Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Temptation and Doubt
Are you struggling with temptation?
Is doubt a nagging companion tagging along wherever you go these days?
As we are wrapping up Paul’s letter to his Corinthian friends we will tackle two final areas of struggle. We titled the letter of 2 Corinthians “The Gospel: Power in weakness!” Reading Paul’s emotional, sometimes seemingly disconnected rants in his letter to the church in Corinth gives us unique perspective on his life and his very real struggles to live in the Power of the Gospel. He speaks openly about his pain, sorrow, suffering, and frustrations. Each chapter shows our weakness overcome by the power of the Gospel. Suffering is overcome by the God of all comfort; sin and disunity are overcome by repentance and restoration; our sin and inability to live according to God’s purposes are overcome by the power of Grace; Alienation is overcome by the ministry of reconciliation and death is overcome by the power of the resurrection. Even extreme poverty overflows with generosity because of the Gospel: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9
During these last two weeks in the book of 2 Corinthians we will finish with a look at two challenging topics, Temptation and Doubt starting this week with the former.
Since Eve encountered the serpent in the Garden temptation is a common experience for all human beings, Jesus was no exception. The Bible tells us that He “was tempted in every way, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Examining Jesus’ temptation 2000 years later will help us overcome our own temptations and live in the power and truth of the Gospel!
Is doubt a nagging companion tagging along wherever you go these days?
As we are wrapping up Paul’s letter to his Corinthian friends we will tackle two final areas of struggle. We titled the letter of 2 Corinthians “The Gospel: Power in weakness!” Reading Paul’s emotional, sometimes seemingly disconnected rants in his letter to the church in Corinth gives us unique perspective on his life and his very real struggles to live in the Power of the Gospel. He speaks openly about his pain, sorrow, suffering, and frustrations. Each chapter shows our weakness overcome by the power of the Gospel. Suffering is overcome by the God of all comfort; sin and disunity are overcome by repentance and restoration; our sin and inability to live according to God’s purposes are overcome by the power of Grace; Alienation is overcome by the ministry of reconciliation and death is overcome by the power of the resurrection. Even extreme poverty overflows with generosity because of the Gospel: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9
During these last two weeks in the book of 2 Corinthians we will finish with a look at two challenging topics, Temptation and Doubt starting this week with the former.
Since Eve encountered the serpent in the Garden temptation is a common experience for all human beings, Jesus was no exception. The Bible tells us that He “was tempted in every way, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Examining Jesus’ temptation 2000 years later will help us overcome our own temptations and live in the power and truth of the Gospel!
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