Grace and peace! Episode 85 of The Life and Times of the Early Church is up on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, etc.

An introduction to Second Corinthians and a verse-by-verse study of 2 Corinthians 1:1-11.

Paul’s opening words prepare the church for the key issues he will address in the letter.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 16:1-24.

Paul brings his letter to the church to a close with some parting exhortations and an example of what love in action looks like in the Corinthian setting.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 15:44-58.

Paul brings his teaching on the resurrection to a close by revealing a mystery—he has explained what happens to the dead when Jesus returns, but there will be many Christians who are still alive when that event takes place.

What happens to them?

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 15:35-43.

Paul has made his case for the reality of the resurrection in the first part of chapter 15. In verses 35-43, his teaching shifts from the fact of the resurrection to the nature of the resurrection body. What will it be like?

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 15:20-34.

Part two of Paul’s teaching on the resurrection.

When Jesus returns to earth, God’s people, both living and dead, will be transformed and receive new, eternal bodies.

But this is just the beginning, Paul says. Christ will destroy all opposition to his reign in the universe—both human and demonic. Then death itself will be destroyed.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 15:1-19.

Part one of Paul’s teaching on the resurrection.

The Corinthians accepted the fact that Jesus had been ressurrected from the dead—they just didn’t see how that would be possible for the rest of us.

So Paul begins with a subject he and they are in complete agreement about: Christ was raised from the dead. Then from that fact he builds his case for the resurrection of believers.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.

Paul returns to his teaching on spiritual gifts and their place in worship. His focus is on on gift in particular: glossolalia—what we often refer to as “speaking in tongues.” He explains how the gift can be used to strengthen and encourage others and the dangers of abusing the gift.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Corinthians 14:1-25.

In this passage, which follows Paul’s teaching on the nature of love in chapter 13, he says that the single goal of the church should be to pursue love, which is expressed in the language of “building up” the church.

He then explains the importance of using the gift of speaking in tongues in a way that strengthens and encourages others.

May the Lord bless your study of His Word!