Emergency Exit

Let’s begin with prayer:

"Lord God, I pray that Your Spirit would give me Your Words this morning. We have come to this place to worship You and to hear from You. If all we hear is some anecdotes, then we’ve missed the point. Our very lives are intricately a part of what you are doing in this world. Help us to see what You have called us to do. Not only that, strengthen us and embolden us to do what you’ve called us to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

Did anyone notice the title for today’s message before it went up on the screen? Emergency exit is the title. Has anyone been in a situation where you had to evacuate due to an emergency? Up to this point, I have not been in a real evacuation, although I’ve participated in several drills and a couple of false alarms in school and at work.

Abounding Grace

2 Corinthians 9:1-15Welcome! Today we continue our series on 2 Corinthians, looking deeply into some powerful, powerful verses in Chapter 9. Today’s passage, like that of last week, deals with giving, but it also applies in many other areas of life. Now, it may help to briefly recap what we saw last week, in Chapter 8. The chapter begins with Paul talking about the generosity of the Macedonian churches, those in the northern part of Greece, including the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. These people were eager to give to a collection Paul was taking for the Jerusalem church even though they themselves were experiencing extreme poverty and trials and persecution. Paul exhorted the Corinthians likewise to be generous. In I Corinthians, Paul had instructed them to take weekly collections for this purpose, and they had responded by doing so. Now, about a year or so later, Paul instructed them to continue and in fact complete the collection so that when Paul and his companions came to Corinth, they would be ready to give them the funds.

The Grace of Giving

2 Corinthians 8:1-24Welcome! Today we will continue our study of 2 Corinthians, focusing in on Chapter 8. Both Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 deal with the topic of giving. I have a lot of ground to cover today, so let me get right to the passage.

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. – 2 Corinthians 8:1-4

Godly Sorrow

II Corinthians 7:2-16

Good morning. Before we get into today’s message, I want to take a moment and pray that God would speak to us today.

Lord God, You are sovereign. You have authority over all things. And, “You have exalted above all things your name and your word.” (Ps 138:2b) I pray that your spirit would stir in our hearts. I pray that I would speak Your words, and I pray that our hearts would receive them and live them out. Thank You for giving us your Word both in Jesus Christ as the Word made flesh and the Bible that we can read every day. Amen.

Okay, so we’re in chapter 7 of II Corinthians. Today’s message will bring us to the end of the first section of this letter. Through the first 7 chapters, Paul wrote to the Corinthians with an apologetic focus. He has been explaining his conduct, his ministry, and his heart.

In today’s passage, Paul is going to make some reference to his travel plans as well as a trip by Titus. So, I’d like to take some time to make an overview of who’s going where when and who’s writing what when and from where. Got it?