ImPaul wrote to the church in Corinth when it was all in an uproar about celebrity preachers.

    Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 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. 1 Corinthians 1:13-17

The members were saying things similar to things we hear in our own churches. “I wish our preacher were more like Joel Osteen,” or “I get so bored on the days Pastor Bill preaches.” What does Paul consider to be the central thing in church?

The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

When you meet people who claim to be atheists or agnostics, what do they say about the cross? What about Hindus or Buddhists? Do you have Christian friends who think you are untutored because your faith is simple? How do you respond?

 It is written,

 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

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. 1 Corinthians 1:19-21

 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.” Who is speaking in this sentence?

There are many people who believe they can find God through disputation till they see the truth, and many believe that through disputation, they have proved that God does not exist.  How would you answer such a hypothesis?

How did you meet Christ? How do you introduce people to Christ?

If you could know who would be present at your deathbed, and if you could plan what to say, what would you say?

By Katherine Harms, author of Oceans of Love available for Kindle at Amazon.com.

Image:Torah Scroll http://library.duke.edu/exhibits/hebrewbible/torah.html
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