The Family Bible Journey Podcast

When we walk in the Lord's way, there is confidence that comes from following a true path. Even if we get distracted, or sidetracked, or stumble along the way, so long as we seek the Lord's way, we are heading in the right direction.

Paul was very concerned about the Corinthians who seemed to be prepared to accept any false teacher, but were reluctant to embrace his tried and true words. We do well today to test the spirits, to see if we are listening to those whose words are in accord with scripture or contrary to it.

We live in a world full of people who have been conditioned to think that projecting an image of self is not only acceptable, it's the way to be. Even if their projected image is a fiction, they expect to win acceptance for who they are pretending to be. God's people don't need to project or imagine, because we know who we are, and know that everyone will be known for who they are (not who they pretend to be) in the end.

We used to talk of common sense, but so many are so far from the Lord that I now refer to wisdom as not-so-common sense. We explore the blessings of not-so-common sense in general and particularly in family life.

Paul compares his ministry to the swindlers and counterfeits who had plagued the churches in Corinth. He served the Christians in love and would rather be impoverished than impose upon them. We serve a loving Master, who moves us to serve in love, even when we serve those who are not so lovable.

We often feel justified when we speak our opinion, but the wise person knows it is always better to listen before speaking. If your lips are moving, you're not learning. Let us resist the temptation to speak first, so that we may been seen as wise, instead of playing the part of the fool.

A patently false proverb!?! We will learn how a proverb that is 100% wrong found itself in holy scripture, and what it tells us about superstition, and putting our faith in the wrong places.

Acrocorinth is the name of the ancient stronghold that guarded Corinth. Perched atop a rugged ridge, it was an imposing fortress. Paul uses this mountaintop stronghold as a parable for the strongholds satan builds in our lives and communities when we aren't led by godliness.

Pride is deceptive and persuasive. Because the human heart is easily turned inward, and away from others, our conscience can deceive us. In order to avoid the foolishness of pride, we need to pay careful attention to God's Word, which can never steer us wrong.

Nowadays the world confuses loudness with leadership and confidence (I dare say arrogance) with competence. In this chapter, we learn the blessing of speaking kind, not harsh words. When we use our tongues to lift others up, we share the love and life we ourselves have first received from the Lord our Maker.

Paul teaches us that those who are generous will reap generously. We will learn how the parable of this chapter naturally grows out of the large agricultural economy of ancient Corinth.

It has been said there is no shortcut to success, and this is true! We reflect on the wisdom of hard work in this chapter. God has given us our strength, intellect, hands and feet to do good work. Let us honor the Lord by making good use of all that he has given to us.

We are wise to recognze how the people we surround ourselves with affect the trajectory of our lives. While we want to be friendly with all, in order to win some with the gospel, we are also careful to spend much time with people whose goals and aspirations are similar to ours. This protects us from ungodliness and prepares us for greater service in the Lord's kingdom.

We explore different cultural motivations for generosity. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to demonstrate their faith by giving gladly to the saints who were impoverished by a famine in Judea. We consider how our own notions of generosity square with Biblical wisdom, so that we too may excel in godly generosity.

God's Word is life for His people, because only in His Word does He reveal His wisdom, His will and His ways to us. When we live into HIs Way and speak His Words, we are a blessing to others in both this life and the next.

We consider the earthly and eternal blessings of living our lives with a 10,000 year perspective. When we share Christ's love and righteousness with others, they are blessed both now and forever. This gives us great reason to live godly lives by investing ourselves in the eternal welfare of others.

Anger, hate and greed. These three attitudes define our age. In this chapter, we learn God's response to sinful selfishness.

Twin parables in this chapter highlight the blessing of wisdom and the curse of foolishness. The proverbs excel at highlighting competing worldly wisdom and God's way. One leads to life. The other to death in all sorts of forms.