HOPE FM

Key Text: “One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people’ ” (Acts 18:9, 10, NRSV).

The great English missionary William Carey used to say that he cobbled shoes to pay his expenses, but his real business was winning souls.

Likewise, Paul worked as a tentmaker for a living (Acts 18:1–3), but his real business was, of course, winning people to Christ.

This week, we will get a glimpse of Paul’s ministry to the church in the city of Corinth. The church, as we will see, was full of problems, many that were not unlike what our churches face today, almost two thousand years later. Indeed, anyone who has been in Christianity for any length of time, or who has been involved in church work, could ask the question: Have you ever found a Christian group that doesn’t have any problems? The answer is, of course, obvious.

Paul faces challenges in Corinth but does so with the message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2). Faithfulness to this message is also the way to face the challenges that we have today. As we will see this week and throughout this quarter, the message of 1 and 2 Corinthians applies to our lives, as well.

Thought question: Paul was convinced that he was an apostle of Jesus and that this calling was from God. Why is it so important to know who we are and what our call is?