Narrabri Anglican Church

28/08/2026

1 Corinthians 5
Paul takes sin in God's mob, and godly discipline seriously. And it is striking that his focus here is on the behaviour of the mob, and not so much the sinner (although he is strongly condemned). The inability of God's mob to take sin, and discipline, seriously, is a matter of great grief for Paul. And so he lays out three reasons for discipline:

Reason 1 is for the salvation of the man - see verse 5.
Reason 2 is for the health of God's mob, who have been grabbed for the job of proclaiming him to the world - see verses 7-8.
Reason 3 is for the seriousness of reflecting the necessity of judgement, recognising God's nature - see verse 13.

Paul's seriousness is captured in verse 11: anyone who calls themselves a disciple of Jesus and persists in willful sin is not even to sit at the dinner table with God's mob!!!

Prayer:
Father, please enable us to take sin, and discipline, seriously in God's mob. Amen.

26/08/2026

1 Corinthians 5
Well, this is why I really enjoy reading and learning. I have done a little bit of work on the idea of 'inflated with pride' in verse 2. And, I suspect that what I posted on Tuesday might be a little of a stretch.

You see, the references to 'boasting' and 'being inflated with pride' that Paul has used in a critical way so far in the letter have all focussed on the way the Corinthians are 'boasting' about the human leaders they are attaching themselves to (3:21; 4:6).

That means that the 'pride' here in 5:2 is pride in the leader they are attached to, not pride in the sin. That means that their desire to be attached to a person of influence ('inflated with pride' because they are attached to him) means that they are overlooking this egregious sin - and that is not on!

Prayer:
Father, please help me never to be blind to sin - in my life. And to be courageously humble to deal with it. Amen.

24/08/2026

1 Corinthians 5
As Paul turns to the issue of sexual immorality, we are struck by the fact that this is not just 'Corinth in God's mob', but worse - this is something that not even Corinth would do! A man is living with his father's wife! And God's mob are consumed not by grief but by pride.

Why would they be proud?

It is hard to say, but, as the letter unfolds, perhaps it is an example of being 'super-spiritual' - of being so arrogant in their salvation in Jesus that they have taken their forgiveness, and their physicality, too lightly - they think they can indulge in sin because their forgiveness is assured, and their physical nature is not as important as their spiritual!

And they are wrong. God has grabbed all of them. And all of them must proclaim Jesus!

Pray:
Father, help me to see my identity as your's clearly! Amen.

23/08/2026

Come, join us, and 'Taste and See' what Christianity is all about...

23/08/2026

1 Corinthians 5
We are getting ahead of ourselves - this is the passage for Sunday, Sept.6... but, with our Teach-in this weekend, I thought we could do it.

You can catch yesterday's sermon here: https://narrabrianglican.org/resources/sermons-talks/

As we start chapter 5, we must notice the move to a new topic of 'Corinth-back-in-God's-mob': sexual immorality. It is there in verse 1, and it has been 'widely reported', and Paul has heard.

We must remember this - the key issue in Corinth is that God's mob in Corinth have let Corinth back into God's mob - and this is completely undermining the job God has grabbed them for: to be eschatological heralds of Christ crucified. This is the key issue - and following particular leaders, and sexual immorality (and there is more to come) are expressions of this meta-problem.

Pray:
Father, thank you for fellowship with you and your mob yesterday. Amen.

How do Christians endure opposition and hardship in the service of God? Christians are commissioned to proclaim the gospel to all nations and to do so in the face of opposition and hardship. The apostle Paul endured strong opposition and hardship in his gospel ministry and in his letter to the Phili...

19/08/2026

1 Corinthians 4
Paul's sarcasm shines through in verses 7-13... He is biting in his condemnation of the Corinthians pride, as well as transparent as he reveals the apostolic life that follows clearly in the footsteps of 'Christ crucified'.

It is a reminder that message ('Christ crucified') and medium (the life of God's mob and, in this case, the leaders) are inseparable and the former shapes the latter. It is a reminder that our proclamation and practice must go hand-in-hand if we are to do the job God has laid on us!

Prayer:
Father, please shape my life to match the message of 'Christ crucified'. Amen.

17/08/2026

1 Corinthians 4
Paul turns to make something very clear: Apollos and he have lived this pattern, and they have done so in such a way that God's mob in Corinth can learn from their example. In no way is this contradictory - Paul and Apollos are not surreptitiously buying into personality-leadership. No - they are practicing what they proclaim and not going beyond what Paul has written (vs.6).

The aim of this is so that God's mob in Corinth might be protected from pride and arrogance - for the very culture of Corinth that God has grabbed them out of.

Prayer:
Father, please protect us from the culture around us, not out of fear but out of a desire to be holy so that we might proclaim your holiness. Amen.

17/08/2026

Save the dates...
Tuesday, September 1, 8, 15, 22:
'Taste and See'

Come and 'taste' and 'see' what Christianity is all about...

16/08/2026

1 Corinthians 4
Apologies for no posting last week - I was at General Synod... you can catch the sermon on 1 Corinthians 3, from yesterday, here: https://narrabrianglican.org/resources/sermons-talks/

As we turn to 1 Corinthians 4, Paul turns the spotlight on himself - on the 'us' of being an apostle. I think he does this to use his own life as a test-case of what true leadership in God's mob looks like. In many ways, what he states in verse 1 is a restating of 1 Corinthians 3:5. And the principle for the leader is clear - and again, a summary of what he has outlined in 1 Corinthians 3: the leader must prove 'faithful', and is answerable to God alone.

There is an encouragement here to leaders: work faithfully , answerable to God, in all that you do. And there is a warning to the mob here: don't judge a leader prematurely (either positively or negatively).

This is a helpful reminder in our results-driven world. This is a helpful reminder in our world that encourages self-absorption. This is a helpful reminder in our world that needs to be reminded of divine judgement.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for the leadership in your mob that is faithful and persevering. Amen.

How do Christians endure opposition and hardship in the service of God? Christians are commissioned to proclaim the gospel to all nations and to do so in the face of opposition and hardship. The apostle Paul endured strong opposition and hardship in his gospel ministry and in his letter to the Phili...

06/08/2026

Some stuff worth reading...

The Psalms: God's word and our words because they are Jesus' words...

There is an unknown connection issue between Cloudflare and the origin web server. As a result, the web page can not be displayed.