Introduction

We took a short intermission from 2 Corinthians over the last two Sundays, but now we return. I don’t know how many times I’ve read through Scripture, but I know I haven’t read it enough. There are still passages I forget, details I miss, but every time I read it, it feels new. It’s not because the Word of God has changed, but because I have changed. I’m not the same person I was a year ago, or three years ago, and even how I read and understand Scripture has been shaped and transformed by the Holy Spirit. In the past, I saw 1 and 2 Corinthians as Paul’s angry letters to the Corinthian church, scolding them for their lack of faith, criticizing their conduct and their sins. I saw it as “look at this messy church—don’t be like them.” But now, I see it differently. Yes, it is a messy church, and yes, it is going through pain and suffering, but it is a church that God loves. God’s message through Paul is not just correction, but a message of love and hope in Jesus Christ. And the reality is, God wasn’t talking about some other people or some other church; God was saying, “this is you.” This is not just the story of the Corinthian church—it is our story too.

Introduction

The book of Romans is one of the clearest and most powerful explanations of the gospel in all of Scripture. But it is not just giving us doctrines to understand or truths to believe—it is telling us a story, a story that we are all part of. It is the story of what went wrong in the beginning and how God has been working to make it right.

We are people who love stories. There is something about stories that draws us in because they reflect something true about our lives. Many of us, at some point, have wished that we could go back in time. We think about moments we regret, decisions we wish we could undo, words we wish we could take back, and we imagine what it would be like if we could just go back and fix it. But we all know that we cannot do that. Time moves forward, and the past cannot be changed.

But the gospel tells us something greater. God does not go back to undo the past, but He steps into history to redeem it. He does not erase what has happened, but He brings it to its proper end. He takes what was broken and makes it new. And in doing so, He tells the greatest story ever told—the story of how what was broken in the beginning is restored through Jesus Christ.

Introduction

What is baptism? How do we live a baptized life as God’s people? There is a rich reality that we usually don’t realize regarding baptism. A big part of that reality is your identity. Your Identity is identified in baptism, and the church is a group of baptized people.

Baptism is the illustration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ baptism is an illustration (and foreshadow) of his death and resurrection. Jesus was baptized before the start of his ministry and it is the picture of Jesus will eventually do in his death and resurrection. This is a simple yet profound truth that warrants exploring.

Introduction

We’re continuing through the book of 2 Corinthians, which is a wonderful book to go through in the season of Lent as Easter approaches—a time when we remember the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians is saturated with the gospel, but more than that, it shows us how to live the gospel out in our lives.

Last week in chapter 4, we saw the glory of the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today in chapter 5, we see what God is doing and what He calls us to do with that light.

Introduction

We’re continuing through the book of 2 Corinthians, and you may have noticed that this letter to the Corinthian church isn’t primarily didactical. It’s not mainly a letter explaining doctrine in a systematic way. Rather, it is deeply personal and biographical. Through Paul’s life and ministry, God shows us what it looks like to live out the gospel in real life.

Today’s passage continues Paul’s discussion of the new covenant—the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is described as the light of the world, and that light shines into the darkness of our lives and into a dark world. Paul now explains how that light works through the lives of believers.

Introduction

We’re continuing in our series through 2 Corinthians. Just to recap, the Corinthian church had gone through many hardships and issues. False teachers had entered the church causing trouble and division, especially regarding the church’s relationship with Paul. The Corinthians began to doubt and question Paul’s apostleship and authority because his life demonstrated weakness and suffering and did not meet their expectations of what an apostle of God should look like. As we work our way through 2 Corinthians, we begin to see that this was not just a simple misunderstanding. The problems in the church ran deeper than that.

In today’s passage we see more clues about how serious these issues had become. There were people actively trying to undermine and tear down Paul’s ministry, claiming that it was no good. But as usual, Paul is not interested in defending himself based on his own achievements or credentials. Instead, he makes his appeal to the Lord and to the gospel.

Introduction

2 Corinthians is one of the most personal epistles written by the Apostle Paul. We see Paul open his heart and his life in Christ, and it is overflowing with love for the Corinthians. During the 18 months that Paul served to build up the church, he poured himself out for them. The truth of the gospel had to be proclaimed, but the love of God also had to be demonstrated to a people whose normal way of life had been marked by sin, immorality, and pagan idolatry.

Despite the accusations and attacks brought against him, Paul’s love for them did not change. It was out of love that he grieved for them. It was out of love that he wrote to them. Even in his defense of his apostleship, it is love that governs his heart.

In today’s passage, Paul continues his defense as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he does so by making his appeal to Christ. Even in defending himself, he exemplifies Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” He does not point to credentials, strengths, or success. He points to Christ. His defense shifts the focus toward restoring love, promoting repentance and forgiveness, and pursuing reconciliation within the church—and between himself and them.

Introduction

We’re currently going through the book of 2 Corinthians which was written by the Apostle Paul. For those of you who don’t know, Paul was chosen by Jesus Christ to be the apostle to the gentiles, the non-Jewish world. Paul became one of the greatest apostles whom the Spirit of God used to write 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament, almost half. And the church at Corinth was a church that he had given at least 18 months of his life to plant. Yet, it is this church that was attacking him.

Last week, we found the apostle Paul defending his authority and authenticity as an apostle of Jesus against the Corinthian church who were roused up by false teachers and others who joined them, and their genuine doubt of Paul because of how his life demonstrated weakness and suffering which did not meet their expectations of what an apostle of Jesus Christ should look like.

In today’s passage, Paul is defending himself against those who were now making accusations against his character.

Introduction

As you may know, 1 Corinthians was written in response to many problems and issues in the Corinthian church. 2 Corinthians is Paul’s response to other issues that later came up in the church—particularly regarding Paul himself and his authority and authenticity as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Their reasons for doubting his apostleship came from 2 reason: (1) false teachers were running amok in the church self claiming to be apostle; (2) the main reason is how the people of the Corinthian church were raised in the culture of the Roman Greco world.

Corinth was a major trade center of the Roman Empire, known for immorality and spiritual corruption. It welcomed many gods—the Greek and Roman pantheon, Egyptian deities, various cults, and emperor worship. This cultural and environment shaped their worldview regarding comfort and suffering.

Their worldview told them:

• power equals legitimacy and authority

• victory and success equal divine favor

• suffering equals weakness, and weakness equals shame

So when Paul shows up looking weak, beaten, afflicted, and unimpressive—while false teachers present themselves as “super-apostles”—it created confusion. Paul did not fit their expectations of what an apostle should look like.

Paul begins his response in verse 1 by grounding everything in the will of God. He is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” In the same breath, he reminds them that they are saints and the church of God by that same will. Nothing about their existence is self-made. Paul’s authority is not self-appointed; it is rooted in the sovereign will of God.

That is why Paul begins this letter by talking about comfort and suffering because their issue with Paul comes from their misunderstanding of comfort and suffering in relation to the grace, purposes, and will of God.

Introduction

Last week, we looked at how Christ invites us to choose between the wide gate and the narrow gate (Christ Himself) and he invites us to walk the narrow path that leads to life. Today, Psalm 23 shows us what that path really looks like.

Many Christians stay with the first three verses because of the comforting images and promises. But David is illustrating a path. The path begins at green pastures and still waters, descends into the valley of the shadow of death, passes through the presence of enemies, and finally ends in the house of the Lord.

Psalm 23 was never meant to be read as a stand alone psalm. It forms a trilogy with Psalm 22 and Psalm 24, creating a path through the themes of each psalm. Psalm 22 begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” words Jesus Himself quoted on the cross. It describes what life may often feels like as you walk the narrow and difficult path: feeling abandoned by God; God has turned His back on your prayers, doubting His love - and what the Bible says is love, doesn’t feel like love, when you’re hurting.

But something changes between Psalm 22 and Psalm 23. It went from “My God why have you forsaken me” to “The Lord is my Shepherd” That something is worship. Then Psalm 24 reveals the fully glory of who the Shepherd is and the victory that God’s people receive through their Shepherd when they walk down the narrow path.

Introduction

Today’s passage comes from what is famously known as the Sermon on the Mount in Gospel of Matthew 5–7. If you are anything like me, you may have read these chapters almost like an instruction book on how God’s people should live. That is usually how we read things in our context. We move from A to B to C, from introduction to conclusion.

But Jewish thinking often works a little differently. It circles back. It repeats. It layers the same truth again and again. Instead of simply moving forward, it keeps returning to one central point. That is why sometimes reading Paul can feel confusing. And we find the same thing here in the Sermon on the Mount. It is almost as if God is saying, “This is important, so I’m going to say it again and again.”

So Matthew 5–7 must be read as one message. Jesus is not giving random teachings. He is pressing one central question into our hearts.

Introduction

Today’s sermon is part two of last week’s sermon on worship. However, let’s take a quick look at today’s main passage first.

The greater context of today’s passage in the book of Deuteronomy is Moses giving his final sermon to the Israelites as they near the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The first generation who rebelled against the Lord has passed away, and the second generation now stands ready to enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. Moses is reminding and renewing the covenant between God and His people, calling them back to love and faithfulness so that it may go well with them in the land.

Just before this passage in chapter 10, Moses recounts Israel’s failures—the golden calf and many other blunders. Israel broke the covenant again and again, yet it was God who sustained the covenant through His mercy and steadfast love.

Then the Lord invites His people to respond: to fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all their heart and soul, and to obey His commands. These are not separate tasks but one whole life. In other words, worship. And if you remember last week’s sermon, you’ll recognize that the same foundations appear in Romans 12:1–2.

Last week we talked about what worship is. Today I want to talk about why we worship.

God loves worship, but He does not need our worship. He does not need people to praise Him to satisfy insecurity or ego. Worship is not for God’s benefit but for ours—for our good, as Deuteronomy 10:13 says. God is already perfect and complete. Worship is His gift to us.