Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / August 21 - 1 Corinthians 11

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August 21 - 1 Corinthians 11 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is Wednesday, it is the
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  21st of August. And you, you clever thing, you
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  have tapped on play. But here I am so that you and I
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  can continue reading through the Bible just a chapter a day,
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  because that's what we do. And today or today is full of
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  controversy. Today has got some verses in
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  that sound awfully sexist and people have struggled with them.
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  But I think it's probably fair to say, reading through
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  commentaries, that the general consensus is the advice that
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  Paul gives about women covering their heads and and gender
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  differences in worship was not so much to set up an instruction
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  about how women are to be treated moving forward
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  throughout time in God's church. But it was at that time what he
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  was suggesting would ensure that the focus was not on the people
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  worshipping, but on God. And these actions, as weird as
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  they sound to our modern ears, would have been awfully
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  acceptable and just the way to to blend in and be
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  uncontroversial at the time. So that's why he says it.
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  And then he goes on with these famous words of of institution
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  about how we practise communion. So we are going to read this
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  chapter chock a block full of both controversy and central
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  teaching that our church uses. So let's get down to it, shall
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  we? Let us read together First
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  Corinthians Chapter 11. And you should imitate me, just
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  as I imitate Christ. I'm so glad that you always keep
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  me in your thoughts and that you are following the teaching as I
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  passed on to you. But there is one thing I want
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  you to know. The head of every man is Christ,
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  and the head of woman is man and the head of Christ is God.
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  A man dishonours his head if he covers his head while praying or
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  prophesying. But a woman dishonours her head
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  if she prays or prophecies without a covering on her head.
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  For this is the same as shaving her head.
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  Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut
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  off all her hair, but since it is shameful for a woman to have
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  her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.
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  A man should not wear anything on his head when worshipping.
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  For man is made in God's image and reflects God's glory, and
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  woman reflects man's glory. For the first man didn't come
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  from woman, but the first woman came from man.
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  And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.
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  For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman
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  should wear a covering on her head to show she is under
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  authority. But among the Lord's people,
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  women are not independent of men, and men are not independent
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  of women. For although the first woman
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  came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and
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  everything comes from God. Judge for yourselves.
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  Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without
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  covering a head? Isn't it obvious that it's
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  disgraceful for a man to have long hair?
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  And isn't long hair a woman's pride and joy, for it has been
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  given to her as a covering? But if anyone wants to argue
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  about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this,
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  and neither do God's other churches.
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  But in the following instruction I cannot praise you, for it
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  sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together.
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  First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you
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  meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it.
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  But of course there must be divisions among you so that you
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  who have God's approval will be recognised when you meet
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  together. You are not really interested in
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  the Lord's Supper, for some of you hurry to eat your own meal
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  without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry
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  while others get drunk. What?
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  Don't you have your own homes for eating and drinking?
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  Or do you really want to disgrace God's church and shame
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  the poor? What am I supposed to say?
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  Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not
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  praise you for this, for I pass on to you what I received from
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  the Lord Himself. On the night when he was
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  betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to
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  God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and
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  said, This is my body which is given for you.
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  Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup
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  of wine after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant
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  between God and his people, an agreement confirmed with my
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  blood. Do this in remembrance of Me as
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  often as you drink it. For every time you eat this
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  bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death
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  until he comes again. So anyone who eats bread or
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  drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning
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  against the body and blood of the Lord.
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  That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread
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  and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or
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  drink the cup without honouring the body of Christ, you are
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  eating and drinking God's judgement upon yourself.
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  That is why many of you are weak and sick, and some have even
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  died. But if we would examine
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  ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.
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  Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined
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  so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
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  So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the
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  Lord's Supper, wait for each other.
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  If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won't bring
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  judgement upon yourselves when you meet together.
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  I'll give you instructions about the other matters after I
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  arrive. Our Jesus, we hear from this
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  reading that you are indeed a God of order.
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  You don't rule in chaos and confusion, but you know the best
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  way for us to live, the best way for our communities to live
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  together, and the best way for us to live subservient to you.
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  So Jesus, we lift you up and we pray that you would structure
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  our heart so that you indeed take that highest throne and
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  that everything else falls into its rightful place.
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  And Lord, as we live together, I pray that we would always,
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  always have your heart for each other that doesn't look to our
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  own selfish needs or desires, but continually thinks about
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  your body and our brothers and sisters and how we can build
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  each other up in our lives. Following you, worshipping you,
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  and sharing your love with our communities.
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  We just love you and we are so grateful for all that you've
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  done for us. And so we pray all of this in
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  your loving name, Jesus, Amen.