2 Corinthians 8 “Grace”

v.1-6 The fruit of grace on the Macedonia church while in great trials of affliction:
               1) abundance of joy
               2) in deep poverty abounded riches of liberality
               3) willing beyond their ability
v.7 we abound in many things, but make sure we abound in grace
v.8 not by commandment –> it must be voluntary
v.9 follow Jesus’s example of being self giving
v.10-11 their may be a readiness and desire, but there has to be completion
v.12-15 Grace develops a team that each individual functions at their best and helps each other when they are weak.
v.16-17 Grace will produce drive
v.18-19 Grace is a gift.

Grace is the ability to do something beyond our own natural ability. God desires that we live and operate in it daily. This is important in our daily lives to live free from sin and walk in the freedom of fulfilling the will of God in our life. Pray and ask the Lord for his grace (strength and ability) today!

2 Corinthians 7 “Repentance”

v.1 purify ourselves of the things that contaminate us
v.2-4 Paul has a great love for the people. This is an characteristic of Apostolic leadership.
v.5 Paul had to face great resistance through facing rejection and fear.
v.6 The Lord comforts us
v.7 Comforting one another is important and gives hope to the one receiving the comfort.
v.8 Paul spoke strong in his first letter to the Corinthians, but it produced repentance and life to the people.
v.9-10 Godly sorrow and repentance leads to salvation
v.11 fruit of repentance: earnestness, indignation, alarm, longing, concern, readiness to see justice done.
v12-16 Paul was excited to see the love they had for Titus and the encouragement they gave to him.

Paul in this Chapter refers to his personal hardship and fears he has had to face in being obedient to the calling on his life. 1 Corinthians was the first letter Paul wrote to the church Corinth, it was very strong letter. It really shook up the people. He talks about the difficulty of speaking the truth. In him doing so it produced repentancein the life of the people. Titus was refreshed spiritually by being with the church. This is sign of repentance. They were filled with life.

Potato Creek State Park

I went camping with the family this past weekend. It was great getting away from everything and spend time as a family. My daughter said her favorite thing of the weekend was swimming.

2 Corinthians 6

v.1 in vain – it is possible to refuse or miss the the benefits of grace
v.2 the Lord has heard us and will help us
v.3-5 there is challenges in following Christ
v.6-8 the characteristics we live by daily
v.11 openness is very important
v.12 we are only restricted by our own afflictions

Avoid Things that may capture our hearts devotion to Christ
v.14 yoked – something that binds, unites or connects
     -be careful who we unite to in life.
v.15-18 We are the place where Christ has chosen to abide. We need to protect that relationship by not allowing the things of this world to pollute our relationship with Christ.

Bible Study

Welcome to Church of the Heartland, Starke County!! We are doing a daily Bible study and we would like you to join us. We are reading 2 Corinthians together and commenting on this blog what we are getting as we study and read the Bible. If you would like to comment on a post click on the comment button under the title of the posting. We would love to hear you feedback. Have a great Day!!

Cranium

Today in my Sunday message, I spoke about paper. It has a million different uses. As pictured above, paper can be made into very creative things. God has a design and plan for our lives that far excedes our expectations. Many times we limit the potential in us by creating things out of our lives, like this frog, because we do not really have a clear idea of the great plans God has. Romans 12:1-2 talks about presenting ourselves to Christ as a living sacrifice. Laying down ourselves with our strengths and weakness on a daily basis is what the Bible says is our “act of worship”. The key to a life with Christ is daily laying down us and in the process we will begin to walk in God’s exciting plan for our lives.