Considering Ourselves (1 Corinthians 1:26)

Remember your calling. Think back to the moment you were saved! Remember how sinful, how foolish, how lame you were before Christ found you and saved you. Why did God save you? Because you were good? Because he thought of you and your merit above all? That doesn't even make sense. Good people don't need to be saved. By very definition salvation assumes that someone is in need of being rescued. Jesus Himself said He came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10 People that don't think they are lost need not apply. I have talked to many that say "well that's nice for you but I don't need that Jesus stuff." Sermon audio

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

We were total wrecks when Christ saved us whether we saw it at the time or not. Being saved out of a literal ditch of our own depravity is one thing but being saved out of 'good' suburbia is perceived as another. Both, according to scripture, are train wrecked lives without hope, without Christ. The trophies of God's Grace are the nothings of this world. Its a beautiful thing thinking about God ensuring His glory is displayed by going after those who have no glory of their own to bring to the table.
So, in the Gospel I preach is there room for the train wrecks? Is there any room for those train wrecks here at the church?

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 4) 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

The words from this sermon series continue to penetrate like a fine clock oil. Live it afresh brothers and sisters and if you have not listened to the message click here: Centrality of Cross (pt. 4) This was a lifesaver for me as I was able to access this site on my iPhone and listen while in San Diego this week. Technology carries the Gospel all over the globe. Praise the Lord.

Lets jump right in:

1 Corinthians 1:20-25 1 Cor. (ESV website)
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

We are the scribes, the debaters and the wise fools of this passage. Our hearts churn out idol after idol (Calvin called the human heart an endless idol factory). These self made gods we create are very ruthless despotic tyrants that demand constant sacrifice: our merit. As we feed our own self made merit god that is never appeased or satisfied we bump into others on the same treadmill of despair. Whenever I fail to tell another about the wonderful free gift of Christ, I, in essence, tell that person, "go on, continue to work your fingers of merit to the bone trying to appease a made up god of your own selfishness that will die with you, unappeased." When I think about it like this it doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do to a person.
The gracious God of the scriptures is nothing like this. We can stop working now, stop trying to appease, stop trying to be pretend we are better than we really are. As we look up at the cross our hammer and chisel of merit should drop to the ground as our open, humble hands of repentance are lifted by Christ Himself to receive grace.

What does your self made god look like? What 'food' and sacrifices do you need to provide it daily? Out of curiosity I 'googled' to see what was the meanest, nastiest god man has ever fashioned? The answer maybe: Ares, the Greek god of war, who started wars and global conflict just for kicks. The gods we fashion demand our labor just for 'fun' too! The 'so-called' wise Greeks worshiped this monster. Doesn't seem too 'wise' to me! Yet, as I feed daily my merit monster, I guess that's not too wise either. Let's venture forth to know nothing and to preach nothing but Christ and Him crucified, foolishness gone wild!

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 3) I Cor. 1:19-20

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 3)
Byron Yawn
Mar 7, 2010 • Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
If you missed the message grab the mp3: http://audio.cbcnashville.org/index.php/site/listen/277

I Corinthians 1:19 For it is written,“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

The walls are coming down in my life like the walls of Jericho (referenced in the sermon). What an utterly foolish and laughable way to fell a city, by walking in circles seven times and blowing trumpets! The foolishness of the wise collapses like the power of God shattering those massive rocks. The preaching of the gospel is like that.

(a nice link proving those walls really did collapse outwardly: http://shar.es/mHtNB )

Paul, in Romans 1: 16, states that he is "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." If I don't share the gospel with regularity I won't feel this temptation to be ashamed or burdened by that foolish message. In other words, if I don't ever step into the battle I won't understand all this talk about wounds, pain and the temptation to flee the battle spray.  This hit me so hard today. Where is my life going? How many people, day in and day out, do I not share with because I am afraid and ashamed. I weep at my shame. I'm ashamed of my shame even! When was the last time I shared the gospel with anyone and not just a typical 'spiritual conversation'? Asking someone where they attend church and then saying, 'oh that's so nice.' is NOT sharing the cross! Everyone wants cute spiritual conversations like this but no one wants to hear the implications of the cross upon their sinful world! Even in sharing it do I really share it? If a person doesn't leave a conversation stating in shock, "he called me bad and mentioned hell and wrath," then I probably didn't share the gospel with them.

I loved it when Byron said he "plays a one string banjo, the gospel, 'boing!'".The cross says about man what no one wants to hear and about God what no one can conceive. It reveals the problem everyone knows they have with an answer no one knew was possible. What a statement. Do I have this 'blood earnestness' to bring Christ with me into every conversation, every relationship. I will preach the gospel only to the ones I truly love. Just put the simple message of the cross in people's paths.

1 Corinthians 1:17 The Centrality Of The Cross

Click on this link to find the audio to this sermon if you missed it.

http://audio.cbcnashville.org/index.php/site/listen/275


Here is the main verse for the sermon from 02/21/2010

1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Here are a few thoughts I jotted down so we can get the discussion started:

We have church wrong:

* man pleasing is a major problem in our lives
* We must think about what God thinks about us more than what man thinks
* Paul was liberated from the fear of men
* Being bold for the Gospel is not a license to be an angry prophet jerk
* We are choking and exhausted by worrying about what others think of us.

The singular ministry of the church:

* The message of fulfilled happiness is not the Christian faith
* Unhappiness results from pursuing happiness
* Desire to be popular strips the Gospel of its power in our lives and ministry
* Christianity is content based not feeling based
* How did we make the Gospel into a self improvement remedy?
* The power of the cross is it's power to offend
* If I offer the lost something other than the substitutionary work of Christ in the Gospel I will damn them.
* Stop looking for evangelism openings or angles in conversations because they are always there in every conversation.

What was most meaningful for you and your main takeaway for a Cross centered life this week?

For me, the pursuit of personal happiness in my life is robbing all the power of the Gospel in my witness. What witness, actually! My happiness is in the way of the Gospel.

What say you?

First Corinthians

Community Bible Church Nashville, TN with Pastor Byron Yawn just entered week two, the second sermon, of 1 Corinthians. If history serves as a guide to the future, this series should take about 6 to 10 years to get through. This blog site will serve as a place to come and extend learning and fellowship around the word of God as it pertains to this sermon series on First Corinthians.