The Christian church in the ancient Roman colony of Corinth is fascinating for us to study as a modern church planted in a city centre. As a hub of international trade, a major business centre, and an attractive city for anyone looking to ‘get ahead’, Corinth was deeply competitive and home to the most ambitious people. Rich in natural resources, the people of Corinth felt in charge of their own lives. They were convinced of their own wisdom, and thus, loved to self-promote. Lacking next to nothing, a consumerist mentality ruled. The pressures to abandon the pure and simple gospel of Jesus were extreme for the church planted there. Constant social, economic, and political pressure meant they began to look more like the city around them rather than the people of God they were made to be.
In this series, we will examine what it takes to live as resilient and fruitful followers of Jesus without bowing to such powerful cultural forces. We will see what the world around us looks like through the lens of the Gospel, and along the way, we’ll learn what love can accomplish as we draw from the world’s only source of true power.
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A Picture of a Healthy Church
- 1 Corinthians 16
Cliff Ursel / April 24, 2022
This sermon is the last in our ‘True Power’ series. This series brought up some heavy issues, but it didn’t stop there. It ends with encouragement, hope and redemption.
The Gift(s) of
Jesus’ Resurrection
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Matt Menzel / April 17, 2022
In this sermon we’ll walk through the rest of 1 Corinthians 15 and look at the gifts God desires to give us through the resurrection of Jesus.
The Resurrection Body
- 1 Corinthians 15:42-49
Matt Menzel / April 10, 2022
In this sermon we’ll unpack four aspects the Holy Spirit tells us about the resurrection bodies everyone in Jesus will one day inherit.
What Jesus' Resurrection
Means for Us
- 1 Corinthians 15:35-41
Cliff Ursel / April 3, 2022
As we continue in 1 Corinthians 15 we see that Jesus’ resurrection plays a huge role in our eternity.
What Consumes Your Life?
- 1 Corinthians 15:29-34
Nathan Harrison / March 27, 2022
There is often a difference between what we say we believe and what we live. This can be true no matter your religious affiliation. But for Christians, what happens when we claim to believe in the resurrection but live a life void of its power? 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 is a call back to resurrection life, to let the truth and the power of the resurrection consume all that we are and all that we do.
Resurrection
and the Return of Jesus
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Matt Menzel / March 20, 2022
As we continue in 1 Corinthians 15 the conversation shifts to the moment of Jesus’ return and three specific things that He will accomplish “at His coming.”
The Cost of Denying
Resurrection
- 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Matt Menzel / March 13, 2022
The bodily resurrection of Jesus and the coming physical resurrection of those in Him is such an important part of the gospel that to deny it hollows out the gospel and empties our faith of its substance.
Gospel &
Resurrection Power
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Matt Menzel / March 6, 2022
The gospel (or good news) of Jesus isn’t theory to be known, it’s life to be experienced. At the heart of the good news is our own physical resurrection when Jesus returns but to understand what we’re hoping in we need to start with Jesus’ own resurrection.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 - Headcoverings and Headship
Matt Menzel / July 26, 2020
In this sermon we will unpack Paul's call for the women in Corinth to wear head coverings as they prayed and prophesied in the church gathering. We'll unpack what was behind that call and what it means for us today.
1 Corinthians 11:1 - Imitation
Cliff Ursel / July 19, 2020
As we consider Paul's challenge to the Corinthian church to imitate him as he imitates Chris, we ask ourselves, "Who do I imitate?" and "Who is imitating me?".
1 Corinthians 10:23-33 - Free to Glorify God
Josh Dool / July 12, 2020
This week we will examine three principles that govern our freedom in Christ, and discuss how we live out Paul's command to 'glorify God in everything we do'.
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 - Participation in Jesus
Cliff Ursel / July 5, 2020
The first part of 1 Corinthians 10 the Apostle Paul makes a big observation that could lead to catastrophe if not addressed. Today’s text is the prescription and the motivation to make the changes.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13 - Washed and Fed
Matt Menzel / June 28, 2020
There are obstacles as we train to live as Jesus’ Kingdom people. Obstacles that are highlighted by Paul in three spiritual realities: our spiritual heritage, our propensity to rebellion, the fact that we’re not strong but we are protected.
1 Corinthians 9:1-27 - Drudgery to Joy
Matt Menzel / June 21, 2020
After helping the Corinthians understand the priority of love over knowledge, Paul now moves to use his own life as an example of laying down our rights. In this sermon we’ll see three ways the gospel of Jesus transforms our lives: drudgery to joy, stewardship to reward, and self-interest to love.
1 Corinthians 8:7-13 - Love Through Laying Down Personal Rights
Matt Menzel / June 14, 2020
Why is love at the centre of life in Jesus' Kingdom? And how can we, as a church, embody His love for the world the way He embodied His love for us?
1 Corinthians 8:1-6 - Love Over All
Cliff Ursel / June 7, 2020
The heading in your Bible might make you think we are going to be talking about ‘food offered to idols’ though we will talk about that we will see that this text uses ‘food offered to idols’ as a springboard to talk about today’s sensitive issues while at the same time providing perspective, hope and a solution.
1 Corinthians 7:25-40 - Singleness and Undivided Devotion
Matt Menzel / May 31, 2020
The role that single people are invited to play in Jesus' Kingdom signals a shift in how we experience God's favour, live out our purpose, and respond to divine love.
1 Corinthians 7:17-24 - The Gospel Changes Everything
Norm Funk / May 24, 2020
The gospel changes us radically. And yet, even when undergoing that radical change for most of us much of who we are and what we do remains the same. In this message we will look at three aspects of the gospel - the good news story of Jesus - and see how it changes everything while it calls us to remain where we are all for the sake of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 7:1-16 - Marriage, Divorce, and Singleness
Matt Menzel / May 17, 2020
After seeing the ways in which our bodies and our sexuality are intended to worship Jesus, we move to the interpersonal implications in marriage, divorce, and singleness.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 - The Discord in Our Bodies
Matt Menzel / May 10, 2020
The Bible places an extreme level of importance on the human body and infuses it with all kinds of divine purpose. In this sermon we'll see what those purposes are.
1 Corinthians 6:9-13 - A Theology of the Body
Matt Menzel / May 3, 2020
Today, like never before, we acknowledge a serious sense of discord between our authentic selves and our physical bodies. What does a christian theology of the body mean for us as followers of Jesus and the world we live in?
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 - Lawsuits in the Church
Josh Dool / April 26, 2020
In todays sermon we examine an interpersonal grievance that erupted in the Corinthian church and consider how Pauls instruction applies to us.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 - A Response to Sexual Brokenness
Cliff Ursel / April 19, 2020
A church’s loving and redemptive responsive when sexual immorality leaks into the church.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - Sex and Sexuality
Matt Menzel / April 5, 2020
In this sermon we'll begin to explore both a cultural and a biblical view of human sexuality while unpacking how Jesus' people are meant to respond to sexual brokenness inside the church.
1 Corinthians 4:8-21 - Deadly Strategy
Josh Dool / March 29, 2020
In this text we’re going to see Paul address three strategies that threaten to diminish and defile the image of Christ in the corporate church, and distract us personally from faithful service to Jesus.
1 Corinthians 4:1-7 - Servants and Spirit-people
Matt Menzel / March 22, 2020
1 Corinthians 3:16-23 - The Church, Jesus' Temple
Matt Menzel / March 15, 2020
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 - Building the Church
Cliff Ursel / March 8, 2020
In this sermon we discover that we are uniquely gifted by Christ to build the church and asked the simple but hard question: Are you?
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 - A Church Alive
Matt Menzel / March 1, 2020
1 Corinthians 3:1-4 - Spirit vs Flesh
Matt Menzel / February 23, 2020
In this sermon we’ll explore the difference between merely being saved by Jesus and living a life abiding in Him.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 - The Wisdom of God
Josh Dool / February 16, 2020
This morning we’ll look at Paul's description of 'The Wisdom of God’, discuss how this wisdom should affect our lives, and address some of the things that threaten our engagement with it.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - Freedom from Self-Promotion
Matt Menzel / February 9, 2020
In this sermon we'll unpack the reality that to abide in Jesus and live full of His Spirit we'll need to embrace our weakness.
1 Corinthians 1:10-31 - Embracing Weakness as Power
Matt Menzel / February 2, 2020
In this passage Paul will address the first error in the church of God at Corinth. As he does we'll be confronted with one of the most deadly diseases in Jesus' Church today. A sickness that threatens to stifle the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 - God's Movement in our Midst
Matt Menzel / January 26, 2020
This sermon will close out Paul’s greeting to the Corinthians with one primary question: How could he be so thankful for such a messed up and broken church? We’ll examine the movements of the Living God among His people both then and today; movements that come together in the form of an invitation for us all.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 - The Will, Church, Grace, and Peace of God
Matt Menzel / January 19, 2020
In this sermon we will begin our series entitled 'True Power' by examining the cultural pressures of worshipping Jesus as Lord in ancient Corinth or modern day Vancouver. We'll see that there are forces at work more powerful than culture and that only one Lord can follow-through on an offer of grace and peace.