion.
This text today has a twofold message.
The first message is for all believers to tell the story of the death of Jesus.
The second message is for all lost people to believe it.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2022 IS A YEAR OF REPENTANCE AND BLESSINGS
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