New Sunday School Class | The Beautiful Messy Church

The Beautiful Messy Church

A Study of 1 Corinthians

After Paul's introduction to the church in Corinth, he begins the body of the letter with the statement, "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought" (1 Corinthians 1:10). Why would he start off his letter indicating the division within the church? The church in Corinth was messy. The imperfect church consisted of imperfect people trying to worship God and be faithful to Jesus while living in the context of their culture. This caused significant problems and divisions in the church, making it ineffective for the kingdom, but Paul sought to correct these issues and bring out the beauty of the church.

There are ten significant problems Paul addresses in the letter that can be related to the current church, and he provides a gospel solution to each. This study will focus on the problems and solutions while connecting them to contemporary culture. We will discuss how we, as flawed people, worship and successfully serve the kingdom despite our imperfections. We will also discuss how we can live up to Paul's closing words, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13-14), so we can impact the culture for God's kingdom. Would you consider joining us as we dive into this beautiful, messy church to learn how to overcome the cultural impact on the church and be a light to this often dark world?

We will meet Sunday Mornings at 9:30 in the South Building "Warehouse" room starting Sunday, April 16th.