What Happens to a Church When Christ is No Longer Central? To Know Nothing But Jesus and Him Crucified Corinth

What Happens to a Church When Christ is No Longer Central?

To Know Nothing But Jesus and Him Crucified

Corinth

Four miles of land between two seas made Corinth rich and diverse

It was a land of opportunity

A land where people from all around the world came and many stayed to live 

The beliefs and practices of the people were very diverse

Paul did not come to Corinth with a message of diversity

Paul’s message was  

For I determined not to know anything among you,

save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

The Central Message of the Church is Jesus

Jesus is not a way, but The Way

To Know Nothing But Jesus and Him Crucified

Most of us have never taken a close look at

Paul’s writings of I and II Corinthians.

So often we read the Book or a

Passage and miss the background.

I have recently taken a look at Corinth which is Peloponnese,

which is located in south-central Greece today.

I am amazed to discover how life in Corinth

and life in the United States relate to each other.

Corinth had about a four mile

stretch of land between two seas.

The Corinthians made a road between the two seas.

This road had two groves in it that

carts moved to transport goods and

small boats from one sea to the other.

This four mile road brought the goods and

people from around the world at that time.

  

People in Corinth became wealthy

and it became a land of opportunity.

Corinth became a melting pot

accepting everyone and their practices.

Paul spent a year and a half building

the Church before he left Corinth.

The theme of I Corinthians is that of

Church Believers in Jesus Christ who

through time lost the focus of the main thing.

They lost the focus of the main thing…

Jesus Christ!

Paul says it this way…

                 

For I determined not to know anything among you,

save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV

There are five problems

Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians…

1)     Division

2)     Sex

3)    Food

4)    Worship

5)     Gatherings

6)    The Resurrection

Paul addresses each of these problems

with the Good News about Jesus.

The Key Problem with the Church

in Corinth was Jesus was not central.

The Church was looking more

like the community around them.

In our personal lives and in our churches,

we must always be reminded of the Central Thing…

 JESUS!

Jesus is what makes the difference.

He is not a way, He is The Way.

Accepting Jesus as part of our reality

will keep us from the reality of God.

Jesus must be the Center of our lives.

That effects the reality of every part of our lives.

  

Some live a life without Jesus.

Some live a life with a blend of Jesus.

But true life, abundant and full…

Comes from a life centered on Jesus.

The Church at Corinth’s problems all came

because they became a Church without Christ.

We can have only one influence in our lives.

As Corinth received everybody and

their beliefs so did the Church in Corinth.

Check out The Bible Project

an excellent resource of simple videos illustrating the Bible,

each Book is outlined and Biblical subjects

Check out this link for the video on 1 Corinthians

https://thebibleproject.com/explore/1-corinthians/

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-3 NIV

2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.   2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.