DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Sermon Series: 1 Corinthians

Sermon Title: Order and Silence


Daily Devotional Guide

Churches are known for their sounds. Some ring bells that can be heard throughout the town. Others use elaborate pipe organs in their services. And of course, there's always the sounds of children running through the halls, adults talking in the parking lot, and pastors preaching sermons. Churches are known for the noises they create. 



But what about silence? Is it ever appropriate for a church, or some who belong to it, to be silent? We tend to think of the silence of the church as a bad thing, like when Christians fail to speak up on some important issue. In this week's passage, Paul commands silence. This isn't some attack on free speech but rather a God-ordained command on the importance of order in the church. 


In a lot of ways, our culture has lost anything resembling order. Up can be down now, if you feel strongly enough about it. There is no Truth, only your truth. Things don't end well for societies trapped in this confusion. People are looking for answers. They want a solid foundation after finding that the shifting sands of the culture just don't hold. This is why an orderly church is so important. A church in proper order is a church that is equipped to address the confused spirit of the age. 


People don't need more confusion in their lives. 


They need order. 


Thankfully, "God is not a God of confusion but of peace." 


It is of the utmost importance that churches faithfully represent that peace. 


Monday - 2 Peter 1:1-15

Tuesday - 2 Peter 1:16-21

Wednesday - 2 Peter 2:1-22

Thursday - 2 Peter 3:1-18

Friday - Galatians 2:1-10

Saturday - Galatians 2:11-14

Sunday - Galatians 2:15-21

DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Sermon Series: 1 Corinthians

Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon Title: Loving or Lover?


Daily Devotional Guide


What would you think of someone who was described to you as a lover? Perhaps images of a ladies man would come to mind. What if someone was described to you as loving? That would likely be different. It might bring to mind images of a person who sacrificially cares for others. The differences between a lover and loving person are numerous. Our world's vision of love falls in line with the lover. In today's passage, God calls his people to come back to something they had forgotten. He asks them to be loving to one another. 


It's perfectly fine to read 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings but we have to remember that the Holy Spirit didn't inspire this passage for that reason. It's in our Bible today because the Corinthian believers had forgotten how to love. So Paul doesn't write this to be sappy. He offers it as a correction. It's as if he was saying, "I don't care how well you can speak in tongues because you've forgotten how to love one another." Today, we read this passage like it's a beautiful piece of Spirit-inspired poetry and that's good. But we must not forget how the original audience would have received it. To them, it was a rebuke. And in many ways, it's a rebuke that we still need today. 


Monday - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Tuesday - Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Wednesday - Deuteronomy 6:10-19

Thursday - Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Friday - Psalm 33:1-22

Saturday - Psalm 36:1-12

Sunday - Psalm 52:1-9