2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23, 1 Corinthians 1:1-17, Psalms 27:1-6, Proverbs 20:20-21
Today is the 4th day of August welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as it is great to be here with you any day and every day. And it’s fun to be here with you as we move into this new month that we are in and kind of moving through this week making some transitions. We finished the letter to the Romans yesterday which will lead us to first Corinthians when we get to the New Testament. And we have also been reading second Chronicles in the old Testament. We will conclude second Chronicles today. And, so, Let’s dive in. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. Second Chronicles chapters 35 and 36.
Introduction to first Corinthians:
Okay. So, that concludes the book of second Chronicles, but it also leads us now to the opening of a letter called first Corinthians. And this is a letter from the apostle Paul sent to the church in the city of Corinth. And Corinth was a place that Paul spent considerable time and faced considerable opposition from the Hebrew community there. So, he focused a lot of his time on the Gentiles. A church sprang up and this is a letter to…to that congregation. And in the first century during the time of Paul, Corinth was an important city within the Roman Empire. In fact, it was the fourth largest city in the entire Roman Empire at that time. And, so, we can think of the large cities in the nations where we live around the world. I even look that up myself, like what is the fourth largest city in the United States where I live, and that seems to be Houston Texas. So, that’s a big city, I’ve been there many times and although we’re in the 21st century and we’re talking about the first century, the kinds of things and the melting pot of people that you find in a metropolitan area - the food, the thoughts, the religion, the hobbies, the sports, like all of the stuff that you would expect, or what would have been expected and Corinth. So, all of the benefits of congregating together and becoming a large city with all kinds of services and goods but also the melting pot of bringing a lot of people together with different spiritual ideas or idolatry, idol worship or sexual experimentation like the kinds of stuff that you find in a large secularized city. What we find in this letter, known as first Corinthians, is that Paul is responding to things that he is hearing that are happening in the church in Corinth. And Paul certainly talks about unity in the letter to the Romans that we just completed, but unity is a major theme in this letter to the Corinthians. And since we live in a world that is very full of division and divisiveness and even manipulative divisiveness to pull people in the corners and make people at odds with each other, especially over things like governance, this is just as poignant now if we have ears to hear, as it was in the first century when this letter was delivered to the church in Corinth. But first Corinthians is also very famous, or has some very, very famous quotes and sayings. For example, if you’ve ever heard, “now we see through a glass darkly, but then face-to-face.” That comes from this letter or, “when I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child but when I became a man I put away childish things.” That comes from this letter. And then of course the 13th chapter of first Corinthians is one of the most famous passages or chapters in all of the Bible called the love chapter where Paul lays out and describes what love is and what love does. And, so, let’s dive in and enjoy this letter, a letter written to people who knew Paul and that Paul knew. And these letters from Paul to the churches…well…they give us all kinds of stuff. They give us theology, they give us doctrine, they give his advice and counsel, but they also give us a glimpse into what was going on with our brothers and sisters as the church was emerging and developing. And, so, let’s begin. First Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 through 17 today.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word as we do every day. We are grateful for the gift of the Scriptures in our lives for every conceivable reason because it informs every way that we live and challenges our thoughts and intents. So, thank You for that. And as we are in this week is kind of moving into a new month and transitioning from books into new books, we thank You for all that You have taught us through the Scriptures this year. And, so, as we have concluded second Chronicles and we move forward tomorrow into the book of Ezra and as we have just begun this letter to the church in Corinth, Holy Spirit come and lead us into all truth. Guide our hearts meditations. Guide the things that we think about as we ponder what the Scriptures are saying to us. Lead us into all truth. And we pray along with the psalmist. One thing we ask from You, Lord, one thing that we seek is that we might dwell in Your house all the days of our life, which is forever to gaze upon Your beauty and to seek You. Come Holy Spirit and lead us we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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And that is it for today. I’m Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey DAB family it’s Travis calling from Alberta Canada. While I was at church this morning, I got some really bad news that our friend Lindsay and her family were in a really bad car accident last night and unfortunately my friend Lindsay lost her mom. And it’s just going to be a really really hard time for her. She already deals with depression and anxiety already. And, so, just…just be praying for my friend Lindsey and her family. And, yeah, please just be praying. Pray that God just heals her heart, heals her family, and draws her close, closer than ever before. Thank you, family. God bless you.
This is Kathy from Kentucky. Just want to ask everybody to pray for me. I continue to live alone and struggle with things like keeping my weight down before my doctor appointment on the 16th, mice in my house, juggling my finances trying to keep up with inflation on gas and groceries. It’s just not as easy to live alone. So, I just ask you to pray for me. I see a new therapist this morning. I’m clean and sober 30 years but I still have issues. And I just ask your prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Christy and Kathy from Kentucky this is Lori from Kentucky. I don’t know if any of you are in the flood area but I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and praying for you hoping that you’re safe and your families are safe and just adding you to my prayers along with those people who are in the flood area and have been affected. And I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you. Hope you are all well. Take care.
Good morning family I’m Deborah from Florida. I am a long team caller…I mean listener…excuse me…but at first time caller. I want to pray for the DAB family and to encourage some of you out there. First, I want to pray for Caleb who called in on July 17th. Caleb, you called in from New Mexico about needing prayer for your marriage. So, I want to pray now. Everybody join me. Heavenly father I come before you and the throne of grace and ask that you penetrate hearts of him and his wife Lord. I pray healing, strength, restoration, and wisdom for both of them. Heal the wounds of the heart that may have been created. Give them your strength and compassion for each other. Open their hearts to you O Lord and give them wisdom in all of those circumstances and situations for answers while giving you the glory. Lord, I ask that you also bless and protect all the DAB family, give them your strength, courage and compassion and love for each other in the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen. Love you DAB family. Have a wonderfully blessed day. Bye now.
Hey DAB family this is Darren in California, long time listener, back…back to the original year. I know the last time I called for prayer was about five years ago because I was calling to pray for children and this community prayed and I now have a son and a daughter, two beautiful babies. So…so grateful. And I know the power of prayer in the DAB community. I’m calling to ask for prayer. I’m facing some spiritual warfare at work and it's…it’s really bad. The enemy comes to steal kill and destroy. The spirit and them does not like the spirit in me and I could use your prayers. They are trying to force me out and causing incredible hardship on my family and for my ability to take care of my wife and my kids. They can come against me with all kinds of strategies, but I ask you to join me as we pray to our God, the God of heavens armies. And I believe that God is bigger. I know he is bigger than this situation. So, stand with me please DAB family. I love you guys. Brian and Jill, I love you. You know I do. And God bless you.