Paul is writing to a church that was off to a great start, but is faltering.  They are breaking into factions, and they are finding more value in human leaders than in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Have you ever known Christians who were more loyal to their pastor or to a TV evangelist than they were to the Lord?  Paul says this happens when we trust in the world's wisdom rather than in God's.  Who's wisdom are you following?

The church at Corinth is splitting into factions, and Paul offers words of instruction to remind them of the basis and importance of their unity as a body.  He also takes this opportunity to remind us that the gospel does not need our help.  It does not need to be partnered with baptism, nor does it need sugar-coating, focus group evaluation, or marketing schemes.  As a matter of fact, adding those things to the gospel presentation reduces the power of the cross and reveals that the speaker lacks faith in the simple, confrontational gospel message to do its work.

This is the start of a new series on First Corinthians. The church at Corinth was plagued by the values and conduct of the sinful city culture infiltrating and contaminating their ministry (sound familiar?).  What is Paul's advice for a church that is struggling with the encroaching rot of a selfish and sinful culture?  

Since God puts up a “Beware of false prophets” sign in 2 Peter 2, you and I had better beware of false prophets.  In order to beware of them, we have to be able to identify them so Peter gives us ten characteristics to help us spot them.

We're following Peter's instructions for a rock-solid faith -- one that will weather any storm and continue to grow.  HE told us to have confidence in our faith (that's the foundation); he told us to tap into God's power (that's the Holy Spirit); he told us to follow God's promises (that's the blueprint).  This morning, we're going to focus on the reliability of the blueprint. Can it be trusted?

So you have a firm foundation of faith, and you're plugged into the power of God, and you're referencing the blueprint (promises) of God, and you are building a house of faith -- your lifetime of spiritual fruit.  How important is it that we keep building and maintaining our house of faith?  Very! What we build on earth will have a direct impact on how we're welcomed into heaven.

God has given to you and to me a firm foundation complete with the power we need to act on His guaranteed promises, but it is up to us to use it. How do we build our faith on this firm foundation? Peter tells us.

As we study this book, we will be challenged to establish a solid foundation for a growing faith -- one that can detect and reject false teachers. Peter will tell us how.

Christmas is over.  The presents have all been opened and put away. The Christmas cookies have all been eaten the egg nog is gone, too.  We put on a little weight. We enjoyed family and friends and sent them home again. What do we do now?  Let’s see if there’s anything in these few verses from Luke that can inspire us for the year to come.

The person we’re looking at this morning – often called the silent figure in the Christmas story – had something far greater than COVID to worry about during that original Christmas season some 2,000 years ago.  Joseph is a man of action, not words.  He is not recorded as ever saying anything, but he is an example of faithfulness worthy of emulation. Let's see what we can learn from this “just” or upright man. 

Peter, bearing the lion scars of his own failure, warns a new generation of readers to watch out for this deadly enemy of ours, Satan.

To receive Christ's offer of salvation requires us to humbly admit our sinful state and our inability to fix it without His gift of grace and forgiveness.  That should be the beginning of our humility, not the end.  In this passage, Peter calls for the virtue most valuable to the health of the body of Christ and the benefit of the saint -- a humble heart.

Peter turns his attention toward the elders in the church who provide leadership and oversight.  He offers instruction and encouragement for the leaders and the congregation.

Have you ever had a time in your life where you are going the extra mile, doing above-and-beyond for God and yet you get blind-sided by a trial so you turn to God – shocked and indignant – and say something like, “How could you?"  In this passage, Peter says, "Welcome to the club" and then he gives us reasons to smile through the suffering.

The truth is that most people look back at their teens and twenties as their “glory days.”  However, for the child of God, your glory days are not the days of sin and debauchery of the past; your glory days are yet to come!  Peter is writing to those who converted to Christ as adults; and his message is “leave those wasted hours in the past and look ahead to the time that remains so you can the most of it.

Knowing that something good will come out of the pain makes it bearable. Well that’s Peter’s message to us this morning – there is a point to the pain, a benefit to the bruises we suffer for our faith in Jesus Christ.

Of the twenty-two different variations of milk that exist today, we're going to discuss one variation that is not on the list…and this milk is essential to life.  This milk has no harmful side-effects. This milk is a daily dietary requirement. We’re talking about the pure milk of the Word of God. 

Recently, a man digging through the contents of a dumpster found two paintings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  In a place of filth, among worthless debris destined for destruction, he rescued a treasure of immense value.  I mention it because this is a great illustration from the world of current events of the message that Peter has for us this morning.  Why should we live holy lives?  Because of the fairness of God's verdicts and the value He places on us.