1. Preaching 1 Corinthians 8 - 10

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IC3 Church Growth & Development Conference: April 30-May 2, 2018

3.
I Corinthians 8:1-3
Knowledge versus Love

4. 1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that "We all possess knowledge." But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3But whoever loves God is known by God Corinthians 8:1-3

5. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
Knowledge of God is not the same as being known by God.  It is loving God that gives us the true knowledge by allowing us to love God through loving God’s people. 
Preaching Possibilities:
Love of God and neighbor
Knowledge of God is not enough
The flaws of Enlightenment Thinking

6.
I Corinthians 8:4-6
One God and One Lord

7. 4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that "An idol is nothing at all in the world" and that "There is no God but one." 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one LORD, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live Corinthians 8:4-6

8. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
The powers and authorities do not compare to the power and authority of God.  There is only one God and one Lord Jesus Christ. 
Preaching Possibilities:
The God of Scripture versus worldly powers
The Doctrine of the Trinity

9. Caring for the family of God
I Corinthians 8:9-13
Caring for the family of God

10. 9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol's temple, won't that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall Corinthians 8:9-13

11. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
What things are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of our brothers and sisters in the gospel.  When we consider them, we take on a cruciform mentality and behold ourselves to the character of Christ.  In so doing, we endear them to the faith.  When we choose to put our own desires ahead of them, we sin not only against them but against Christ himself. 
Preaching Possibilities:
Other-focused Ministry in the Church
Ecclesiology
Adapting Church Culture for Millennials

12. The Preacher’s Defense
I Corinthians 9:1-6
Paul’s Defense and
The Preacher’s Defense

13. 1Am I not free. Am I not an apostle. Have I not seen Jesus our LORD
1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our LORD? Are you not the result of my work in the LORD? 2Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the LORD. 3This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4Don't we have the right to food and drink? 5Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the LORD's brothers and Cephas? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? Corinthians 9:1-6

14. 1 Corinthians 9:1-6 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
Paul’s defense is based in his faith in the results of effective ministry. Paul saw the Lord. Paul out of obedience to the Lord worked to change the lives of people. They themselves are proof of the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry. What Paul did was out of sacrifice for the people of God and following the character of the one who saved him.
Preaching Possibilities:
The Spiritual Effects of Pastoral Work

15.
I Corinthians 9:7-14
Stewardship

16. 7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14In the same way, the LORD has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel Corinthians 9:7-14

17. 1 Corinthians 9:7-14 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
The pastors job is to care for the people of God.  They are entrusted in the pastor’s care.  The people are then obligated to care for the pastor.  If he has sown spiritual things it is not wrong for him to reap carnal things.  Even though Paul did not take this right himself, he was owed this because of his willingness to sacrifice for the people of God. 
Preaching Possibilities:
The Need to Care for the Pastor
Sowing spiritual things should warrant a carnal harvest
The Farmer should eat of his or her own fruit

18. “Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel!
I Corinthians 9:15-16
“Woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel!

19. 15But I have not used any of these rights
15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! Corinthians 9:15-16

20. 1 Corinthians 9:15-16 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
The compulsion of the gospel demands participation in God’s divine call. 
Preaching Possibilities:
Just like Fire Shut Up In My Bones!
The difference between the Pastor and the Hireling

21. Becoming Relevant in Ministry
I Corinthians 9:17-23
Becoming Relevant in Ministry

22. 17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel. 19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings Corinthians 9:17-23

23. 1 Corinthians 9:17-23 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
Paul continues the discussion of his freedom and suggests that his freedom allows him to serve others. It is because he is free that he able to serve others for the purpose of their salvation. He can become all things to all people in a similar fashion to the one who became a ransom for the salvation of all.
Preaching Possibilities:
Effective Preaching is Adaptive Preaching
A Servant’s Heart

24.
I Corinthians 9:24-27
Run the Race

25. 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

26. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Description of passage: Preaching Possibilities:
Paul describes the responsibility of the preacher in terms of the discipline of athletics. The runner does not run without the goal in mind and the boxer does not merely shadowbox. There is a prize to be won. The call of preaching entails recognition that God intends to reward our efforts. We must work with this understanding in mind.
Preaching Possibilities:
The Discipline of the Preacher