One God Whose Name Is Love

We apply Paul’s seven lenses for the question “how do we be good neighbors”?

If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain, and you are dead in your sins. But since Christ is raised from the dead, He will also raise your body by the power of his spirit. He shall return to make all things right, and we shall live with him forever in glory. We live out of this hope…and we die with this hope.

Jimmy Shaw, a West Side Shepherd, challenges us to consider what it means to have one Lord–especially during a hyper partisan election season.

Show me your way of life…and I’ll show you what you believe. Join us this Sunday as we reflect on our “way of life in Christ” (1 Cor 4:17). We will tell of our shared faith story as we welcome 4 new shepherds to lead this flock under Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power…freedom…transformation…unity…glory.
The wisdom of the world can’t hold a candle to the mind of the Spirit. And we, people of the Spirit, sharing in one Spirit, walking by one Spirit, empowered by one Spirit, shine like lights in the world, radiating with power and glory that comes from the crucified Lord.

Paul’s answer to the divisive factions in Corinth is a call to unity: one body, centered on one Lord, sharing one baptism. Paul asks them to consider three profound questions (1 Cor 1:13): Can Christ be divided? Who was crucified for you? Into whose name were you baptized?

It is a central feature of the 7 ones in Ephesians 4. It was Jesus’ final wish in his garden prayer. And it is the plea of Paul to the church of God at Corinth. Avoid division and pursue unity for you are one body in Christ.

Could Jesus live in Corinth? In our opening lesson exploring First Corinthians, we are going to put on a set of lenses to see the church and the world anew. These 7 lenses show how a Christian can navigate their way in a dark world and yet see others (and themselves) in the light of hope. Yes, Jesus could live in Corinth. The pressing question then is whether Corinth will see Jesus in us.