Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

And I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings.

It is that, but I’m also talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews.

The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals.

No two are alike.

BIG IDEA:

And I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings.

It is that, but I’m also talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews.

The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals.

No two are alike.

Today we are starting a new series going through the book of ’m calling series Corinthians, though, because I’d like to go through both letters that the Apostle Paul wrote the to church in Corinth, 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

Today we are starting a new series going through the book of ’m calling series Corinthians, though, because I’d like to go through both letters that the Apostle Paul wrote the to church in Corinth, 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

The letters to the Corinth church were dealing with a number of issues in the function of the local church.

There were things about the church that were praiseworthy, but there were a number of things that needed corrected.

The Corinthian church had infighting and disunity.

They had disagreements about doctrine.

They were divided about what teachings they should follow.

Then there were issues of sin that were being tolerated among the members.

They were having issues carrying out their weekly service of worship.

And all of these things were effecting the mission of the church.

In fact, it seems, they didn’t even agree on exactly what the purpose and mission of the church is.

And the author of the letter we call First Corinthians recognizes the uniqueness of his own life when he opens the letter.

He identifies himself in such a way that he is unique.

He writes,

And the author of the letter we call First Corinthians recognizes the uniqueness of his own life when he opens the letter.

He identifies himself in such a way that he is unique.

He writes,

CATCH:

The letters to the Corinthian church were dealing with a number of issues in the function of the local church, the leaders of the local church, and the people of the local church.

There were things about the church that were praiseworthy, and there were a number of issues that needed to be corrected.

The Corinthian church had infighting and disunity.

They had disagreements about doctrine.

They were divided about what teachings they should follow.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

BODY

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

Then there were issues of sin that were being tolerated by the members.

And they were divided about how to deal with that.

They were having problems carrying out their weekly service of worship.

And all of these things were affecting the mission of the church.

In fact, it seems they didn’t even agree on exactly what the purpose of the church was and what the mission of the church was.

So, I think this will be a valuable study for us as a church.

My prayer is that we are going to be able to celebrate a lot of wins, that, as we look at our local church we will be able to celebrate the areas that we are accomplishing the mission of the church and the purpose of the church.

But, I’m also praying that we will be sharpened by the truth of scripture, so that, if there are areas of tension between our thinking and the teaching of scripture, we will be humble enough to accept correction and be able to move in God’s direction.

Let’s start with prayer now as we begin.

So, I think this will be a valuable study for us as a church.

My prayer is that we are going to be able to celebrate a lot of wins, that, as we look at our local church we will be able to celebrate the areas that we are accomplishing the mission of the church and the purpose of the church.

[PRAY AS ABOVE]

Here we see that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and another guy named Sosthenes.

I’ll get Sosthenes out of the way quickly.

Sosthenes was a pretty common name in the Greek world, but most people believe this is Sosthenes the leader of the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth—which makes sense, since the letter is written to the Corinthians.

Here we see that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and another guy named Sosthenes.

I’ll get Sosthenes out of the way quickly.

Sosthenes was a pretty common name in the Greek world, but most people believe this is Sosthenes the leader of the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth—which makes sense, since the letter is written to the Corinthians.

Unique Individuals

For this next part, I’m going to need a little involvement from you.

I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings.

I’m talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews.

The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals.

No two are alike.

Sosthenes isn’t a Jew from the sect of the Pharisees like most synagogue leaders.

Paul called him a brother.

He belongs to the sect called The Way, which today we call Christianity.

Sosthenes isn’t a Jew from the sect of the Pharisees like most synagogue leaders.

Paul called him a brother.

He belongs to the sect called The Way, which today we call Christianity.

But, I’m also praying that we will be sharpened by the truth of scripture, so that, if there are areas of tension between our thinking and the teaching of scripture, we will be humble enough to accept correction and be able to move in God’s direction.

Let’s start with prayer now as we begin.

By a show of hands, how many of you were raised in a church or in some sort of Christian environment?

And the author of the letter we call First Corinthians recognizes the uniqueness of his own life when he opens the letter.

He writes,

Now Paul—and most writers of the day—rarely wrote his own letters.

Instead he would dictate his letters to a secretary.

And the secretary would make sure that every word was carefully written to make the meaning plain.

A common practice for secretaries was to write themselves into either the preface of the letter or the prologue.

Here it appears Sosthenes was the secretary who wrote the letter down for Paul, so he put his name in there because he probably was a very credible resource to Paul in writing to the Corinthian church.

[PRAY AS ABOVE]

Now Paul—and most writers of the day—rarely wrote his own letters.

Instead he would dictate his letters to a secretary.

And the secretary would make sure that every word was carefully written to make the meaning plain.

A common practice for secretaries was to write themselves into either the preface of the letter or the prologue.

Here it appears Sosthenes was the secretary who wrote the letter down for Paul, so he put his name in there because he probably was a very credible resource to Paul in writing to the Corinthian church.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

So, who is Paul?

Good.

Now, what…

So, who is Paul?

Today, I’m going to need a little involvement from you.

We’re going to do an exercise and look at a couple texts to get some context for the first verse of 1 Corinthians.

Paul says, he is “called…to be an apostle.”

By a show of hands, how many of you were raised in a church or in some sort of Christian environment?

Here we see that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and another guy named Sosthenes.

Let’s get Sosthenes out of the way quickly.

Sosthenes was a pretty common name, but most people believe this is Sosthenes the leader of the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth—which makes sense, since the letter is written to the Corinthians.

And Sosthenes isn’t a Jew from the sect of the Pharisees like most synagogue leaders.

He is a brother.

He belongs to the sect called The Way, which today we call Christianity.

Paul says, he is “called…to be an apostle.”

Offices

Calling