Be The Church Week 3

                         2 Corinthians 1:12-24 / 2:1-11

Important Announcements!

Mark your calendar for October 16th! This is the day we will be having our Fall Festival. Connect Groups have a huge part to play in this. More details coming soon.

Talk with your group some more about doing a Missional Community Project!

If you need a list of ideas, contact Blake Hardiman or Ethan Floyd.

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Theme: The Gospel-Centered Church! Leadership, Love, and Forgiveness

Major Points:

What does God (through Paul) Show us in this passage?

1.. Gospel-Centered Leadership

Not everyone is a pastor or a group leader, but everybody is leading somebody! Maybe You are a Coach or a teacher or a boss. Maybe you are a parent or an older brother or sister. The point is this everyone leads someone and to be a Christian is to be a leader.

Paul points us to a few things in this passage concerning Gospel center leadership!

Godly Integrity - Seeking to follow the Lord’s will in everything.

Godly Sincerity - Your Love for God and others is truly genuine.

Godly Wisdom - You are led by the Holy Spirit, not the culture.

Paul points to these as Characteristics of a godly leader.

Would people say these are characteristics in your life?

Listen to vs 24

Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

Paul says that Godly Leadership isn’t about being someone's Lord… only Christ is Lord.

Godly leadership is about working with others for their joy. It’s about helping others stand firm and build their life on Christ so that when the winds blow and the waves crash into their life they are unshakable.  

This should be the goal for all Christian relationships!

Do you have friends like that in your life? Friends that want to see you walk with Jesus. Friends that are fighting for you.

Question: 

Who has God placed in your life for you to lead? And how are you leveraging your leadership for Jesus?

2.. Gospel-Centered Forgiveness   2:5-11

These Verses show us what it looks like to forgive and restore a brother or sister! Forgiveness is obviously important in the Christian faith. 

There is no room for unforgiveness at the foot of the cross.

C.S. Lewis - “ We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it.”

Forgiving someone who has caused us harm is never easy… but it is worth it.

A Difficult situation

The situation here in this passage was difficult! Not Easy! 

The guy that needs forgiveness had led a rebellion against Paul. He personally attacked him causing a lot of division in the church.

Some believe that this was the same guy who had the incest relationship in 1 Corinthians ch 5.

The man had confessed and repented from his sin. God forgave him and it was time for the Church to follow suit. 

Matthew 18:21-22

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

A Church that doesn’t forgive… doesn’t understand God’s forgiveness of us!

Forgiven people forgive people!

The person who understands the depth in which God has forgiven them will be quick to show the same grace and forgiveness to others who sin against them! 

The word forgive in the passage means “to let something go”. Releasing something! It means to give something. Giving them a gift. Showing them grace. 

Forgiveness can be hard

This is why forgiveness can be so hard. God is asking us to give someone something that many times they don’t deserve.

Forgiveness is a gift. 

It’s a gift God has given us.

It’s a gift that we should give others.

Especially those who are repentant in the Church.

Therefore, Paul says for them to welcome this man back.

It will bring him comfort.

It will display God’s Love for him.

It will please Christ.

It will show your obedience.

It will thwart the plan of satan.

Questions: 

Is their unforgiveness towards someone in your heart?

Has there ever been a situation in your life where God has asked you to forgive someone? How were you able to get through it? (It’s hard sometimes)

3.. The Source of it all     1:21-24

GOD!

What enables you to stand firm? What enables you to forgive? What enables you to Love and lead? What saves you? What grows you? What sustains you? What guarantees your glorification?

Not what… but WHO?

It is God who makes us stand firm and it is the Spirit of God in us who works in us and through us.

God doesn’t save you and then leave you to yourself to figure it all out!

He does in us and through us what we could never do on our own.

Questions:

How do we know if the Spirit of God lives in us?

How do we walk by the Spirit every day?