Teaching Program 6th September 2020 – 27th December 2020

Dear friends

When Paul preached the gospel, and a church was born, believe it or not, it very quickly got complicated. You may find it hard to believe but in this New Testa- ment church that we always look to as a template for church today, there was open immorality, false teach- ing and a sense of pride and arrogance and that was just the start. And in the middle of it all, Paul strives to open his heart, teach, love, rebuke and restore this troubling and troubled congregation to the true path of humble gospel-hearted faith and service.

And Like us, the Corinthian Christians struggled to struggle and preferred to prosper. Ungrateful and arro- gant, they needed to hear some hard truths that Paul sets out in this deeply personal letter. But Paul also re- veals here his heart for Christ’s people—a heart filled with the true love of Jesus for his headstrong, wayward “children”.

For Paul, gospel ministry is what we all do. It is walk- ing with, speaking for, and serving Jesus in all of life—and so this letter is written for all of us.

When it comes to the battle for a gospel shaped ap- proach to life in all it’s fullness, this is the place to start. 2 Corinthians takes us through how we need to live by faith as broken people in our broken world. (Treasures in jars of clay). It provides the key to em- bracing our weakness and living in the strength which God himself supplies.

They had a lot to learn, and so do we. That’s why we are going to spend the next few months studying them

Every blessing Geoff