Bible Reading
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for letting us know you. Please help us learn from your word. Help us to serve and praise you. Amen!
2 Corinthians 1: 12-24 (NIrV)
Paul Changes His Plans
¹² Here is what we take pride in. Our sense of what is right and wrong tells us how we have acted. We have lived with honor and godly honesty. We have depended on God’s grace and not on the world’s wisdom. We lived that way most of all when we were dealing with you. ¹³ We are writing only what you can read and understand. And here is what I hope. ¹⁴ Up to this point you have understood some of the things we have said. But now here is what I hope for when the Lord Jesus returns. I hope that your pride in us will be the same as our pride in you. When this happens, you will understand us completely.
¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, I wanted to visit you first. Here is how I thought you would be helped twice. ¹⁶ I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia. I would have come back to you from there. Then you would have sent me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ When I planned all this, was I ready to change my mind for no good reason? No. I don’t make my plans the way the world makes theirs. In the same breath the world says both, “Yes! Yes!” and “No! No!”
¹⁸ But just as sure as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ Silas, Timothy and I preached to you about the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Our message did not say “Yes” and “No” at the same time. The message of Christ has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ God has made a great many promises. They are all “Yes” because of what Christ has done. So through Christ we say “Amen.” We want God to receive glory. ²¹ He makes both us and you remain strong in the faith because we belong to Christ. He anointed us. ²² He put his Spirit in our hearts and marked us as his own. We can now be sure that he will give us everything he promised us.
²³ I call God to be my witness. May he take my life if I’m lying. I wanted to spare you, so I didn’t return to Corinth. ²⁴ Your faith is not under our control. You remain strong in your own faith. But we work together with you for your joy.
Sermon Outline
His Sufficiency in my Cynicism
- Point 1: The Corinthians cynicism: a question of integrity (Verses 15-17)
- Point 2: Paul’s defense: rooted in his integrity (Verses 12-14)
- Point 3: The foundation of his defense: God’s faithfulness through him (Verses 18-24)
Q&A
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