Jeff Miller

August 23, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified, Because Jesus Was Raised

The Resurrection Means Everything

Jeff Miller

August 23, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified, Because Jesus Was Raised

Introduction:

Why the Resurrection Means Everything (1 Corinthians 15:12-34):

The resurrection SHAPES my FAITH. (1 Cor 15:12-28)

IF There Is No Resurrection:
1. PREACHING the Gospel: Meaningless. (1 Cor 15:12-14a)
2. FAITH in Christ: Meaningless. (1 Cor 15:14b)
3. Your BIBLE : Blasphemous. (1 Cor 15:15)
4. Your SIN : Not forgiven. (1 Cor 15:16-17)
5. Believers who have DIED : Gone forever. (1 Cor 15:18)
6. CHRISTIANS : The worst. (1 Cor 15:19)
The resurrection STOPS my FEAR. (1 Cor 15:29-32)
The resurrection SELECTS my FRIENDS. (1 Cor 15:33-34)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:05
Open up your Bibles with me please to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. While we're turning there, just ask that you would please take a moment to pray for me, to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly, and I will pray for you that your heart would be open to receive what it is that God has said in His Word. Deal? All right. Thank you both.
00:34
Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We're asking now that You would eliminate any distractions in our minds and our hearts, that we would focus solely on what it is You've communicated to us. Father, lay on our hearts the importance of this Word because of who said it.
01:04
that we're not here to talk about my opinion or some old preacher's opinion. We're here to talk about what you have said in your word. So I pray that that would drive the attentiveness that we give to what it is you've said here, Father. We thank you in advance for what you're going to do. We pray in Jesus' name that all of God's people Amen. Amen. Alright. Who here is a golfer? Raise your hand if you're a golfer. Some of you are shy about it. I'm sorry, is it a secret? I see some of you. Yes, it's a secret. Come on, raise them high. Raise them proud. Who's a golfer? Even if you play golf. You don't have to be on the PGA.
02:06
Do you know? I've never played golf a day in my life. I'm not against golf. I've just never played it. When I was in high school, I was going over to my friend's house, and he was in his, it was actually his grandparents' house, and he was in the backyard hitting golf balls into the woods, just whoosh, whoosh. So I show up. He's like, hey, I'm almost done. I'll be with you in a minute.
02:34
So I don't golf. I'm just like do-do-do-do-do-do. And I look, and in the tree, like where the branches split, there was a wiffle ball in the tree. I'm like, I wonder how that got there. So I pulled this wiffle ball out, and I was shocked at how heavy it was for its size. Very intriguing. I can tell you're intrigued by it. I certainly was. So he's hitting the golf balls, and I said, hey, check out how heavy this ball is. And I tossed it to him. And he was like, ha-ha. And he took a swing. Let me tell you what I think he thought was going to happen. I think he thought he was going to hit that wiffle ball like into the woods, launch it in midair like baseball style, right? So I'm like, hey, check out how heavy this ball is. I threw it. And he's like, whew. And he swings and the ball hits the middle of the golf club, like the shaft.
03:34
and it explodes.
03:37
And he's standing there holding the handle.
03:39
And his eyes were like as big as silver dollars.
03:42
He's like, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
03:45
I'm like, what's the matter?
03:47
He's like, this was my grandfather's brand new driver.
03:55
And I found out later it was very expensive.
03:58
I don't know.
03:58
I don't play golf.
03:59
I told you that.
04:00
But he's like, I'm like, what's the problem? He's like, this was his brand new driver. And I'm like, his driver? I said, is that important? And he's like, is that important? It's the most important club. And he got in all kind of trouble and we all laughed. Well, he didn't, but we all did. Like, why did I tell you this? That story.
04:31
Because here's the thing, in golf world, I was completely oblivious to the most important thing. I didn't know. I didn't know. The driver, it is important, right? It's important. Okay, all right. It is important. I was clueless. And you know, fast forward a few decades, let's get out of golf world, let's get in church world, the principle still stands, I think.
04:59
There are so many people in church world that are ignorant of the most important thing. And the most important thing, biblically, is this idea of resurrection. And we talk about it in church, and there are people that are like, is that important? Like, it is the most important thing. Resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 is all about resurrection.
05:29
And the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this is by no means any kind of exaggeration, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant event in the history of the world. It's the central teaching of the church. And because Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, the Bible says his followers too will resurrect from the dead.
05:59
just a few minutes ago. Dead to self. Alive. Raised in Christ. Understand that when we talk about resurrection, it's not just like this metaphor or this poetic concept. It's real. This is literally your eternal state of being. You will resurrect. So you have to know what the Bible says.
06:29
says about this, and you have to believe this.
06:34
So on your outline today, I encourage you to take some notes, but why the resurrection means everything.
06:41
It means everything.
06:45
Number one, we're going to do some theology today.
06:50
Number one is the resurrection shapes my faith.
06:54
It shapes my faith.
06:56
Everything that we believe in this church is tied into this idea of resurrection.
07:07
It shapes my faith. We started this last week. Paul talked about the evidences that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
07:13
He talked about the grace that we receive, the gift of God.
07:18
And now when we get to this section, Paul actually plays a what-if game concerning resurrection. Paul says hypothetically, hypothetically, what would result if there were no resurrection?
07:35
What would result if Jesus didn't rise from the dead?
07:41
What would that mean?
07:42
What would be the significance for us, church, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead?
07:47
I mean, imagine the scene.
07:49
Imagine the scene.
07:51
Jesus Christ, mocked, humiliated, crucified, dead, taken from the cross, put in the tomb. Three days later, the women show up and the stone is still there. The guards are still there. The guards are like, move along, move along ladies. And Jesus is in the tomb and He stayed in the tomb.
08:21
What if there was no resurrection of Jesus Christ? What if? That's what Paul gets into here. Look at verse 12, 1 Corinthians 15. He says, now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
08:51
has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. Stop there. On your outline, if there is no resurrection, the first thing Paul says, if there is no resurrection, preaching the gospel is meaningless. Think about that. Preaching the gospel is meaningless. You are totally wasting your time here this morning. You got up and got your church clothes on and you drove here for what?
09:21
studying this. That was a complete waste of time. I wasted much of my week. You wasted your Sunday morning coming here today. You're wasting your time right now just listening to me blather on and on and on about what? Every sermon, every Bible study, every small group, every Christian book, every Christian podcast, every Christian conference is a complete waste of time and money if there's no resurrection.
09:52
Why are you here? So preaching the gospel is meaningless. Letter B, faith in Christ is meaningless. Look what he says. Rest of verse 14, he says, and your faith is in vain. If there's no resurrection, your faith is in vain. Who's your faith in? My faith is in Jesus. Oh, okay. Well, if Jesus died and stayed dead, what's so special about him? He's just in a a long list of religious leaders that showed up, said some profound things, died, and is in his tomb. Just like everybody else. There's no resurrection. Oh, by the way, Jesus throughout his ministry clearly proclaimed that he would die, and he said he would rise from the dead. So, if there's no resurrection, Jesus Christ is either crazy or he's a liar. And that's your faith? Your faith is in that one?
10:52
Let us see your bible is blasphemous your bible is blasphemous look at verse 15 he says we are even found to be misrepresenting god because we testified about god that he raised christ whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised your bible is blasphemous all of the apostolic teaching your new testament It's blasphemous. If Jesus didn't raise from the dead. Because all of these apostles preach a message and they wrote about a message and we're reading their message today that God raised Christ. It's the central thing in the entire New Testament. And we're sitting here dissecting it. For what? If Jesus didn't raise from the dead. I mean, if Jesus didn't raise from the dead, we have to ask, well, okay, if they were wrong about that, What else are they wrong about? Maybe we should just throw out the whole New Testament. So your Bible is blasphemous. Letter D. If there is no resurrection, if there is no resurrection, your sin is not forgiven. Your sin is not forgiven. Look at verses 16 and 17. He says, for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised, Christ has not been raised. Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Oh boy. You know, someday you're going to die and you're going to stand before the God who created everything and you're going to have to give an account of your life. You're going to have to give an account for all of the wrong things that you've done. Your wrong attitudes, your harsh, mean words, your actions, your thoughts. You're going to have to give an account to the creator of the universe.
12:52
And you don't have any excuse or any hope if there's no resurrection.
12:59
Because your sin is not forgiven.
13:02
Letter E.
13:06
This doesn't get more comfortable, by the way.
13:11
Believers who have died, I mean it will, but just not yet.
13:15
Believers who have died are gone forever.
13:18
Believers who have died are gone forever.
13:20
Look at verse 18. He says, Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
13:31
Fallen asleep, he's talking about they died, right?
13:35
So what about those who have believed in Jesus Christ and they died?
13:38
Guess what?
13:39
They're gone forever.
13:40
You're never going to see them again.
13:42
I have done a lot of funerals over the last almost 30 years.
13:46
Can you imagine?
13:47
No resurrection?
13:48
That's what I do.
13:48
I stand by the casket.
13:50
Hope you enjoyed your time with them because you're never going to see them again. It is over. If there's no resurrection, they're gone. And letter F, Christians are the worst. The worst. Look at verse 18. He said, I'm sorry, verse 19, excuse me. He says, If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are, of all people most, to be pitied.
14:38
Like, if Jesus just gives us some sense of contentment and fulfillment in this life, but does nothing for us after we die, He's like, we should be pitied.
14:47
We are miserable, pathetic people. We devoted our lives to what? We planted this church for what? We send missionaries all over the world for what? A dead prophet. You are lame. Oh, but look at verse 20.
15:19
He says, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Verse 20 makes all the difference. Verse 20, it's the game-changing verse here. You see, He stops, enough of the hypothetical stuff at this point. He stops the what-if thing. He says, here's the reality. Jesus Christ, did rise from the dead. So, that means your outline here, since Jesus Christ did rise from the dead, you can state all of those points in the opposite and they would be true. This is reality. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, preaching the gospel is not meaningless. No, no, no, no. Opposite. Preaching the gospel means everything.
16:17
This is literally a message of life and death. If Jesus rose from the dead. And he did. So this is the message of eternal life. Oh, and because Jesus rose from the dead, take the second one. Turn it opposite. Faith in Christ means everything. It doesn't matter what you do, who you know, how much you've accumulated in this life. In the end, in the end, there's only one thing that matters. Do you know Jesus Christ? Because faith in him means everything.
16:49
Letters see your Bible. Letters see your Bible. Let's not blasphemous because Jesus did raise from the dead. The message of the gospel is true. Your Bible is God's communication to you. Everything you need to know for life and godliness. God has given us all things through His Spirit, through His Word. We got it. Stating letter D in the opposite, your sin is forgiven. Jesus Christ takes your sin.
17:17
sin away. You are pronounced not guilty. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Sin is no longer an issue because Jesus rose from the dead. Believers who have died believing in Christ, you're going to see them again someday. See, the opposite is true because Jesus rose. His people were alive. Think of that glorious reunion.
17:47
You know, there's a lot of people in heaven I can't wait to track down. Yes, I'm going to, Jesus first, right? Exaltation of the Son of God first, but I got to tell you, there's a lot of other people I'm so looking forward to seeing again someday. And then Christians, because Jesus rose, you're not the worst. And I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings when I said that earlier. But that's what He said. You're not to be pitied.
18:17
And I don't feel right saying, well, you're going to be envied, because that's not our posture either. But just objectively, we are people in good position because we have believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have eternal life. The resurrection is the foundation of all of our theology. It shapes everything we believe.
18:47
Look at verses 21 through 22.
18:50
Because he's going to get into...
18:51
This is like the most deep and succinct explanation of theology that I think might be in the whole Bible right here.
19:02
Look at verses 21 and 22.
19:05
He says, For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
19:17
For as in Adam, that's Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, that Adam, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. This is just Theology 101. Man, Adam brought death. When Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, brought sin and death into the world. That's why the world is in the shape that it's in. That's why we are in the shape that we are in. We live in a world of sin and death. Adam brought that. The man Adam brought death, but the man, the last Adam, Jesus, brought life. He came to restore the life that we forfeited in the first Adam.
20:17
So we're talking about resurrection. You're like, okay, okay. So when does resurrection happen? Okay. Enough of the teaser here. When does it happen? Well, he tells us here. Look at verse 23. He says, but each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, Those who belong to Christ, then comes the end. Stop there for a second. Own order. He says each in his own order. He's like, there's a sequence here. We're talking about resurrection. And he says Christ is the first fruits of resurrection. Then, he says then, resurrection is going to happen to, he says it in the text here, those who belong to Christ.
21:17
to Christ. People who have received Christ will resurrect. You're like, okay, when will that happen? He tells us right here. Did you see it? Did you see it? At His coming. At His coming, He's talking about the rapture. And next week's message is all about the rapture. So you definitely don't want to miss that. But He's saying at the rapture of Christ, those who belong to Him will resurrect. And He says, Then comes the end. Like, the end. What is the end? Well, again, he gives us a great paraphrase here. Pick up in verse 24. He says, then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
22:19
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
22:25
For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.
22:32
But when it says all things are put in subjection it is plain that he is accepted who put all things in subjection under him.
22:43
When all things are subjected to him then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all. See, this passage takes us into eternity. What's he talking about here? Just very simple, right? These are broad strokes. This is like an overview of the book of Revelation. Here's what he's saying. He says, after every enemy is defeated, the redeemed are gathered together, and the bride of Christ is complete. Then Jesus returns the bride and himself to the Father. So that God is all in all. And you're like, well, thank you for the theology lesson. But what does that have to do with me?
23:47
Everything. Everything. Everything. Yes, this explains the origin of sin and death. This explains the necessity of resurrection. This explains why believing in the resurrection is absolutely essential. This explains where everything is ultimately heading. But, It means something today. It means something today about who you are and how you act and what you think and what your attitude should be today. It means everything today. And you're like, well, can you be a little more specific about that? Absolutely. Follow the text. Resurrection means everything because, number two, the resurrection stops my fear.
24:47
The resurrection stops my fear. Look at verse 29. Paul says, otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? They're like, wait, what? You know, there's a lot of people They say this is the hardest verse in the New Testament. And you can do the homework. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of interpretations. Like what in the world is he talking about here? Well, I want to show you something in the language and then show you something in the context. And I believe that Maybe it's not as hard as we make it out to be. It says here, notice he says, baptized on behalf of the dead. Now your Bible, if you have a different translation, it might say baptized for the dead. Your Bible says something like that? Okay, well, the Greek word is identical to the English word for. Okay?
26:17
Now, let's talk about English for a second, because the Greeks used their "for" in the exact same way. And when we use, we use the word "for" for everything. But the meaning of it changes drastically. And it always depends on the context, always. Always depends on the context. That's a little word, but it changes everything.
26:47
If I said to you, I'm going to the store for bread, you know what I mean, right? I am going to the store in order to obtain bread, right? But if I said to you, I took an aspirin for my headache, see the word for no longer means in order to obtain. I did not take an aspirin in order to obtain a headache. That would be silly, right?
27:18
I took an aspirin as a result of having a headache. You see, for, it's the context. I didn't go to the store as a result of having bread. I went in order to obtain. I took the aspirin as a result of having, and the context always makes the difference. With that in mind, look at the next two verses to see what the context is. What's he talking about? How is he using the word for, baptized for?
27:47
the dead. Look at verses 30 and 32. He says, Why are we in danger every hour? Some translations have and at the beginning. And why are we in danger every hour?
28:01
I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus, our Lord, I die every day.
28:09
What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?
28:15
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. You see the context? The context is persecution. Because in the first century, in the first century, when you were baptized, you were marked for death. By publicly identifying with Jesus Christ, marked for death. Paul here is talking about people who were getting baptized because they came to Christ from the influence of someone killed for their faith. Meaning the living person was baptized for because of the dead. You're like, how can the death of a faithful person inspire How can that be? Do you remember Charlie Kirk? We just saw this. We just saw as a result of his faithfulness and death, we saw a spiritual awakening. And it's not up to me to determine how many of those people truly came to Christ and how many just became interested in spiritual things. God sorts that out. That's not my job.
29:45
how somebody being faithful and giving his life for his faith in Christ can inspire others to step up.
29:55
Here's Paul's point.
29:58
If there is no resurrection, why would anybody get baptized?
30:04
Why would you stand for Christ?
30:06
Why would you die for Christ if there is no resurrection?
30:09
Why would you do that?
30:11
And then he just simply illustrates that with his own life.
30:13
He says, look, I die every day. Every single day of my life, I'm living out my death. Why would you do that, Paul? Because I believe that I'm going to resurrect someday. So if there is no resurrection coming to Christ, then standing for Christ is idiotic because it brings persecution. You might as well live it up, eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
30:45
But, when I really believe Christ resurrected, when I really believe that someday I'm going to resurrect, it changes how I live.
31:01
Sharing the gospel, serving Him and His church, serving others in the name of Jesus, it all matters for eternity, so it doesn't matter what it costs me, even my life.
31:16
No fear.
31:19
That's what he's saying. The resurrection stops my fear.
31:23
No fear. Remember back in the day, some of you are way too young to remember this. Remember back in the day when if you had a pickup, you had a no fear decal on the windshield? How many people remember the no fear?
31:35
Remember that? Okay, some of you do.
31:43
It's a real easy sentiment when there's nothing to fear. Right? Because we say that in the church, right? No fear! I'll stand for Jesus no matter what! Yeah, well, you know, before 2020, it was so much easier to claim you have no fear, because you could sit in the church and you had nothing to fear. I was thinking a lot about that. Remember, again, some of you might be too young to remember, and I might be showing my age here, but do you remember COVID? Do you remember COVID? Do you remember COVID? Those glory days when the store would hang big pieces of plastic?
32:37
Between you and the cashier. And then the cashier would proceed to touch all the things you just touched and then hand them back to you after she touched them. Remember that? Fun times. COVID did so much damage. We watched churches close. We watched Christians buy into fear. Do you know how much venom was spewed at me from people who left our church? Because how How dare we? How dare we? We should close the church. I was rebuked. But you know, with all the damage that happened as a result of COVID, there have been a lot of amazing things that God has done as a result. And here's one good thing that happened with COVID. You know, when we stand here and say, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid. Well, it showed us who really meant it.
33:40
Do you really believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Do you really believe that? Then you'll serve God without fear. Without fear. What's the worst thing anybody can do to me? Kill me. You can't threaten me with heaven. Bring it. No fear. The resurrection stops my fear. Then finally, Number three, the resurrection selects my friends. He says, do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Do not be deceived. Paul's like, stop lying to yourself. Bad company ruins good morals. Understand this. Please hear me.
34:37
a whole nother big long word study. But when he talks about bad company, he's talking about people you are very, very closely associated with. Your BFFs. Okay? That's what he's talking about here. Bad company ruins good morals. Don't lie to yourself. Bad company ruins good morals. Alright? Alright? And you're like, wait, wait, wait. That seems like an awfully random proverb to just drop.
35:07
up in here, doesn't it? Paul's like, resurrection, resurrection, resurrection, Proverb! Like, wait, wait, wait, what? What happened? Where did that come from?
35:17
That's a random thing, isn't it? No, it's not. Here's why. Listen, Paul says that theology is caught, not just taught.
35:34
You are influenced by.
35:39
And you become like the people that you're closest to.
35:44
That's just the way it is.
35:47
I want you to think about the people that you are closest to in your life.
35:52
You're just like them.
35:55
Look around at your friends.
35:57
If your friends are all knuckleheads, guess what you are?
36:05
If your closest friends are not believers, you're going to start embracing their values and their ways of thinking and their ways of talking, and you're going to start living just like them if you're not already.
36:19
And that's contrary to the way of living God has called us to.
36:25
Bad company ruins good morals.
36:27
I don't have to give much of a sales pitch here because you know it's true. You know it's true. When you hang out with your unsafe friends, don't you find it so much easier to complain right along with them? You're a Pastor Taylor servant about complaining, but you're with them and they're all complaining and you just kind of get swept up in it. Now, yeah, everything stinks to you too. You're complaining. When you hang out with your unsafe friends, do you gossip with them? I don't normally like to talk about rumors that I heard, but boy, they're just unloading. I've got to share the stuff that I think I heard. Crude remarks and jokes, you know, when you're with the guys and all the perverted nonsense. We just go right along with it. Let me tell you some jokes that I've heard. Bad company ruins good morals. You're like, wait, wait, wait, but Pastor Jeff, shouldn't we evangelize? Yeah. Listen, we're to reach the lost, not get our theology from them.
37:28
or learn habits from them.
37:32
Look at verse 34.
37:35
He says, Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right and do not go on sinning.
37:44
For some have no knowledge of God.
37:46
I say this to your shame.
37:51
He's like, Wake up.
37:52
Stop sinning.
37:54
You're acting like people who don't know God.
37:57
Shame on you.
37:59
Those we are most closely associated with are going to have the biggest impact on us. Today, did you notice the tables when you came in? Did you notice all these tables? You know what those are for? It's small group sign-up day. And I am begging you to get in a small group. Surround yourself with people who are going to push you to Jesus.
38:27
Instead of dragging you away from them. Do you believe in the resurrection? If you do, you can't live like those who don't know God. You can't live like you did before you came to Christ. And Paul says you can't even keep the same closest unsaved friends.
39:00
The resurrection selects my friends.
39:06
We can have our worship team join us back up here on the platform.
39:10
I'd like you to bow your heads.
39:16
You know, we, in this service, we saw, we witnessed three brave young ladies Make a public confession. Make a public declaration. Now it's your turn. To make a declaration. Just keep your heads bowed. And in light of this passage, the first declaration you need to make is this. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Can you say that? Say that in your heart to God. Say that in your heart to God. And if you're not there, like God, please manifest the truth.
39:54
of your word in my heart by your spirit. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and I believe everything that that means.
40:08
In light of the text, the second thing I want you to say to the Lord today, this week, the rest of your walk, I have nothing to fear.
40:21
This life, this body, is temporary. Heaven is eternal. My resurrected body that we're going to be talking about over the next couple of weeks, my resurrected body is going to be eternal. I have nothing to fear here whatsoever.
40:40
Can you say that in your heart before the Lord because of you, because of your promise? I have nothing to fear.
40:53
Then finally, Can you confess this in your heart? Before the Lord. God, you have called me to identify with the church, not the lost. And yes, we are to witness, we are to evangelize, we are to invite people to come and see. But when we identify, with people who don't know you.
41:29
It's going to have an effect on us.
41:32
God, you've given us a huge warning right here in your word.
41:35
Bad company ruins good morals.
41:41
So can you confess that in your heart before the Lord?
41:43
God, I want to identify with the church, not the lost.
41:54
Father, we thank you.
41:59
And it's, I guess, easy to have the positive peer pressure in this room to say these things.
42:06
But I pray, Father, that these truths from your word would resound in our hearts and minds.
42:13
That our lives, our very lives revolve around the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
42:23
that we don't live in fear of anything except for the fear of the Lord. Father, we would find our greatest friendships to be other people who have made the great confession of Jesus Christ. Glorify your name, Father, in your church. We pray in Jesus' name.
42:49
Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-34

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Explain 1 Cor 15:29. How do “the dead” influence people to be baptized?
How can you keep friendships with nonbelievers without being influenced by them?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

August 16, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified, Because Jesus Was Raised

We Live in Grace

Jeff Miller

August 16, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified, Because Jesus Was Raised

Introduction:

Daniel 12:2 - And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:29 - ...those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Romans 10:9 - because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

3 Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8):

The CHURCH . (1 Cor 15:1-2)
SCRIPTURE . (1 Cor 15:3-4)

Isaiah 53:10 - Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Psalm 16:10 (Acts 2) - For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
EYEWITNESSES . (1 Cor 15:5-8)

3 Evidences You Have Received God's Grace (1 Corinthians 15:9-11):

You don't think you're WORTHY . (1 Cor 15:9)
You DEFINE yourself by grace. (1 Cor 15:10a)
You are motivated to WORK by grace. (1 Cor 15:10b-11)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:04
1 Corinthians chapter 15. My wife Erin was talking to a good friend of hers, Sharon. And Sharon told her this story that I've been thinking about all week. She said she took a bunch of youth to this youth conference. And they asked everybody to stand up. We're not going to do this here today. But she asked everybody to stand up.
00:34
I asked everybody to stand up and asked who had been saved for a year. And did they know at least one Bible verse? And if not, sit down. Right? And then who'd been saved for two years? You know two Bible verses. If not, you can sit down. And it went up. Who's been saved five years? Do you know five Bible verses? If not, sit down. And by the time the exercise was done, nobody was standing.
01:04
And I keep thinking about that. It's not a matter of learning Bible verses to be like ready for Bible bowl or just in case you're on Jeopardy and New Testament is one of the categories. That's not the purpose of learning the Word of God. What is the purpose of learning the Word of God?
01:35
What you really believe shapes how you live. That's just a reality. You live according to what you really believe is true. We just finished a section of 1 Corinthians with Q&A. And I think it's where this Bible knowledge intersects with the biggest question.
02:04
we really discover the biblical ignorance of a lot of people in church. And the biggest question is, what happens after we die? You know, thinking about all of those matters, you know, our death and rapture and return of Jesus and resurrection and heaven and hell, and what about all of that? Look, I've been doing this a long time, and I've been part, of so many funerals.
02:40
And it's always astounding to me, at a funeral, even people that say they've been following Christ for many, many years, it's astounding to me some of the crazy unbiblical things people say.
02:56
For example, I've heard this many times at a funeral.
03:00
They're like, well, you know what? God just needed another angel. And I'm like, there is so much wrong with that statement. First of all, God needs nothing, right? Second of all, we don't turn into angels when we die. Where did you get that concept? It's biblical ignorance. That's not really the place. That's not really the place to correct people, right? You don't want a shot block there. I guess that would help to have Miles there with me, I guess, at a funeral.
03:30
next time that happens.
03:32
Like, God needs another angel.
03:33
Miles would just be like, you don't turn into an angel when you die.
03:38
If you know, you know.
03:43
Another crazy thing I've heard people say is, well, you know, grandma's just watching over me.
03:52
You know, little Joey was supposed to have a t-ball game and they were calling for tornadoes and thunderstorms and hail and blizzards and all that.
03:59
And it didn't.
04:00
We had perfect weather. Thank you, Grandma. Grandma was watching over me. Well, your Grandma might have been wonderful, but she's not God. Okay? But that's one of the crazy things people believe is our departed loved ones are orchestrating things. You know, another crazy thing, and this might be the craziest, is regarding what happens when we die afterwards, all of these matters. Some people say, well, nobody really knows.
04:30
That could be the craziest thing because God wrote it all down for us. And when I talk about our Bible ignorance, I hope you don't take that as a guilt trip as much as over the next few weeks we are looking at a chapter in the Bible that answers so many of the questions that so many Christians get wrong.
05:00
I encourage you to tune in and take notes and look very closely at what God has said. So with that said, let's just bow our heads for a second. I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful, to clearly and accurately communicate the word of God. And I will pray for you to have your heart open to receive what it is that God said. All right. Let's just take a moment and pray.
05:30
before you today with Thanksgiving. I thank you for your word that clears up all of these questions that we wouldn't have answers to otherwise. I thank you for the noise of the children in this room right now. It's a sign of life. And I thank you for parents that want to come and worship you and hear your word and will bring their kids. I thank you for that. Father, I just pray that you eliminate any distractions in our hearts and minds so that we can laser focus on what it is you've said in your word today.
06:00
This is the most important message there is. And what a tragedy it would be to leave here and have missed it. What it is you've said here in this absolutely awe-inspiring portion of your word. God, we thank you. And we pray in Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, okay, some of God's people said it. The rest weren't ready.
06:30
We'll try again next week. Come back to Second Service. You can try then too. Okay, so what happens when we die? Well, among many other things the Bible teaches, the Bible is crystal clear on this. You will resurrect from the dead. You will. Everybody, not just believers actually, Everybody rises from the dead. The Bible says unbelievers get an eternal body that's suited for hell and judgment. And believers in Jesus Christ get an eternal body that they will use in glory in heaven forever. Right? Daniel chapter 12 verse 2. Old Testament talks about this. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life. And some to shame and everlasting contempt. Jesus taught this, John chapter 5. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. There are two resurrections, one for believers, one for non-believers, an eternal body that will live forever somewhere. And 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is all about resurrection.
08:00
The first stretch is, appropriately, about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then the back nine of 1 Corinthians 15 is about our resurrection. Look at chapter 15, verse 1. Paul says, Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand.
08:31
You see, we just spent a lot of time, 1 Corinthians 11, 12, 13, 14, they had all these corporate worship problems. And Paul's like, okay guys, we cleared up some of the details, but the most important thing is getting back to the basics of the gospel itself. And he's talking about resurrection in this chapter. As we said, it is not resurrection.
09:00
Resurrection is not a part of what we believe. Resurrection is the heart of the gospel. It is the core. It is the very, it's essential to being a Christian. It is absolutely a necessary doctrine that we got to embrace. Look at what Romans chapter 10 says. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that what? God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. Do you see how a belief in resurrection is directly tied to your salvation? It's non-negotiable. But of course, there's always skeptics, right? You can study the ancient Greeks. Many of the Greeks who lived in Corinth, they didn't believe in a bodily resurrection at all.
10:04
And even Christians today, they're just not entirely sure what happens.
10:14
You know, I know there's, okay, so we die, but we're with Jesus, but there is a, okay, so resurrection happens somewhere, but somewhere there's a rapture, and then like Armageddon, and...
10:29
Well, all of this is clearly taught in 1 Corinthians 15. So he starts with a foundation, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That's the most important thing we have to embrace, right? So on your outline, three evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first evidence is the church. The first evidence that Jesus rose from the dead, And just in case you're skeptical, you're like, I'm not really sure I believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead. Okay. Well, here's the first evidence of church. Look at chapter 15 again. Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel that I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
11:28
The church, he's talking to brothers and sisters here, believers. Notice he says, this message, you received it, you hold fast to it, and you stand in it. Notice here that a real Christian, a real follower of Christ is someone who not only receives the gospel, but also stands in the gospel. Meaning this, a real Christian, a real Born Again, Disciple of Jesus is someone who builds their very life on the gospel. They stand in it. That's so important, church. I think it's a plague in the American church that when we say, what is faith? Faith is just agreeing to a doctrinal statement, right? Faith is just, yeah, yeah, okay, all right, I'm on board with that. Yep, yep, sure, yeah. I don't disagree with any of that. I don't argue with any of that. And they think that's where faith ends.
12:26
But faith isn't just some intellectual agreement. Faith is, I build my life on this. I lead my family according to what God said. I serve in the church because of what God said. I raise my kids because of what God said. I handle money and stuff because of what God said. Every aspect of my life is built on the truth of God's word. That's what biblical faith is.
12:56
So Paul says the first proof that we have of the resurrection is that Jesus Christ is alive and he's transforming people in the church. So I am going to ask you to raise your hand if you're sitting here today and you can honestly say the resurrection of Jesus Christ, The Gospel of Jesus Christ transformed me and changed the way that I live. Raise your hand if that's true of you. Okay, so skeptics in the room, look around. You want evidence of the resurrection? Here it is. Here are people that say Jesus Christ is alive and he's changing me. There's your first proof. Right? Oh, there's more. Number two. Scripture. This is the second proof he lists, but it's actually biblically the Most Important. Look at verses 3 and 4. He says, For I delivered to you as of first importance, which I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
14:26
Okay, stop there. Do you see that phrase? In accordance with the Scriptures. Paul says, here's our second proof that Jesus rose. Because the Scriptures say that He would. You're like, what Scriptures? Well, keep in mind, when He wrote this, the New Testament was being written. This is one of the earliest books, actually. So when He was referring to the Scriptures, He was talking about what we call the Old Testament. The Jewish Scriptures. The Law and the Proverbs.
14:54
So what is it in the Old Testament that specifically talks about resurrection? Well, there's a few, but here's a couple of them for sure. Isaiah 53, talking about the Messiah. It says, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt. Stop there. That's the crucifixion, right? On the cross, God the Father was crushing Jesus.
15:24
pouring his wrath on Jesus because Jesus was an offering for guilt. That's the crucifixion. Next is the resurrection, right? He shall see his offspring. The only way that's going to happen is if he raises from the dead, right? He shall prolong his days. How's that happen? Resurrection, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Another big scripture in the Old Testament talking about resurrection is Psalm 1610. This is big because chapter 2, when Peter was preaching at Pentecost, this was the scripture that he was preaching from. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, that's the grave, or let your Holy One see corruption. The promises the Messiah, literally here, will not rot. God, you're not going to leave your Messiah to rot in the grave. That's resurrection, right? So God, in His Word, promised the Messiah would die.
16:24
and resurrect long before it actually happened. That's why Paul here says in verse 3, this is first importance. This is first importance. And look, we can quibble about doctrine. I really don't want to, but people do. But here's some things that there's no arguing this. These are non-negotiable truths. The most important things you must believe, he lists them right here, that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised. You're like, wait, wait, wait. Why do I have to believe that Jesus was buried? Like, that seems like a weird thing that I have to believe. Well, the point is, he was actually dead. Because there's some people that think that he looked dead. He was beat with an inch of his life, but he didn't actually die. No, believing he's buried is saying, I believe that Jesus literally in the flesh was dead. And that he rose.
17:24
from the dead.
17:27
But look at the phrase again, verse 3, right there in the middle.
17:32
Christ died, look at this phrase.
17:36
For our sins.
17:41
Excuse me.
17:42
For our sins.
17:44
Why did Christ die?
17:46
For our sins.
17:50
Jesus did not die to make you healthy and wealthy like some prosperity preachers teach.
17:54
Jesus did not die as a victim of circumstances. As I've heard people say, oh, they got poor Jesus. Jesus didn't even just simply die as a martyr that stood up for a cause. And no, no, no, no, no. It's so much deeper than that. Jesus died for our sins. What does that mean? That means we are by birth and by nature rebellious towards God and His ways. Every one of us. We stand guilty and condemned before a holy God and we have no excuse. We have no means to make it up to God by good works. So Jesus, on the cross, gave His life. Why? For your sins. He experienced the wrath of God for your sins so you wouldn't have to.
18:53
So the guilt of your sin would be taken away. And Jesus was raised. To defeat death. How do we know? How do we know Jesus died? How do we know he was buried? How do we know he was raised? How do we know what all of that means? And what Paul says here, it's in accordance with the scriptures. This is the promise of God. All right, so the first witness, we got people right here that say Jesus Christ transformed you.
19:23
His resurrection changes the way you live. And then we have the proof of God's word, but there's other proof too, right? Look at verses 5 through 8. These are eyewitnesses. He says, and that He appeared to Cephas, that's Peter, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
19:55
He's like, you can fact check me on that if you want.
19:59
Because a bunch of these people are still alive.
20:02
He says, then He appeared to James.
20:05
That's Jesus' half-brother.
20:09
Mary and Joseph had children after Jesus.
20:12
Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, but the Bible says Mary and Joseph had other kids.
20:16
They're listed by name.
20:19
James was one of them, early leader in the church.
20:21
All right?
20:22
Then he appeared to James. Then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. So this isn't an exhaustive list, okay? There's more people we see even in Scripture that saw the resurrected Christ, but Paul gives us, this is more than enough, right? We've got Peter, the disciples, more than 500. We've got James, Jesus' half-brother, all the apostles.
20:51
Paul says, then to me.
20:57
And that's pretty significant. Why?
20:59
Because some would say, well, you know all these people that say Jesus rose from the dead, they were all big fans of Jesus, and they all loved Jesus, and they all wanted to follow Jesus, and they were all so sad when he died, so they made it up.
21:12
They so badly wanted Jesus to be the Messiah that they just made it up.
21:17
They made up the resurrection.
21:19
Well, there's a big problem with that theory. And the big problem with that theory is Paul. Paul wasn't a believer. He didn't even want to believe to the point that he was persecuting the church. He had zero motivation to make it up. So did Jesus resurrect? Well, Paul says, we have way too many people affirming it.
21:49
to ever deny it. You know, almost as amazing as the resurrection is the means by which eternal life is granted. Look at verse 9. Paul says, Christ appeared to him in verse 8. He says, For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Paul's like, I'm so unworthy of anything from God because I persecuted the church.
22:49
Insert your favorite sin or the sin that defined you into this and say something like, you know, I'm unworthy of God because I've lived my life by lust. Or I'm unworthy of God because I've lived my life just full of bitterness and hatred and unforgiveness. That's just the person I was.
23:19
of God. Anything from God. You could say, I'm unworthy because I've just been a liar. I just lie.
23:34
My whole life has been about deceiving people.
23:38
Maybe somebody else would say, I'm unworthy of God because you know my whole life, it's just all been about me.
23:46
I just live a self-centered life. Whatever makes me happy, that's all I I care about. And I never cared about anyone else or anything else. And that's who I was. And God should have given me his wrath. But instead, he gave me his grace. Look at verse 10.
24:18
Verse 10, he says, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. Let's talk about grace. You could go to a theology book and what is grace? Grace is unmerited favor. You don't deserve it. God has chosen to give you His blessing, but we've done not a thing to deserve anything from God. That's grace. The best definition I've ever heard of grace is this. Grace is God giving to you what He requires from you. You know what God requires from you? Perfection, holiness, righteousness. That's what God requires from you. You don't got it. I don't got it.
25:18
Grace is God giving to us the very thing that he requires from us. That's my favorite definition. And some of you know my favorite illustration of grace. When I try to think of what's the difference between like some of these biblical terms, this little story, I think of this often. It helps me. But just imagine you have a teenage son. Some of you do. Some of you did. Some of you will.
25:48
Teenage son. He's 16 and he goes to this party. But there's another teenage boy there. He just hates your son. No reason. Just hates him. And this other boy was waiting for your son to show up and he just kills him. Cold-blooded. Just kills your son. You see, if you track that boy down that killed your son, you track him down You kill him. That's called vengeance. But if you cooperate with the police and help find this kid who murdered your son and you get him arrested and through the legal system, that's called justice. But if this kid is in the legal system, you show up to court and somehow, somehow you convince the court.
26:48
to not punish the boy who murdered your son. Just let him go free. Don't punish him. That's called mercy. But if you go to the court and you convince them, not only don't punish the boy who murdered my son, not only let him free, but I want to raise him as my own son and love him and care for him.
27:18
I want to adopt him. That is grace. And I love that story because it's so accurate. We murdered God's son so that God could adopt us. He allowed, he ordained all of that to happen with Jesus Christ so that he could.
27:50
Adopt us. That's grace. But you know, we have a hard time with grace, don't we? We have a hard time because there's something in us that says, look, I have to do something to be right with God. I mean, I'm not buying for a second that I can be saved.
28:18
Just based on what God has done, and that I don't contribute some kind of work to it. But the Bible's clear, you can't earn it. You can't work for it. And you can't be good enough to get it. Because if you could, if there was some way that you could earn God's favor, then you have to explain why Jesus died on that cross.
28:53
It's grace. Like, well, is there something I have to do? Yeah, actually, there is one thing you have to do. It's the same thing you have to do with any gift that is being offered to you. You have to receive it.
29:18
The Bible says grace is a gift. So the question is, did you receive that gift? Did you receive that gift? Well, rest of your outline. Here's three evidences you've received God's grace. See, that's the real question. We can look.
29:48
at the word of God. And we can look at the testimony of others. But the question is, what about me? Have I actually received the grace of God? Or have I just been a church attender, a seat warmer, a pew sitter? Is that me? Or have I actually received God's grace? Well, the evidences to the resurrection that we just looked at, those were all, external, subjective, subjective, subjective, things, right? But when we're asking, have you received the grace of God? Have you received this gift? This is an internal thing. This is very subjective. Only you really can answer these questions. Have you received God's grace? Have you? Well, here's three evidences. The first one.
30:50
Letter A, you don't think you're worthy. Look at verse 9 again with me, please. He says, for I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Unworthy. Listen, you have to recognize that you're unworthy.
31:20
We've talked about this before. We have people get upset with us here at the church. We have people leave the church because we just want the sermons to be a little more uplifting. We just want... Can't you make us feel good? Listen, you have to recognize that you're unworthy because if you think that you're worthy, if you think you're worthy of something from God, then it's not grace.
31:48
If you think you're worthy of something from God, you get this idea in your head that God owes you something. And he doesn't. You see, Paul, Paul, of all people, Paul could have said, I see why God picked me. I mean, come on. Do you know how much scripture I know? Do you know the connections I have? I got a triple A membership.
32:17
I can see why God picked me. I have so much to offer the Almighty. Is that what he said? No. He goes, I am so unworthy. And that's the point that people miss. I say, well, you know, I'm a good person and I do good things.
32:47
God should let me into heaven. The problem with that is, yeah, you might be a good person and you might do good things, but you're still guilty of sin. And you're like a criminal in court saying, yes, your honor, I know I'm guilty, but from now on, I'm going to try to do better. And no judge is going to let the guy walk out. Because despite this criminal's best intentions, or despite this criminal maybe having a track record, of doing some good things with his life in the past. The reality is, he's still guilty. And you have to take an honest assessment and humble yourself before God. Like, look, I'm not worthy of God's grace. I'm not. Here's a beautiful thing, though. God's grace, though it says nothing about me, it says everything about him.
33:47
But this is true of everyone who has actually received God's grace. They're like, I know I'm not worthy. I'm not. God has been so good to me. And he has done everything for me. And he has saved me. And he has provided for me. And I don't deserve a thing. That's true of people who have received God's grace. Letter B, you define yourself by grace.
34:17
Evidence that you receive God's grace because you define yourself by that grace. Verse 10 again. He says, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And His grace toward me was not in vain. When you truly receive God's grace, you're defined by it. But you're like Paul, by God's grace, I am what I am.
34:48
I'm a child of God. How so? By His grace. I'm forgiven of all my sin. How can that be? God's grace. I am promised eternal life and glory. Like, how do you know? It's just God's grace. It's not me, it's Him. See, somebody could come along when you're like, you know, I'm, look, I'm, I'm a child of God. I am forgiven. And I am heaven bound. Somebody could come along and say, how can that be? You're trash. Like, yeah, I am trash. That's who I was. But you see, God's grace says, that's not what I am anymore. This is who I am now. Many years ago, we did a weekly Bible study.
35:47
in Butler County Prison. And occasionally there would be one little problem with that in that I grew up in Shakura. So occasionally at Butler County Prison, I would run into people that I went to high school with. Either working as a guard or wearing straight pajamas or whatever. But I would go in and they'd be like, hey, Jeff, what are you up to? And I'm like, well, you know, I came in here for Bible study. They're like, you're, They knew me from high school. I was not a good person. Okay? And they're like, so what are you doing now? And I'm like, I'm a pastor. And they're like, what? Like, you're a pastor. And they laugh. I have people like laughing in my face. Like, you're a pastor. Like, how can that be? They knew. They knew who I was. They knew some of the things that I did. They're like, how can that be that you're a pastor?
36:47
You know what my response is? It's by God's grace that I am what I am. How about you? Have you been known for doing things that you aren't very proud of? And somebody could rightly come along and get in your face and say, how could someone like you think you're going to serve God? How could someone like you think you're going to end up in heaven someday?
37:19
And you're like, it's God's grace.
37:23
It's not me.
37:25
It's God's grace.
37:30
See, this is a beautiful thing.
37:33
Church, grace redefines you.
37:39
Grace redefines you.
37:40
You're not living in the past.
37:43
You're not living in shame.
37:48
You're not oblivious. Okay, yeah, yeah. Okay, that's who I was. But that's not who God says I am now. God is constantly growing me and changing me and conforming me into the image of His Son. God says I am a child of His. That's who I am. Like, what gives you the right to say that? It's grace.
38:16
It's grace. My friend, something is going to define you. And it's either going to be your mistakes, or it's going to be God's grace. That though you didn't earn anything, you can humbly accept everything that He gives you.
38:46
It's grace. How do you know you got it? Well, you don't think you're worthy. You let grace define you. And the third thing we see in the text, letter C, you are motivated to work by grace. You are motivated to work by grace. Paul says his grace toward me was not in vain. Pick up from there. He says, On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. I love that. Paul says, look, okay, God gave me this gift, and God didn't waste His gift on me because I put it to use.
39:44
I put God's gift to use, but it wasn't really me that put the gift to use. It was sort of his grace working in me and through me. And you're like, how does that all work? Even Paul didn't know, right? If Paul didn't figure it out, what makes you think I'm going to figure it out? He's like, I work, but it's God that's working. But like all the above?
40:16
And see, here's the point. You don't need to figure out how all that works. Just get to work. Serve God out of love and appreciation in His power, meaning just do what He's called and equipped you to do. Just do it with everything you got. The bottom line here is this. The evidence that you receive God's grace is when you're motivated and empowered to serve Him.
40:43
We don't serve God out of obligation. I was saved in 1995. I didn't get into ministry to be like, okay, God, you did me a solid. Now I'm going to do you a solid. That's not it at all. We don't serve out of obligation. We don't serve begrudgingly. Okay, fine. No one else will do it. I'll do it. And we certainly don't do it, right, Pastor Taylor?
41:13
We don't do a complaining. What you mean? God's recruited you for his team and you're going to bellyache about that? The one that received grace will not do that. I'm just thankful to be called on the team. Let's get to work. That's what grace says. Motivated and empowered to serve him. The person who received grace says God gave me his grace and that.
41:43
That is what puts the fire in my belly to do everything he's called me to do with everything that I've got. And then I discover that it's the same grace that motivated me to serve. That's the same grace that empowers me to serve. How do I know I've received God's grace? Because I'm motivated to work by grace.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Define “grace”. How would you explain grace to a child? To a non-believing coworker?
What did Paul say was of “first importance” (1 Cor 15:3-4)? Why is this the primary thing?
How does grace redefine you (1 Cor 15:10a)? Why do you think many Christians still struggle with their past?
How exactly does grace motivate you to serve God (1 Cor 15:10)?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

August 9, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What Should a Worship Service Look Like?

Jeff Miller

August 9, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

How to Have a Church Service, God's Way (1 Corinthians 14:26-40)

BUILD UP believers. (1 Cor 14:26b)
ELIMINATE the chaos. (1 Cor 14:27-33a)
WOMEN don't preach. (1 Cor 14:33b-35)

1 Timothy 2:12-14 - I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
None of this is up for DEBATE . (1 Cor 14:36-40)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
You know, just a few days ago, in this very room, it was complete chaos. It was so good. I mean, VBS, it was complete chaos, right? You're going to hear more about it later. We're going to show you a video. But just kids on top of kids, people screaming and throwing. There was slime dripping from the ceiling. Wasn't supposed to, but there was.
01:06
And it was just, it was chaos and it was beautiful. Which is fine for vacation Bible school, but chaos is not something that should describe Sunday morning. And that takes us to the passage we're looking at today. So I'm going to ask you to please pray for me.
01:36
Faithfully represent God's Word. That's all we try to do here at Harvest Bible Chapel. We're not preaching our opinion or scratching itchy ears. We just want to represent the Word of God. And I'm asking you to please pray for me to do that faithfully, and I will pray for you to receive what it is that the Lord has said in His Word. All right? Let's just take a moment and pray.
02:09
Father, when we open the Bible, the question is, is this from God?
02:21
Father, we have solidly come to that conclusion.
02:25
We believe that this is your word.
02:28
When it says things that we like, and when it says things that we maybe struggle to believe, It's your word. And I pray today, Father, for all of us. You eliminate any distractions or preconceived notions and allow us to receive what it is that your word actually says. We pray in Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, Amen. 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Chapters 11 through 14.
03:04
in 1 Corinthians is all about corporate worship. Right? And we've been talking through this series. We had a little break from Pastor Taylor's excellent message taking us back to the Old Testament. But in this section in particular where we find ourselves, we're talking about speaking in tongues. And you can go back and review those. But tongues, there was a legit miracle gift. And if you study your Bibles, Speaking in tongues was speaking a known language. All right. It was an existing language, but the speaker, they didn't know that language. They didn't study, but they would. It'd be like if I got up and started speaking Mandarin. I don't know Mandarin, but I started speaking Mandarin because there were Mandarin speaking people in the congregation. That's what the gift of tongues was about. We saw. Previously, the tongues was a sign of judgment.
04:04
Israel had rejected the Messiah. And tongues was God's way of saying, okay, you're going to hear a language you don't understand because you've rejected me. I'm moving on to other people. And it was for the season of transition from the old covenant to the new covenant. We saw in chapter 13, verse eight, he said, tongues will cease. It's going to come to an end. It was only for a season.
04:34
The Pagan Practice of Tongues. In many pagan religions, there would be this ecstatic screaming of sounds. They weren't real languages. It's just screaming this gibberish. And the Corinthians brought that into church. It's chaos. There's chaos. Look at verse 26, where we left off last time. Verse 26. Paul says, What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Stop right there. That's not a command, by the way. He's describing the chaos. He's like, here's what your church service is. Everybody shows up, and everybody is like, ooh, ooh, me, I want to teach. I want to speak in tongues. I'm going to sing. And everybody was doing it.
05:33
And it was just this circus. He says your worship services are just chaos. You have the gibberish. You have misusing the real gift of speaking in tongues. You have the debacle that you've made the Lord's Supper. You have women preaching. You have people showing off. Your services are a complete mess. And it'd be real easy for us to look.
06:03
and say, wow, yeah, glad we've matured from that. But sadly, many things that are called church services are still a real mess. What have we turned worshiping our Savior God, what have we turned that into? For some churches, it's putting on a concert and giving a pep talk.
06:33
heresy, screaming gibberish, holy laughter, holy barking, craziness, chaos. So much being done in the name of worshiping the Lord that is anything but actually worshiping the Lord. And you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second, hang on.
07:01
Who says what should happen in a church service anyways? Well, I would suggest to you God. The God that we worship has told us how we should worship. So very simply, in this passage we're looking at today, Paul is outlining here's what a worship service should be. That's what this passage is. What should happen in a church service? Paul's like, this is what should happen right here.
07:31
So, on your outline, how to have a church service God's way. Number one, first thing has to happen, absolutely has to happen. He says it first because this has to be the primary drive. Number one is build up believers. Build up believers. Look at the end of verse 26. He says, let all things be done.
08:01
For building up.
08:07
Here's a philosophical slash theological question for you.
08:11
Who is church service for?
08:13
Is it for believers or for unbelievers?
08:19
Biblically, church service is for believers.
08:23
Now listen, if you're here today and you're not a believer and somebody invited you, we're so glad that you're here.
08:29
But we're going to tell you to receive Christ. We're going to tell you to believe what the believers here believe. That we are, by nature and by birth, we are alienated sinners from God. And God reconciled us to himself through the death of his son, Jesus Christ. And he commands us. He commands us to turn from our sin and to believe in Jesus Christ. And when you do, you are saved. You are a child of God. That's the gospel.
08:59
The goal biblically in our worship service should be building up believers. Like, what parts of the service? Well, your Bible says the same thing that mine does. Let all things, all things be done for building up. It's teaching God's truth and teaching believers how to apply God's truth. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because we have talked so much about this through 1 Corinthians chapter 14.
09:29
Church is where you go to give, not go to get. Over and over and over and over and over. Paul says edify, build up, edify, build up. It's just been the theme of this whole chapter. Paul says when you go to church, you should go to church ready to serve other people. That should be your mindset. I'm not here to get, I'm here to give. You're like, well, what about evangelism?
10:01
I'll study the book of Acts. When believers are built up, they are prepared to reach the lost in their lives. There's lost people in your life, in your sphere of friends, influence. You need to be built up here so you can go to them and share the gospel of Christ. The church is not what's in it for me, but.
10:29
Everything we do here has to have the mindset of what can we do to build up believers. That's what he says. So number one, how to have a church service God's way, build up believers. Number two, he says, eliminate the chaos. You've got to eliminate the chaos. Here he talks about two gifts. Just for that day that were not used appropriately in Corinth. Tongues, even the legit, They weren't doing that right. And prophesying. And understand again, the New Testament was being written during this day. So prophets were getting new revelation from God. We don't get that now that the Bible is complete. Right? Those blank pages in the back of your Bible aren't for you adding to Scripture. That's not what that's for.
11:32
But there were two gifts in that day that were being wildly misused, and it was contributing to the chaos. Tongues and prophecy. First, he addresses tongues. Okay? Legit gift of speaking in tongues. How do we do it? How do we do it? Look at verse 27. He says, and let someone interpret.
12:02
But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
12:10
First of all, speaking in tongues.
12:12
They're assuming here, Paul's assuming, that someone is present in church who speaks a foreign language.
12:19
And you see his guidelines.
12:20
He goes, okay, two or three of you, not everyone, and take turns and you have to have an interpreter for the sake of the people there that don't speak that language. Right? If somebody's here that speaks Mandarin and I got up and spoke Mandarin, like the rest of you are like, what's going on? You need an interpreter to say, here is what is being said. That's how the gift works. Again, we studied all that several weeks ago. But then he says, if you don't have an interpreter, just sit there and pray silently.
12:59
So let me ask you.
13:01
If you've been to or seen a Pentecostal or Charismatic church service, is that how it's done?
13:07
Is that typically how speaking in tongues happens?
13:12
You're afraid to say, aren't you?
13:15
All right.
13:16
No, that's not how people do it.
13:20
It's chaos.
13:22
And that's what Paul's saying.
13:23
Are you going to knock that chaos off?
13:25
Right? Then he talks about prophesying. Look at verses 29 through 31. Prophesying. He goes, let two or three prophets speak. Let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all be encouraged.
13:55
Stop there. Again, prophesying. Prophesying. He's like, just again, two or three. Right? And let the others discern if what is being said is actually from God. Weigh it. Right? And again, some people were preaching already revealed information. Maybe preaching something from the Old Testament. And in this day, as the New Testament was being written and God was giving revelation, There'd be somebody sitting there in church that God would give a revelation to. And Paul says, if that guy has a revelation, the guy that's speaking the old information, have him sit down. Let new revelation guys speak. Right? Then look at verse 32. He says, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
14:55
What in the world does that mean? It means this. The church was chaos, right? So you pull a guy aside that is a... He just can't help it. He comes to church and he's belting it out. I'm going to prophesy. And he's contributing to the chaos. And it's like, you're not supposed to do that. Remember, two or three...
15:25
What's he gonna say? Here's what he's gonna say. He's gonna say, I can't help it. I can't help it. Oh, and the spirit comes on me. I just can't help it. I just it just comes out. I can't control myself. And and that's why, you know, you want me to be quiet, but I can't be quiet. Because when the spirit's on me, I just can't be quiet. And verse 32, Paul's like wrong. The spirit of prophets are subject to the prophets, meaning this.
15:55
He's saying, every spiritual gift is used under the complete control of the one who has the gift.
16:03
The Holy Spirit does not come upon a person and make that person lose control of themselves.
16:10
That does not happen.
16:12
Okay?
16:13
That does not happen.
16:15
Paul says, your gifts are under your control.
16:20
Right?
16:21
So the exact ways these two gifts were used were Corinth specific, but there's a principle that certainly holds for us today. And it's look at verse 33. The first part, he says, for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. Paul says a service to worship God should represent God's care.
16:52
God is a God of peace. He's not a God of confusion. He said, listen, church cannot be a free for all. So you have to eliminate any chaos. Worship has to be orderly because otherwise people will not get built up. And that is why we're here is to build each other up. So that's what he's saying here. Eliminate the chaos. You've got to eliminate the chaos.
17:20
So how to have a church service God's way, build up believers, eliminate the chaos. Number three, he says, women don't preach. Women don't preach. Look at what he says. Now, the second half of verse 33, it actually goes with this section, not the previous section, right? In my Bible, it's actually indented as a new paragraph, and that's appropriate.
17:51
He says, As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the law also says.
18:08
All the churches.
18:10
All the churches.
18:11
Do you notice that?
18:13
All the churches.
18:14
Was it just a problem in Corinth?
18:17
Apparently not.
18:19
All the churches.
18:21
Was it just a problem in the first century?
18:25
All the churches.
18:26
Today.
18:27
Today.
18:29
Look, I never.
18:31
I can't remember a period of my life.
18:39
Where we as a culture have been so messed up about gender issues.
18:43
I just don't understand that.
18:46
One of the first things little kids learn.
18:50
We're so confused about gender stuff, right? Look at our culture. Gender is fluid. I was born one way, but now I can be another way, right? We have people in prominent positions that can't define what a woman is. And some of the same people saying that men can get pregnant. We have trans men or trans women. I can't ever remember.
19:18
The man who's dressed like a woman playing woman's sports, whatever that is. We're just so mixed up over gender things. And we in the church are like, well, we're not mixed up over gender issues. We have a big one. Let's talk about it. You know, the big gender issue in the church, can women be pastors?
19:49
It's a hot button issue. But I want you to hear me. The Bible is clear and it has not changed. Women are not to preach in church. And listen, I want you to hear me out, okay? You put your church clothes on and you showed up. So can you just stay and hear me out? I am not anti-woman. I'm married to one.
20:19
Without a doubt, my absolute most favorite human on the planet is a woman. And there's not even a close second. Okay, I'm not anti-woman. I'm not anti-woman. My mother, rest her soul, my mother was a woman. My sister, also a woman. We have so many faithful servants of Christ here in this church.
20:48
at this church.
20:49
I am not anti-woman.
20:51
I am not anti-woman.
20:55
But I'm also very much pro-Bible.
21:00
And the Bible straightforwardly says that the role of pastor, elder, preacher, shepherd, all the same thing.
21:10
The Bible clearly says that role is for men.
21:17
It's not my opinion.
21:19
That wasn't the consensus of the elder think tank. That's what the Bible says. Now you said you'd hear me out. There are so many arguments for pro-women pastors. So many arguments. I'm just going to share a few of them. Some people argue pro-woman pastor. Some people say, hey, hey, hey, look, Women are equal.
21:49
All right.
21:50
That's awfully sexist of you.
21:52
Women are equal.
21:53
Yes.
21:54
Yes.
21:56
Women aren't equal, but equal does not mean the same.
22:02
Equal does not mean we all have the same roles.
22:04
Where you work, I'm sure that you're equal with your boss.
22:09
But you have different roles.
22:11
Okay.
22:13
So yes, equal.
22:15
Not same.
22:18
Here's another pro-woman-pastor argument I've heard several times. Like, I know this woman pastor and she's fantastic. I went to this church and they had this woman pastor. She's fantastic. It just doesn't matter how good of a speaker you thought she was. A woman pastor is not a thing. Study your Bibles. There is no teaching in the Old Testament.
22:45
for installing a woman as a priest. And there's no teaching in the New Testament on how to install a woman as a pastor. In fact, all of the instructions for priests in the Old Testament, for pastors, shepherds, elders in the New Testament, it's directed towards men. Titus 1.6 says that elders, pastors should be the husband of one wife. Assuming, Paul was assuming that this was a, role for men.
23:18
But as soon as you say that, as soon as you say, well, there's no example of women pastors in the Bible.
23:25
As soon as you say that, some of you might already be thinking it.
23:31
Somebody thinks they got the trump card on that.
23:33
They're like, ah, what about Deborah?
23:39
You heard that one?
23:39
What about Deborah?
23:43
Deborah?
23:43
If you're unfamiliar with the story, I'll paraphrase it for you. Judges chapters 4 and 5. God called a man named Barak to serve him in leading Israel, and he wussed out. And Deborah had to step up and lead, because the man that God called was a chicken.
24:16
Oh, by the way, this is in the book of Judges. Deborah wasn't a pastor. All right. She wasn't even a priest. She was a military leader. That's what a judge was. Oh, and by the way, if you're looking in your Bible for examples on how to faithfully love and serve and obey and follow the Lord, I would not suggest going to the book of Judges for examples of that. Have you read the book of Judges? It is the craziest book of the Bible. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The stuff that happens is just crazy. But somebody comes along and says, well, Deborah. Deborah wasn't a pastor. Deborah wasn't a pastor. But then our more New Testament minded people, say, oh, I know who, you say no woman pastors, but what about, what about, what about Tequila and Priscilla? And I'm like, well, it's Akila and Priscilla, but I know who you're talking about. Acts chapter 18. These two together taught Apollos the way of the Lord more excellently, but it doesn't say anything in that passage about Priscilla being a pastor. It just doesn't say that. It'd be like if a newer believer came to church today, all fired up, all fired up, and their theology is a little off. And I'm like, hey, why don't you go to lunch with the calls? And Matt and Lexi take this person to lunch and teach them the Word of God. That doesn't make Lexi a pastor, all right?
26:13
A disciple maker, yes, but not a pastor. Neither was Priscilla. But here by far is the biggest objection that you hear. You know it's coming. When you say, well, you shouldn't have women pastors. The Bible says you shouldn't have women pastors. You know what the number one objection is to that. Well, that was just cultural. You hear that one? That was just cultural.
26:43
back then. What you have to understand in the first century Corinth culture, the first century Ephesian culture, what you've got to understand about the first century culture is they really hated women back then. Look at what Paul told Timothy, 1 Timothy 2. We're not going to unpack all this, but I just want you to see one thing here. Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet. Exactly what he says here. 1 Corinthians 14. Look, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Now, we're not going to unpack all that, but just one thing I want you to note. Paul's reasoning. Paul's reasoning that the woman is not to teach, or preach in church? His reasoning, is it cultural or is it theological? What's his reason? It's theological. And I've had people come at me hard wanting to argue this, and I show them this passage, and their answer is, well, it looks theological, but, but, no, no, no, Corinthian culture. Like, no, no, no, but, look, his reasoning is theological. You can study that yourself. Look at verse 34 again.
28:11
Back in 1 Corinthians 14. Look at the last phrase here. He says, they are not permitted to speak, but look at this, but should be in submission as the law also says. As the law also says. Again, is his reasoning culture or theological? Like, well, what law? Authority was established at creation. Genesis 3, verse 16.
28:43
Women are not to be in authority over men, but in submission. And as soon as you say submission, people ready to throw down. Cash me outside, right? You're ready to fight. Because people think that when we say submission, what we mean is weakness. And we've preached this, we've taught this so many times, submission is not weakness.
29:11
Jesus Christ was in perfect submission to his father for every single thing that he did. You would not dare call him weak. Submission is strength. It takes strength to trust God by submitting to God's established authority. That takes strength. So we talk about women pastors, women not being pastors. We're not talking about issues of equality or talent or ability. We're just we're talking about roles. It's just roles.
29:41
God says, here's things that I want men to do, and here's things I want women to do. It's just that. And I got to tell you, church, I agree with the late, great John MacArthur, who many times I've heard him teach. The most obvious evidence that a church has abandoned the Word of God is when they have a woman pastor. He goes on. Look at verse 35.
30:13
He says, if there's anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home.
30:19
For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
30:26
It's shameful for a woman to speak in church.
30:28
The word shameful means it's a blemish on the church.
30:32
Not what it says.
30:33
Speak in church.
30:34
Speak.
30:36
Look at the context of the passage.
30:37
That's why we study the Bible in its context.
30:40
When it says speak, It's not like a woman walks in the door here. Hi, hi, where's your bathroom? It's like, keep your mouth shut, woman! Take your pagan ways out of here! You are not to speak. Look at the context. What's he talking about? He's talking about teaching and preaching in the church service, right? That's the obvious context. Yes, women can teach women. The Bible says, Titus chapter 2. Children.
31:11
He's talking here that a woman should not be up here preaching to the whole congregation. You have questions? He says, don't just shout them out in church. Men, don't do that either, all right? If you have questions, ask them in small group, ask them in Bible study, ask them in precepts, ask them whatever. Just not during church service, right? He says, ask your husbands. So husbands, You may be ready to answer some questions, especially after this sermon. If you don't have a husband, if you don't have a husband, a brother, a parent, a small group leader, an elder, yeah, if you're not married, I'm sure any of our elders would be glad to take a phone call from you and answer a question. See, God has a plan for order.
32:10
roles in the church. Faith means I trust God by doing things His way. And I know, look, I know. I know I'm going to get some texts and I'm going to get some emails because people are going to want to argue this. Right? And in Paul's day, as he wrote this letter and sent it off, He knew that people were going to want to argue this. Which is why I can honestly say I'm so thankful for this last section. Number four, Paul says none of this is up for debate. He knows as soon as you say, look, women should not be pastors. Women should not be preaching in church. People want to fight. And Paul says it's not up for debate.
33:09
liberal, church-minded, charismatic, feminist objections. And he goes pretty hard in the paint in the end of this. All right? So brace yourself. Look at verse 36. He says, or was it from you that the Word of God came? Or are you the only ones that has reached? See, Paul knew there were people going to read this, and they're like, I really think we should all speak in tongues. And I really think women should be pastors. And Paul's like, oh, oh, are you the authority? Oh, I'm sorry. Did somebody die and make you the expert? That's what Paul's saying. No. Look at verse 37. He says, if anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a commandment.
34:09
of the Lord. Listen, if you're spiritual, if you're really mature in your faith, you're going to acknowledge that this is from God. It's not cultural. It's not man's opinion. It's not something to be argued. Paul says God is commanding all of this. Verse 38. Pretty straightforward verse. Look at verse 38. He says, if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
34:41
Paul says, if you refuse to accept this, we refuse to accept you.
34:50
That's pretty straightforward.
34:53
Paul's saying, listen, a woman pastor is not a pastor.
34:58
And you're like, well, I think she is.
34:59
Paul's like, well, we don't recognize you.
35:05
Paul says, a church without order is not a church.
35:08
You can call yourself what you want.
35:10
But if you're calling yourself a church, but you're not having a worship service that follows an order and follows these biblical guidelines for teaching and for roles, because you're just not a church.
35:27
If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
35:30
So, verse 39, so my brothers, Earnestly desire to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues. That's the call back to everything that we've talked about in this section. Prophecy, tongues, they were legit gifts in those days. The way that God used them. And that's what Paul's saying here. He goes, yeah, there's legit gifts here. Do them appropriately. Do it right. Do it right. And verse 40.
36:04
All of this was the introduction. Here's the sermon. Verse 40 is really the thesis of the whole passage. Paul says, but all things should be done decently and in order. Decently. The word decently means beautifully. It means in order. You're like, well, how are, What does that mean? You know, it would be like a man looking at his wife. Say, you know, you're put together perfectly. Everything is just in the right place. And you, everything is just, you're beautiful because there's just such an order and structure to you. Man, don't say that.
37:05
Everything just fits together on you. Maybe not, but you see the point. Everything fits together. Like, it's all working. It's all in harmony. It's so beautiful. That's what he's saying your worship service needs to be. Everything should fit together. Everything should be harmonious, beautiful. Your Bible might translate it decent.
37:34
It says, in order, in order, sequence, not chaos. Sequence, not chaos. God is beautiful. God has perfect harmony. And God rules the universe with clear order. So a worship service absolutely must reflect the God that we worship.
38:04
So our worship team makes their way up. I'd like you to bow your heads with me please. Father in heaven, sometimes your ways are hard to explain. But you haven't commanded us to explain you. You've commanded us to obey you. And your word is very clear.
38:35
that when we come together to worship, there are things that must happen, there are some things that must not happen.
38:46
And I'm sure as we go through this, I'm sure some point of this message, for every single one of us, probably each of us have experienced some point of tension.
39:01
Father help us to be like the Bereans look closely at your word are these things true and resolve that we're all called to submission ultimately Father we're called to submission to you and your word so I pray Father for Harvest Bible Chapel that as we gather for worship I pray Father that there is building up I pray that people are encouraged and edified.
39:35
And I pray, Father, that you look at all of this and you would regard it as beautiful.
39:45
You deserve everything we can give you.
39:50
You deserve so much more than that.
39:53
But let our hearts, Father, worship you in spirit and in truth.
39:59
We pray in Jesus' name.
40:01
Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 14:26-40

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
All things must “be done for building up” (1 Cor 14:26). List some ways “building up” happens in church.
What arguments have you heard for having a woman pastor? What does 1 Cor 14:33-35 say about women preaching in church?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

June 28, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What About Speaking in Tongues? - Part 2

Jeff Miller

June 28, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

Tongues and Prophecy: Remember Their Purposes. (1 Corinthians 14:20-25)

The Purpose of Tongues: Sign of JUDGMENT for ISRAEL. (1 Cor 14:20-23)

Deuteronomy 28:49 - The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand...

Jeremiah 5:15 - Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say.
The Purpose of Prophecy: MANIFEST God's PRESENCE. (1 Cor 14:24-25)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Do you remember when we got all that snow a few months ago? You remember that? How cold it was? You remember that? Think about that when we feel a little stuffy this morning. Stuffy, that's the counterpart of chili, right?
01:06
14. Please take a moment and pray for me to clearly communicate God's Word accurately and clearly. And I will pray for you to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us in His Word today. Let's pray. Father, I pray that Your Word, as our Lord taught, it's like that seed, Father. I just pray that it takes root in our hearts and reproduces in a way that glorifies your name and a way that advances your kingdom. Father, keep us from any distractions, especially over these next few minutes. Father, let our hearts and minds be laser-focused on you and your word. We pray in Jesus' name.
02:06
And all of God's people said, Amen. 1 Corinthians 14. Recently, at youth group, we had our breakout time with the kids and we were praying. And one young man in our group, in his prayer, was praying for Pastor Taylor and Pastor Chris. Let's stop there for a second.
02:36
0% bothered by that at all. Right? Because there is nobody that mixes up names more than I do. And I thought, I don't know who Pastor Chris is, but maybe he needs prayer more than I do right now. I don't know. But great kid, just wrong name, right? So he's praying. I want to pray for Pastor Taylor and Pastor Chris. And right then in that moment, another young man in the youth group, hollers, it's not his name!
03:11
I laughed about that for three days.
03:13
It was like the ultimate shot block, right?
03:17
It was like, Pastor Chris, it's not his name!
03:20
Knocked into my house, right?
03:26
Like, I could have just let it slide.
03:32
But there was somebody in our group that absolutely was not going to let that slide. Why am I telling you that story? Because when we approach the subject of speaking in tongues, it is easy for us and it is easy for me to sort of adopt the attitude that I had during that youth group prayer. To be like, well, you know what? People believe different things about speaking in tongues and some people may Maybe have this private gibberish prayer language. Whatever. I can just let it slide. And I've got to tell you, through the study of God's Word, especially the last month, God's Word has sort of been like that other kid that was shot blocking to say, that's not what it's for. Speaking in tongues, right? Gibberish before God, right? That's not what it's for. So truth does matter.
04:33
And let's let the word of God block the shot on any lies. Right? People are all over the board. We talk about speaking in tongues. People are all over the board on the topic. One of the biggest churches in the area. It is a regular practice. Speaking in tongues.
05:03
What does the Bible say about it? Well, we've been talking about it a lot as we've been going through these chapters in 1 Corinthians. Speaking in tongues, there's a biblical gift. There's a spiritual gift. And speaking in tongues is speaking in a real language that you never learned. Right? We learned that from Acts chapter 2, Pentecost. People were speaking in languages they never learned. People were hearing in their own language.
05:35
It would be as if I got up this morning, I never studied Mandarin, but I got up and I just started supernaturally. I had the ability to speak Mandarin. That's what speaking in tongues was for, speaking a known language. We're going to cover that today. But the question, before we get to the purpose of the spiritual gift, I think we have to ask, well, you know, this, gibberish thing where people, you know, either in church or in their private prayer language and they just sort of let loose with a, it's not a known language, it's just like gibberish and a bunch of ecstatic speech. Like, what's the purpose of that? And if you ask somebody that believes in the gibberish prayer language, speaking in tongues, if you ask them, like, what's the purpose?
06:34
you'll hear things like, well, it's for prayer. It's for prayer. That's just not taught in the Bible. Not by direct instruction and not by example. You just don't see that. Some people say, well, no, it's like this highly exalted form of praise. Well, if that's true, then why does he tell us that tongues will cease? If it's such a great way to praise God, why would he put an end to it?
07:03
But some people say, no, no, no. Speaking in tongues is about evangelism, right? It's not. Like, later, check this out, Acts chapter 2. Was tongues for evangelism? No. Acts chapter 2 tells you what the people said and what was heard in tongues. What were they talking about? What was the message being communicated? Acts 2.11 tells us they were declaring the mighty works of God.
07:33
about the things that God did in the Old Testament. That's what they spoke. That was what the languages were communicating. What God had done during Old Testament times. And you see, that caught the attention of the Jews. But when it comes to evangelism, Peter got up, Acts chapter 2, he didn't preach in tongues. He didn't preach in gibberish. Like, how do you know? Well, because the sermon is recorded for us in Acts chapter 2.
08:04
And there are some people, and I've had some lively discussions with people about this, but there are people that believe that speaking in tongues is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That's how you know you're baptized in the Holy Spirit, right? That is so easily disproven. Because in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says, we've all been baptized in one Spirit, right? What was that? Verse 13.
08:32
We've all been baptized in one spirit. Then he says in verse 30, we don't all speak in tongues. So speaking in tongues is the evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. That doesn't wash with what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12. So, in the first 19 verses, we covered them last week, speaking in tongues, Paul says gibberish is nothing. Even the real gift, Paul said, it's not that important. Look at verse 19.
09:02
This kind of sums it all up. Paul says, nevertheless, in church, I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue. And that was the message last week. He says, look, church, something else, when you get together, something else needs to be the focus of your worship services. And he said it, remember, over and over and over.
09:32
What we need to focus on is building each other up. And that happens through prophecy. That's speaking before. That just means preaching. It's speaking the Word of God. Teaching and preaching. That's what we need to be doing when we get together as a church. Well, as we approach the text we're looking at today, he's continuing the thought. Why? Why is prophecy greater than tongues?
10:02
Just very simply in this passage, he says the reason prophecy is greater than tongues is that you have to consider the purpose of prophecy and you have to consider the purpose of tongues. Like, why did God give us these things? So, on your outline, tongues and prophecy. Remember the purposes. Right? Number one, the purpose of tongues. Why did God give that spiritual gift? The Bible.
10:32
is clear on this. It's a sign of judgment for Israel. That is the purpose of speaking in tongues. It is a sign of judgment for Israel. Look at verse 20. He says, brothers, you don't be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil. But in your thinking, be mature.
11:02
He's rebuking them. He goes, you don't understand. You don't understand. And Paul's like, you're thinking like a bunch of children. Do you know how children think? Do you know how children think? Let me give you an example from when I was a child. Alright? Like, this is like second grade. There was a kid in my class. I'm not going to say his name. He might be watching the stream. He's going to be really upset. But there was this kid in my class like in the second grade and he was going around telling everybody the one day.
11:32
He's like, I'm 67% Indian.
11:38
That means I can run faster than anybody in this class.
11:42
And I'm like, there's no way.
11:45
There's no way.
11:47
There's no way you're faster than me.
11:50
He's like, I am.
11:51
I'm 67.
11:52
It was like some decimal.
11:53
I don't remember, like 67.3 or whatever.
11:55
He goes, I'm 67.3% Indian.
11:58
I can run faster than you.
12:00
I'm like, there's no way you can run faster than me.
12:04
But he was maintaining that. I'm like, all right, recess. Recess, it's on. You, the me, we're going to race. So we did. We got out to the kickball field, standing on first base. I said, all right, we're going to run to second base and back to first base. All right? Settle this once and for all. On your mark at second, I don't think I'm any percent Indian, but I was fast. And I was to second base and back to first before he was to second base. Smoked him. So I go to him afterwards. I'm like, now what? Like, I beat you by a mile. Do you know what he said? He said, well, I couldn't run fast because I'm wearing cowboy boots.
13:02
And I said, why is an Indian wearing cowboy boots? What do we learn from that exchange? That's how children act. That's how children act. Immature. Showing off. Like, look at me. Look at what I can do. Look at what I can do. And that's what the Corinthians were doing. They were wanting to show off. Look at how spiritual I am. I'm going to speak in this language. Me and God have our own private language.
13:31
And they were just constantly showing off. And Paul's like, you're acting like a bunch of kids racing on the kickball field. Knock it off. And continuing with the maturity metaphor, he says, be infants in evil. I love that. Be infants in evil. You ever been around a baby? I know you have.
14:01
Babies are not mean spirited. In the same playpen, you can put a white baby, a black baby, an Asian baby, a Latino baby. They're not going to fight. There's no racial hatred. There's no mean spirited attitudes about them at all. Babies are just like, you know, I eat, I poop, I'm happy. And Paul's like, you need to be Infants.
14:34
In evil.
14:35
He says, but you've got to grow up in the way you think.
14:40
Paul's pointing out to him, you're backwards.
14:42
You're infants in your understanding of God's Word, of God's purposes, and you're mature in evil.
14:52
So, the biblical gift of speaking in tongues.
14:57
Speaking in an existing language that you never learned.
15:04
Here's the million dollar question. What is it for? What is the purpose? Why did God even make that a thing? Well, to get the answer, you've got to go back to the Old Testament. Right? And that's exactly what he did. Look at verse 21. Paul's clearing it up. In the law, it is written.
15:30
By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people. And even then, they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Stop there. There's the purpose of tongue. What are you talking about? Alright, we're not going to turn there. But I encourage you to do this later. Alright? Paul is quoting Isaiah chapter 28.
16:00
11th verses, what you want to focus on. I'm going to give you a quick history lesson so we understand why Paul is quoting this verse. Isaiah 28, we're talking about the prophet Isaiah, we're talking about the southern kingdom, Judah, we're talking about the days of King Hezekiah, we're talking about 705 B.C. Now in 722 B.C., just a few years prior, Assyria conquered the northern kingdom. It was called Israel. The southern kingdom was called Judah. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom as an act of God's judgment because of their idolatry and unbelief. So when you get to this passage in Isaiah 28, 705 B.C., years later, Isaiah goes to the southern kingdom, Judah, and says, you're committing the same sins that God just punished Israel for. You're doing the same stuff. And Isaiah warned them, you're doing the same thing.
17:00
the same sins, and God's going to bring the same judgment on you. Well, Isaiah 28. Isaiah goes to the leaders, specifically the priests and the prophets, and he finds them at a party, and they're all drunk. And not only is their drunkenness impairing their decision making ability, but they are vomiting all over the table. That's what it says. It's a disgusting scene. So Isaiah comes to give the message and the Bible says they mock Isaiah. They make fun of him. They're like, Isaiah thinks we're babies. Do you hear what he's saying? Isaiah just keeps preaching the same message to us over and over and over.
18:00
Isaiah thinks we're babies. Isaiah thinks he's our kindergarten teacher. Well, Isaiah 28.11, the verse that Paul quotes here in 1 Corinthians 14.21, God is speaking through Isaiah and he's saying, okay, Israel, you're not going to listen in a language that you know. I'm going to speak to you in a language that you don't understand.
18:31
And the Babylonians came and they conquered Judah, the southern kingdom. They conquered them 586 B.C. When you hear God is saying, when you hear the Babylonians speaking in their language that you do not understand, you're going to know that God is bringing His judgment. That's what He's saying. And by the way, this wasn't the first time Israel was warned about this. Deuteronomy 28, 49, God warned in the law, the Lord will bring a nation against you from far away from the end of the earth, swooping down like an eagle. Look at this. A nation whose language you do not understand. God promised him this is what's going to happen. Again, Jeremiah 5.15. I think we talked about this a couple weeks ago. Behold, I'm bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation. It is an ancient nation. Look, a nation whose language you do not know, to understand what they say. So here's the point. Hearing a foreign tongue, Israel, is a sign to the unbelieving Jews among you that God is moving in judgment against you. And you see, if God judged Israel in 725, 2. And God judged Judah in 586 BC. What do you think God is going to do to the unbelieving Jews in the first century that completely rejected the Messiah of Israel? God says you won't listen in your language. You're going to hear languages you don't understand. That's Pentecost. Tongues was a sign that Israel was judged. Romans 11.
20:29
temporarily set aside. And Revelation is so clear about that. Temporary. But now God is at work through Gentile nations as well as Israel. The focus shifted. That's why Paul tells us in 13.8 the tongues will cease. They're not needed today. Because they were a sign of judgment against Israel during the transition from the Old Covenant.
20:59
to the new covenant. There's a sign. He goes on. Look at verse 22 here in 1 Corinthians 14. He says, thus, tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers. He couldn't be more clear. Tongues are not for other believers.
21:29
From the Old Testament, we learn it was, as he says in verse 22, it's a sign for unbelievers. You're like, what unbelievers? Unbelieving Israel. It's the sign. He says prophecy, though, preaching the Word of God, that is for building up believers. That was last week's message. We're going to see that more again in a minute. Look at verse 23. He says, If therefore the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? You see? There's something very interesting about the wording here. This phrase, to say that you're out of your minds. Maybe your Bible says something like, they'll say that you're mad. Does your Bible say something like that if you have a different translation? It's interesting. The word, this word mad, this word out of your mind, that same word is used in other places in ancient literature to describe Pagan worship services. The gibberish. That's the same word used to describe that. When everybody got together and was just shouting stuff that nobody understood, they're like, that's mad. That's this word. They're going to think you're crazy. Everybody's shouting words people don't understand. What Paul's saying here is, you know what's going to happen? Is an unbeliever is going to come to church and he's going to say, Huh! They act just like the pagans. They are no different than the way the pagans worship. That's exactly, literally what Paul's saying here. So that's the purpose of tongues. It's not gibberish shouting at church. It's not some secret ecstatic prayer language. Paul reminds us it was always a sign of judgment against Israel.
24:00
Tongues and prophecy remember their purpose. Tongues is a sign of judgment for Israel. Number two, let's talk about the purpose of prophecy. What is the purpose of prophecy? Why do we preach? Why do we preach? I mean, it seems a little archaic, doesn't it? In our day of 15-second video, clips that we doom scroll through and our 30 second antacid commercials. It doesn't seem a little archaic that somebody would stand up for however many minutes we stand up and talk. Why do we do that? What is the purpose of prophecy? You're going to see here in the text exactly why we do this.
25:01
It manifests God's presence. Look at verses 24 and 25. You're going to see it. He says, but if all prophesy, teach, preach the word. But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account.
25:28
By all the secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. It's the same point he made in the first 19 verses. He's like, church, look. Church, you know what you need to focus on?
25:58
You need to focus on preaching and teaching. That's what you need to focus on. So what's the purpose of prophecy? Well, he made a very clear point in the previous section. The purpose of prophecy is to build up believers. And also, speaking of unbelievers coming to church, which he brings up in this section, Paul says, when an unbeliever hears the word of God rightly proclaimed, something happens. What happens is God moves. I want you to look at this sequence. This is why we preach. Look at the sequence. He says, an unbeliever, outsider enters the church, and you are preaching the Word of God rightly. That's why we always ask for prayer. Please pray for us to preach the Word of God accurately. But look at the first thing that happens. He says he is convicted by all. He's convicted by all. The first thing that happens, and I know, I know, this isn't popular in our day, but this is what the Bible says. The first thing that happens, is that person feels guilty.
27:28
And listen, that has to happen.
27:35
Some people just want feel-good messages.
27:38
We've had people leave our church because they just want a feel-good message.
27:47
And we live in a day more than ever, and you see this in front of you every day, Make me comfortable in my sin. Affirm me. Don't tell me I'm wrong. Look at my sin and tell me I'm special. They just want the feel-good messages. Give me the pep talk. Give me the five ways to be happier at work, four ways to be happier at home.
28:23
feel bad.
28:29
By the way, do you know why the world hated Jesus?
28:33
Do you know?
28:35
Do you know why the world hated Jesus?
28:37
Just write this down.
28:38
Look this up later.
28:39
John 7, 7.
28:41
Just write that down.
28:41
Look it up.
28:43
Why the world hated Jesus?
28:47
Well, you should feel convicted.
28:50
You should.
28:51
You should feel a sense of I'm wrong. I'm guilty. That's the first part of the sequence. Look at the second thing. He says, he is convicted by all. Secondly, he is called to account by all. Called into account by all. Now listen, that doesn't mean that when like a person, stuck in a sinful lifestyle comes to church. We all get to take a shot at them. That's not what that means. Like somebody comes in and they're like, I'm struggling with an addiction. And I'm like, okay, stand here. Everybody line up. Take a shot. We're going to call them to account. Everybody just comes through the line. You're a loser. You need to repent. You stink. That's not what that means at all. What does it mean to be called into account by all? It's positive peer pressure. It's somebody looking.
29:51
and Christ alive through you and recognizing the need to change. To say, these people are different. These people live differently. This is who I need to be. They need to be looking around and saying, man, I need to know the Bible like him. You know, I need to get away from this addiction that's been destroyed.
30:24
I need to get away from the bad influences. I need to make choices. The choices to follow Jesus that I see her making, I need to make those same choices. That's what he's talking about. Everybody sort of calls them into account, like positive peer pressure. Right? What else happens when the Word is proclaimed? Look at verse 25. The third thing. The secrets of his heart are only God's word can do that. I can't do that. Pastor Taylor can't do that. Nobody can do that. The word of God is the only thing that can disclose the secrets of your heart. It's through the preaching of the word. Those secrets are disclosed and that's what brings the feeling of guilt. I've been a hypocrite. I've been faking. You know what? I've been lying.
31:22
I've been lying to other people. I want everybody to think I'm so noble. I want everybody to think I got my act together and I don't. I see now that my problem is me. I have a sin problem in my heart. I am the problem. The secrets of the heart are disclosed.
31:51
The next step. He says, and so, falling on his face. What's that? That's humbling yourself. Right? It's when you realize I'm such a hypocrite. I'm guilty. I'm a faker. And I'm a sinner. And I'm not the man that I need to be. Oh God, help me.
32:21
I have tried so hard to be the person that I think I need to be and I fail every time. I can't do it. And I just, all I can do is get on my face and say, say, God, help me. I can't do it on my own. That's what he's talking about here. Falls on his face. Look at the next one. He says, he will worship God. He will worship God.
32:51
You see, God saves those and changes those who confess their sin and believe in Jesus Christ. See, Jesus died in your place on that cross. That should have been you nailed to the cross. That should have been me nailed to the cross. Jesus took your place on that cross to bear the wrath of God, not for anything He did, because He lived.
33:21
a sinless life. He bore the wrath of God for the sins that I committed and the sins that you committed. He bore God's wrath for those. And if you turn and believe in Him, you become a child of God and He changes you and you never, ever, in all of eternity have to experience the wrath of God for your sin that you deserve. You don't have to experience it because Jesus has taken your sin away from you and that when you really get that that leads you to worship thank you god thank you god for doing what i could never do thank you god for pronouncing me not just not guilty but pronouncing me righteous in jesus christ thank you god for the promise of heaven thank you god thank you god you are so awesome and you are so worthy and you are so holy Thank you. It leads you to worship. And then finally, he says, then declare that God is really among you. That's what happens when the Word of God is rightly preached. And somebody is broken over their sin. They realize their guilt. They humble themselves. They worship. They walk out.
34:47
the doors and say, I met God at church today.
34:54
God was there.
34:56
I met God in the worship, in the preaching.
35:00
I encountered God through His Word.
35:02
I saw God through the people.
35:09
They walk out.
35:10
I met God today.
35:14
That's why people stop going to church, by the way.
35:17
That's why people love going to churches where the gospel isn't proclaimed. Because they don't want to change. That's the reason. They don't want to change. But every single time that I encounter God, I am moved to change.
35:47
single time. Read your Bibles. Read your Bibles and look at every single person who encountered God. Every single person who encountered Jesus Christ. They changed or they fled. But an encounter with God will change you. That's why we just preach the Word. That's why anybody who stands up here, the job is always the same.
36:17
Represent the text. Represent the text. That's what we go for. And we strive to live it because this right here is what we want for this church more than anything. For people to declare that God is really among us. For people to see God do what only God can do. If our worship team would make their way back up front, Speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues. It's kind of my own private gibberish prayer language, right? It's not what it's for. It's not what it's for. But does it really matter? Yeah. It matters. The purpose of tongues mattered.
37:17
For God's plan for Israel. The purpose of preaching matters for God's plan for the church today. And the purpose of a sermon like this isn't to equip you to win an argument, but rather to keep us all on track of what we should be going after every single Sunday and why.
37:46
Let's pray. Our Father in Heaven, this church was planted on the belief that the Word of God does the work of God. And Father, I thank You for this passage we looked at today because You have explained it here so clearly, what needs to happen when Your Word is proclaimed. Father, we aren't trying to put on a show. We're not trying to make a name for ourselves.
38:17
more in this church than for people to walk out the doors and say, God is really there. God is really among them. God was made manifest through His people, through worship, through the proclamation of the Word. Father, I pray where we would be tempted to act like children and fight about this, make us mature in our thinking.
38:47
to go after the things that matter to you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 14:20-25

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Explain, in your own words, the purpose of the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. (1 Cor 14:21-22).
How exactly does prophecy (preaching) manifest God's presence (end of 1 Cor 14:25)? How does the sequence flow (1 Cor 14:24-25)?
Does this passage change your view on speaking in tongues? Why or why not?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

Jeff Miller

June 21, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

What About Speaking in Tongues? - Part 1

Jeff Miller

June 21, 2026

Get Unified, Unified and Purified

Introduction:

What About Speaking in Tongues? It's Not That Important. (1 Corinthians 14:1-19)

Tongues Are FRUITLESS. (1 Cor 14:1-5)
Tongues Are USELESS. (1 Cor 14:6-12)
Tongues Are MINDLESS. (1 Cor 14:13-19)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

00:36
Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. When I was a very young Christian 30 years ago-ish, I had a very strong conviction. I had a very strong conviction that the death penalty was a horrible thing. Why?
01:06
Why in the world should the government determine if someone lives or dies? I thought the death penalty was an absolutely horrible thing. And then someone lovingly challenged me to see what the Bible says on the subject. Do you know what I found? The first man-to-man law that God gave was the death penalty. The death penalty is in the Mosaic law, and the death penalty is after the Mosaic law.
01:36
Law, Romans 13.
01:39
So my convictions about the death penalty radically changed.
01:46
And I'm saying all that to say, look, it's okay.
01:52
It's okay after a closer study of the Word of God to let the Bible change your mind.
02:04
And the subject we're looking at today is the gift of speaking in tongues. And there are some of you that maybe have a very strong conviction about it. And I'm sure there are a lot of you that maybe didn't think very much about the subject at all. But if you've been coming here for any period of time, you know that we want the Word of God to shape our beliefs and convictions. So by God's grace, let's go after His Word today to see what He has to say about it. So just please pray for me to communicate God's Word clearly and accurately, and I'll pray for you to have a heart open to see and receive what it is that the Bible actually says.
03:04
on the subject. All right? Let's take a moment and just go before the Lord together. Father, please open our hearts to what Your Word says. Not to what we experienced growing up or heard somebody say about Your Word, but let's take some time and really look and examine what it is that You actually said. Father, let us shape our convictions on that. We thank You, Father. We thank You for Your Word. And even when it's challenging for us living in a different culture and a different time, the truths of Your Word are eternal. And I pray that You would give us the wisdom by Your Spirit today.
04:05
to really grasp and embrace what it is that you've said here. Thank you ahead of time, Father. For what you're going to do today, we pray in Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, Amen. Amen. We go through God's Word verse by verse. Because context is important in anything you read. Especially.
04:34
the Word of God. And we're looking at one of the hardest chapters in the whole Bible today. This passage is so misquoted. And it is so misunderstood. But we're going to get through this together. Right? So before we look at the text, I want you to jot some things down. This isn't like the outline, but you can write it on your outline. But these are, I just want to give you four truths to help us understand 1 Corinthians.
05:04
14. With context in mind.
05:11
As we approach this, there's four absolute truths here that we have to keep in mind as we go to the text.
05:21
And this is the foundation that sets the stage.
05:26
All right?
05:26
So four truths.
05:28
First of all, we need to remind ourselves of the truth of what is the purpose of the gift of speaking in time?
05:35
It was a miracle, first of all, to affirm the apostles, and it was a sign of judgment against Israel. We talked about that last week, and we're going to talk about it again next week. But remember, tongues were real languages, not made-up gibberish words. They were actual real languages. And this is the way the gift operated in the early church.
06:04
The preacher gets up to preach and there are some unsaved Russians present. Well, the preacher never learned Russian, but he miraculously started speaking Russian. Well, the Russians were amazed. But then somebody else in the church had the gift of interpretation so they could translate what the preacher said for the non-Russian speakers in the church. That's the way the gift worked.
06:34
of tongues will cease. And we talked about that word means they will end by themselves.
06:44
Interestingly, tongues is never mentioned in the New Testament.
06:48
It's not mentioned at all after the book of Acts and after 1 Corinthians, which is the earliest epistle written.
06:58
It's just not mentioned at all.
07:00
But that was the purpose of the gift of tongues in the early church.
07:04
Second thing to help us understand this passage, let's talk about the gibberish prayer language. There are some people that believe the gift of tongues is speaking a gibberish prayer language, words that aren't any existing language. It's just a private, unknown language that you speak to the heavens. Where did that come from?
07:34
The truth is that practice came from paganism. And you can study this, but in Corinth, they had a temple to Diana, and that was how they worshipped. Everything there was about feeling and emotions. It wasn't about truth and engaging your mind. Everything in that worship was about experience and emotions. Right? Remember, the priestesses were prostitutes. It was about feeling something.
08:02
And part of their worship was shouting an ecstatic, gibberish language because they believed that was the way that you communicated to the gods. And church, that is never taught in the New Testament as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It's just not. Well, some people believe there are two kinds of tongues. You know, speaking known languages and them being interpreted and praying a gibberish.
08:32
language. But I can't see anywhere in the New Testament where tongues is redefined. From known languages to speaking gibberish. I just don't see it anywhere. So there was a gibberish prayer language that was part of paganism. All right? Third thing to keep in mind as we approach 1 Corinthians 14 is this truth. The Corinthians messed up just about everything. Have you noticed in our study?
09:02
They were like the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hitting, fielding, base running. Like, was there an aspect of their game that they didn't mess up? Well, if you've been through this study with us, that's what we have seen over and over and over. What the Corinthians did was they dragged paganism and worldliness into the church. That's been our whole year of studying this. Right?
09:32
Everything they did was from paganism and worldliness. Like hero worship, sexual sin, lawsuits, marriage fails, idolatry. Oh, and the pagan use of speaking gibberish language to communicate to the gods. They dragged that into church. Something else to keep in mind, very important. Last one. 1 Corinthians 11-14. These chapters are about church conduct, individual conducts. Do you notice that? People want to take these passages and sort of make them like an individual application, but these chapters are about the church collectively, the body of Christ. These chapters are more about us than me. So chapter 14 was written to correct the Corinthians, and Paul was saying the pagan way, the gibberish language isn't really a thing, and let me tell you how the real gift, the real spiritual gift of speaking in tongues works. Interesting thing to note. You're going to see throughout the passage here that sometimes Paul uses the word tongue singular and sometimes he uses the word tongues plural and he seems to be very specific and I spent so much time this past week studying this. He seems very specific about when it's plural and when it's singular.
11:02
scholars to believe that when Paul uses tongues in the plural, he's talking about the real spiritual gifts, speaking a real language that you never learn. Tongues, plural. Why? Because there's many languages, right? There's many languages, so tongues is plural. But when he speaks about tongue singular, he's talking about the pagan gibberish language because gibberish isn't something that can be plural. So just take a note of that. So this is going to feel like Sunday school today.
11:32
But this is so critically important to our understanding of a very sensitive subject to a lot of people. So on your outline, what about speaking in tongues? And here's the whole sermon. This is the whole sermon. You can leave after this statement if you want, but I'll unpack it for you. But here's what he says in chapter 14. What about speaking in tongues? He says, it's not that important. That's this whole passage. He says, it's not that important.
12:05
See, in Corinth, like in churches today, speaking in tongues was the thing. There are people today that believe unless you speak a gibberish prayer language, then you do not have the Holy Spirit. That is not true biblically. In this passage, you're going to see that Paul says, the gibberish really is nothing. And even the real gift of speaking known languages, the real spiritual gift that he's been talking about, he's like, even that's not that important. That's not that important. So let's look at it together. Number one, write this down. Paul says, first of all, tongues are fruitless. Meaning this, as far as accomplishing anything ministry-wise. He says it's fruitless. No spiritual fruit comes from speaking in tongues. That's the first point. That's the first five verses. What's the purpose of having a church service, by the way? The purpose of us having a church service is to edify believers. That's what church is for. The goal of church is to edify believers. Make note of that because he says that over and over.
13:32
and over in chapter 14. We'll talk about that in a few moments. Edification of believers. Look at chapter 14. He says pursue love. That's where we left off last week. Seek love. That's chapter 13. The love chapter. He gives your problem, church, is you're not loving each other. You need to go after that. Pursue love. Look at the rest of the verse. He says, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
14:06
Paul says, yes, love each other, but also, yes, seek to use your spiritual gift, especially prophecy.
14:13
We talked about this.
14:14
Prophecy, the word literally means speak before.
14:18
It's just somebody that stands in front of people and says stuff.
14:22
And it's talking about saying the word of God, explaining the word of God.
14:26
That's what prophecy is.
14:30
See, Paul reminds us here again, church is to be the place where you hear the Word of God. If nothing else happens when we get together on Sunday morning, this has to happen. We have to get in the Word of God together. You see, tongues was never for that. That's why Paul comes right out of the gate and says it's better when you get together that you hear something that you can actually understand.
14:59
Look at verse 2. He says, For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God.
15:11
For no one understands him, that he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
15:19
Notice tongue is singular there.
15:23
He says, when you speak the gibberish language.
15:25
Oh, by the way, he says, speaks not to men, but to God.
15:29
That's really not a great translation. It literally should be translated to a God. Little g God.
15:41
When you speak in a tongue you're speaking to, you think you're speaking to a God.
15:47
Also interestingly in the verse, he says, but he utters mysteries in the spirit. That's not a great translation of that either.
15:55
The Word for Spirit, he's not talking about the Holy Spirit here. The Word for Spirit is pneumatai, which literally is breath. He's saying you're speaking into the air. And I believe that because he says the exact same thing later in this passage. You're going to see it. All right? So what's he saying? He's saying this. Spiritual gifts were to edify man. All right?
16:25
Common Good.
16:26
Chapter 12, verse 7.
16:27
Spiritual gifts are for the common good.
16:30
Spiritual gifts were never given to speak to God, a God, the God, who's ever up there.
16:36
He's like, that was never the purpose of the true God giving us spiritual gifts.
16:47
God never teaches us to speak to Him in an unknown language.
16:54
You just don't see that in the Bible. Look at every prayer in the New Testament. Every prayer and every teaching about prayer, there's nothing about speaking to God in an unknown language. And I would say, look at Jesus Himself. We have accounts of Jesus praying. Did Jesus have a private prayer language with God? Did He? No.
17:24
How do you know? Because the Bible writers told us exactly what Jesus prayed. Jesus used regular language and in all of Jesus' teaching about prayer, nothing says pray in a private prayer language. Actually, in Matthew 6, verse 7, Jesus said, don't heap up meaningless phrases.
17:55
So what you have here in Corinth is you had some of the people who considered themselves elite. And they said, you know, you pray in church and you speak Greek and all that. That's all well and good. But you know, I pray to God in my own private prayer language. Aren't I spiritual? And Paul's like, spiritual gifts.
18:24
Gifts aren't about you. Spiritual Gifts are given to edify everyone else. Look at verse 3. He comes back to it again. He says, on the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. Paul says that's what needs to be happening in church. That's what prophesying is for. He says it's for edification. You're like, well, what's edification? He defines it right here.
18:54
upbuilding, encouraging you in your faith, encouragement, consolation. That word is comfort. You know, the Word of God should be challenging us and convicting us and encouraging us and comforting us. That happens when the Word of God is proclaimed. Look at verse 4. He says, the one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself. But the one who prophesies builds up the church. Again, he says, When you show up and you're just speaking your private prayer language to God, all you're doing is putting the spotlight on yourself. Look how spiritual I am. Look, I'm God's favorite. He gave me this super spiritual gift that I communicate to Him in our own private secret language. Now, the true gift of speaking in tongues has an interpreter that benefits others. Spiritual gifts aren't for God. They're not for you.
19:54
You, therefore, other people. Right? Again, verse 5. He keeps hammering the same point. You're going to see it again. He says, no, I want you all to speak in tongues. But even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless someone interprets so that the church may be built up.
20:24
Yes, this is the Pentecostal's favorite verse here. Look, right there, right there. Paul says, I want you all to speak in tongues. Paul was being sarcastic. He was saying, I wish you all did the real thing, but more so, I wish you all prophesied. You're like, wait, wait, wait, time out. Time out, Pastor Jeff. How do you know Paul's being sarcastic? How do you know that? Well, just go back a page. Look at chapter 12 and verses 29 and 30. Look at this. Paul says, are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? What's the answer to that? No. No. Paul just said in chapter 12, everyone doesn't possess one particular gift. He just said, do all speak with tongues?
21:24
No, obviously not. So Paul's not going to turn around and say, okay, now I want you all to do this. He's not contradicting himself. He's making a point in comparing. What he's saying in this verse is this. He goes, oh, I could wish that you all actually used the real spiritual gift and spoke in other languages. I could wish you all did that. But you know what's way more important than that? You know what would be so much better for the church than that?
21:52
is if you all were able to preach a real sermon. That would be better than everyone speaking other languages. He's being sarcastic here. So this private prayer gibberish language, Paul says here it's fruitless. He says, what does anyone get out of it? There's no edification, nothing's learned, no knowledge is given. It's fruitless because No one is being built up. And that is what has to happen in the church. All right? So what about speaking in tongues? He says, it's not that important. First of all, tongues are fruitless. They don't accomplish ministry purposes. But then he digs even deeper. Number two, he says tongues are useless. Tongues are useless. Look at verse 6.
22:52
He says, Now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you?
23:00
Unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching.
23:08
He says, If I came speaking a foreign language, and again, assuming there's no interpreter when he does it, he says, What good would that do you?
23:17
If I came speaking Russian, you all speak Greek, it's not going to accomplish anything.
23:22
Verse 7, he says, he's illustrating his point. He says, if even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? See the illustration? He says, even musical instruments have to play a melody or it doesn't make sense, right?
23:51
Didn't the worship team do a fantastic job today? Yeah. Yeah. They absolutely did. But you know, let's pick on my man Miles up here. So good at the guitar. When Miles plays the guitar, he can play a melody. And did you notice when Miles played, we were all able to sing along because we recognized the song. It was a tune, right?
24:22
What would happen if you went back to Harvest Academy and brought a toddler out and gave that toddler Miles' guitar and says, okay, now you're leading worship.
24:31
How would that go?
24:33
Whang! Whang! Whang! Whang!
24:36
Like, would we be able to worship together?
24:39
No.
24:40
And that's Paul's point.
24:42
He goes, even musical instruments have to play a melody or you don't know what's going on.
24:46
But if it's just meaningless noise, he's like, nothing is happening.
24:49
It's useless. Right? Another illustration. He wants to make sure we get this. Look at verse 8. He says, and if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? Okay, now it's like a military illustration. Like the guy blowing the bugle for the military. It's like you better play a song that the soldiers recognize. Right? Because there's like a song for get up, a song for go to bed, a song for time to eat. How about a song for, It's time for battle. And if he just gets up there blasting the trumpet and nobody knows, wait a minute, what are we supposed to do now? I think we're either supposed to fight or go to breakfast. I'm not sure which sound that is. He goes, they're going to be so confused. It has to be a melody. You see, he's making a comparison between languages we can hear and understand versus any language.
25:49
We have no idea what's going on. What's his point? What's his point in all this? He explains in verse 9. He says, so with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There it is again.
26:18
You'll be speaking into the air. Paul's saying, look, gibberish is useless. Look, tongues are useless unless the real spiritual gift is used and someone is present that speaks that and someone interprets for the rest, it's useless. Do I believe that tongues happen today?
26:48
I do. I have heard many stories of people on the mission field that they were asked to get up and speak. And they're like, well, I don't speak their language. And they're like, well, just get up and say something in English and they'll just be glad to hear from you. And the guy got up and spoke and everybody heard it in their own language. I believe that. That's not what he's talking about here. And even that gift that I mentioned is not normative.
27:18
He's like the gibberish is useless. You show up in church and you just scream a bunch of syllables that aren't words. What are you doing? What are you accomplishing? Look at verse 10. He keeps hammering the same point. He says, there are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning. But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker, Same point. Paul's like, if you don't talk to people in a language that they understand, it's kind of useless, right? We had dinner with Barnabas last Wednesday. If you were here, that was so fun. Our missionary in Thailand, Barnabas, he speaks ten languages. Ten. Seven fluently, and he says three about half. And I think he's being modest.
28:18
Why does he know ten languages? Because when he goes all over to these tribes, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Acha, he goes to China, he goes all over that area of the world, and he knows when he goes, he's going to have to speak a language that they understand. Otherwise, they're just making sounds at each other. That's Paul's point here. Right? Look at verse 12. He says, so with yourselves. Look at this. Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, to excel in building up the church. He's back to the exact same thing he said in verse 5. He goes, do you want the Holy Spirit to work through you? Christian, do you want the Holy Spirit to work through you? All in favor? Yeah! Like, isn't that the number one thing that a Christian desires? Is it the Holy Spirit? Is it work through them? That's what any true Christian wants. Paul's like, is that what you want? You want the Holy Spirit to manifest through you? Great!
29:19
Because whether it's a foreign language or whether it's speaking gibberish, speaking anything people don't understand is useless. Paul says in this section, if real communication isn't happening, it's just noise. It's useless. The tongues are useless. And finally, number three, Paul says tongues are mindless. Mindless. More sarcasm. Look at verse 13. He says, therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. Again, that's sarcasm. How do you know that's sarcasm? Because of what he already said. Didn't he just say that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives people gifts as he wills?
30:18
He just said that.
30:20
So we don't see any example in the Bible of, you know, God, this is the spiritual gift that I want.
30:25
Please give that one to me.
30:26
He made it clear.
30:27
The Holy Spirit determines who gets what.
30:30
So He's obviously being sarcastic here.
30:32
He's saying, hey, if you speak gibberish, you better pray that you can explain what you're saying.
30:41
Verse 14, He says, for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
30:47
What am I to do? He says, I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say amen to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
31:17
Here, Paul's just saying, look, prayer and praise must be done with our whole being, spirit and truth. We've talked about that before, spirit and truth. Jesus said the Father is seeking those to worship Him in spirit and truth. And for that to happen, your mind has to be engaged. Your mind has to be engaged. You know, people that believe in private prayer language will say, well, no, My mind is just kind of shut off and it just comes from my spirit. And I would push back on that and say, when has God ever told us to turn our minds off? You have to have your mind engaged in what's happening. I think a little humor on Paul's part. He's like, you just get up and you speak as she speaks something people don't understand. He's like, how are you going to get an amen? Who's going to amen that? Somebody gets up and just says a bunch of nonsense words. Paul's like, that's not a good way to get an amen. Verse 17, he says, for you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. Again, you see, he keeps driving that nail down.
32:47
Again, there's no edification happening. You can't do that, church. You have to go to church with the mindset of edifying others with spiritual gifts. And someone would say, but prayer language is a private thing. Spiritual gifts aren't meant to be private. Spiritual gifts are to be used for the body. Verse 18. See, I heard an amen because somebody understood what I was saying.
33:17
saying. See how that works? Again, the Word of God is coming, just being fulfilled in your eyes. He says, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Paul had the true gift. Paul had the true gift. You think that came in handy on his missionary journeys? Traveling around all these different people. He had the true gift. God gave him the ability to speak in languages he didn't know. He says that he speaks in tongues.
33:48
And I'm so glad he said that here because what Paul's doing with that statement, he's like, look, look, look, I'm not saying the true gift isn't legit. I'm not saying the true gift isn't useful. Verse 19, he says, nevertheless, in church, I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue.
34:20
Back to that same point. He says, in the church, five regular words are greater than 10,000 words that no one understands. You know, the 10,000. In the Greek, that was the largest number that had a word. You know what I mean by that? What I mean is, that would be today like somebody saying, a bajillion. Is that a real number? No, it's just like a bajillion.
34:47
like a figure of speech. Like, oh, you know, I must have seen a bajillion of them. Like, 10,000 was their biggest word for a number. And Paul says five regular words. What he's saying is five regular words are greater than an infinite number of words that nobody understands. Right? You get that. I mean, if two guys get up here on a Sunday morning, And one guy speaks gibberish for an entire hour. Words that nobody understands. But for a whole hour you listen to gibberish words. Then you have the other guy get up and he says five words. Jesus died for your sins. Which person benefited the church?
35:49
The one that wasted everybody's time making his noises? Or the one that actually communicated the most glorious truth that there is? Jesus Christ died for your sins. If you'll turn from them and receive Him, you can be a child of God. That's the benefit.
36:17
here saying any edification is better than many words that no one understands. So some have made gibberish, unknown languages, private prayer language. Some people have really made that the thing. And after countless hours of studying these chapters, I'm less confused.
36:47
that it's a thing.
36:50
But look, here's the thing.
36:55
You can believe completely different than me about this.
36:58
And that's okay.
36:58
I don't want to fight with you.
36:59
I really don't.
37:01
And I'm not, I don't, I don't get any kind of like excitement trying to shot block people or pound people down.
37:12
I'm not at all.
37:15
All I want to do is clearly communicate the Word of God. If you want to have a nice discussion about this section and talk about some of these phrases and words and what it means, I'm always happy to do that. But I don't want to fight with you. Listen, whatever, whatever you believe about tongues. I think it's pretty obvious what Paul is saying about it.
37:46
Whether it's speaking gibberish privately in prayer to God, the pagan practice, or the biblical gift of speaking a known language, a real language that the speaker never studied or learned, whatever. I think it's pretty clear in this section. Paul's stance is, it's just It's not that important. Here's the thing, church. Tongues isn't even the real issue here. Sometimes I think we can look at this passage, we can quote this passage, or we can misquote this passage, and we miss what's really going on here. Tongues is not the real issue in this passage at all.
38:45
Do you see what the real issue is? The real issue is this. What do you go to church for? That's the issue. Why did you come here today? If you're like, well, I'm not coming here anymore. Okay. So if you go to another church next week, why would you go there? What do you go to church for?
39:21
This is the real point of this passage. Church is the place you go to give, not go to get. Church is the place you go to give, not go to get. You had to have noticed how repetitious this passage was. Do you notice how many times Paul talked about this passage?
39:45
He talked about edifying, building up. Did you notice? I went back several times and was counting. How many times in this passage did He keep going back to that concept? It's in verse 1, verse 3, verse 4, verse 5, verse 6, verse 9, verse 12, verse 13, verse 16, verse 17, and verse 19. Just in the passage we read today. All of those verses have something to say about the us thing in church. Building up.
40:14
Every one of those verses has something in them to emphasize serving other people. And look, I've been in ministry for a very long time, and this is the thing that we keep hitting in this culture, especially in this culture, as we have brought the consumer mentality into church. See, that was the problem in Corinth. They showed up to church to say, hey, hey, Church is a place where it's about me, more spotlight on me, look at me, what's in it for me. And we're like, oh, shame on those people. No, shame on us because we have brought the consumer mentality into church. We evaluate churches based on what is in it for me. You know, we've heard so many things, haven't we, Pastor Taylor? We've heard so many things. We've heard people say, well, yeah, oh, I love her.
41:14
and people there are super nice. But you know, we go to such and such church because they have a concert atmosphere. Okay. I guess if that's what you're looking for, a concert atmosphere. We want smoke machines and laser lights and I haven't been to a concert in a while. What else happens? They still do mosh pits, t-shirt cannons.
41:44
We want that stuff. People hop from church to church looking for the one that meets their needs. Another one that I've heard, oh, Pastor Jeff, we love this church, but you know, we go to such and such church now because they have better playground equipment for the kids.
42:16
I can't compete with that. Someday we're going to have a church on this property, New Swickly, and someday we're going to have like, what, 10 acres of green space for the kids to run around on. Someday we're going to have that. I hope it's someday sooner than later. We're praying. We're seeking the Lord. Things are in motion on that. But right now, I can't offer you great playground equipment. We can, you know what the kids do. They go out here and play David and Goliath and throw rocks at each other. They play Humpty Dumpty and get on that wall. They did fix the wall. That is not a pass. Don't tell your kids, hey, they fixed the wall. Let's see how many of you we can get up there. But that's how some people evaluate church. They've got better playground equipment. You know why people do that is because of the consumer mentality. Church is the place.
43:15
where I should get something.
43:20
Why go to such and such church?
43:22
Because they have better coffee.
43:23
Okay, whatever.
43:25
Whatever.
43:28
Church is where you go to give, not where you go to get.
43:32
Look, that's the problem in Corinth, and that's the problem in Wexford.
43:41
In church, we need to get to the place where we're like, The Church needs to be about how can I serve others? Not, hey, I'm here for what I can get. And do you know what the beautiful thing is about that? When everybody shows up to church with this mindset of, I came here to give. Do you know what's so beautiful about that? Is when everybody gives, everybody gets. Look, you have a spiritual gift.
44:13
a few weeks ago. We all need you to be pouring into the rest of us. Your knowledge of the Word of God, we need that. Your experience in walking with Jesus Christ, we need that. On Sunday morning, in our small groups, in our youth group, all of these little people back here, they need to see in you what it looks like to follow Jesus.
44:43
you married couples. They need to see from you what it looks like to love your spouse. They need to see from you what it looks like to have a Holy Spirit gift that is used in the church. These little people back here need to see what it looks like to live a life serving other people, not constantly seeking to be served. So if our worship team would make their way back up front, Yeah.
45:19
I pray that this passage changes your mind.
45:25
Maybe about tongues.
45:29
But definitely about why you come to church.
45:35
Let's pray.
45:38
Father in heaven Father we're sorry For all of the times we try to make it about us, that we can look at the Corinthians and we can wag our heads and we can tsk, tsk, and we're no better. We look at their worldliness. And so often, Father, we're no better. So I pray, Father, that we don't get So caught up in this one particular spiritual gift that we miss the point of this passage. The church should be a place where I go to build others up. Comforting, encouraging, loving one another. Father, you see the culture we live in. It's a consumer culture. And I pray, Father, that you would bring a great conviction on us. That we look at this as the place where we come to serve. Not just simply come to receive. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-19

What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Before studying this passage, what was your personal belief on speaking in tongues? Did this passage change anything you believe about tongues? Why or why not?
The theme of this passage is “tongues aren't that important”. What exactly does Paul say is more important?

Breakout

Pray for one another.

The Resurrection Means Everything

Introduction:

Why the Resurrection Means Everything (1 Corinthians 15:12-34):

IF There Is No Resurrection:

We Live in Grace

Introduction:

3 Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8):

3 Evidences You Have Received God's Grace (1 Corinthians 15:9-11):

What Should a Worship Service Look Like?

Introduction:

How to Have a Church Service, God's Way (1 Corinthians 14:26-40)

What About Speaking in Tongues? - Part 2

Introduction:

Tongues and Prophecy: Remember Their Purposes. (1 Corinthians 14:20-25)

What About Speaking in Tongues? - Part 1

Introduction:

What About Speaking in Tongues? It's Not That Important. (1 Corinthians 14:1-19)

Upcoming Small Group Questions CLICK HERE

How much of the Bible have we covered since 2011?

Introduction:

Why the Resurrection Means Everything (1 Corinthians 15:12-34):

IF There Is No Resurrection:

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

3 Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8):

3 Evidences You Have Received God's Grace (1 Corinthians 15:9-11):

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

How to Have a Church Service, God's Way (1 Corinthians 14:26-40)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

Tongues and Prophecy: Remember Their Purposes. (1 Corinthians 14:20-25)

Audio Transcript

Introduction:

What About Speaking in Tongues? It's Not That Important. (1 Corinthians 14:1-19)

Audio Transcript