During the past 18 months, which have so painfully exposed our weakness and fragility, God has been teaching us to depend on Christ’s power all the more. As Sunday evening services resume from 6pm on Sunday 19th September onwards we are going to complete our journey together (which we began in 2020!) through 2 Corinthians. One of the wonderfully reassuring themes in this letter is that our weakness is not an obstacle for the advance of God’s plan; rather it is an opportunity for Christ’s all-surpassing power to be put on display through us to the world.
Passionate, heartfelt and occasionally explosive, 2 Corinthians is the most emotional of all Paul’s letters. The Apostle’s heart is laid bare as we see his unceasing care and love for the Christians in Corinth, the pain caused to him by their wanderings and waverings, and his disdain for the false teachers seeking to corrupt the Corinthian church. We’ll see the gospel is not advanced by guarantees of wealth and health, or through the flashiness or brashness of leaders, but through Jesus’ power displayed in the weakness and suffering of his people. Paul’s Christ-like example of costly, selfless service has much to teach us about the nature of true Christian ministry, and what life looks like as a follower of Jesus in response to the salvation he has gifted to us through his death for us.
19th September 2 Corinthians 8 The Grace of Giving
26th September 2 Corinthians 9 Sowing Generously
3rd October 2 Corinthians 10 Boasting in the Lord
10th October 2 Corinthians 11 Boasting in Suffering
17th October 2 Corinthians 12 Power in Weakness
24th October 2 Corinthians 13 Test Yourselves!
Catch up on chapters 1 - 7 below, chapters 8 - 13 will appear as they are preached each week.