Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / August 15 - 1 Corinthians 8

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August 15 - 1 Corinthians 8 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:11
  Hello, friends. It's Sean.
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  Here it is Thursday, it is the 15th of August and it is great
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  to have your company. Thanks for tapping on play as we
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  celebrate today. Because today, today, 85 years
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  ago, this little flash in the pan film that really wouldn't
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  last very long was released called The Wizard of Oz.
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  There you go. Hey, didn't that cause a stir?
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  And still today I find myself singing, at least on a weekly
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  basis that I'm off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of
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  Oz Why? Well, because, because, because,
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  because, because of the wonderful things he does and so
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  on. Amazing. 85 years ago today,
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  that is certainly a story that has stood the test of time.
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  But Speaking of standing the test of time, that might be 85
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  years. The friends, we are going to
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  read a story which spans thousands of years.
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  And today we read the next chapter of that story as
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  captured by this incredible apostle by the name of Paul as
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  he writes to his friends in Corinth.
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  And we are going to read it together as we hear what it is
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  that the Holy Spirit has convicted Paul to write to his
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  friends about to make sure that they are setting up their church
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  community to follow in the way of God's Kingdom.
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  So let us read that together, shall we?
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  Let us read together First Corinthians chapter 8.
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  Now regarding your question about food that has been offered
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  to idols, yes, we know that we all have knowledge about this
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  issue. But while knowledge makes us
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  feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.
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  Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know
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  very much. But the person who loves God is
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  the one whom God recognises. So what about eating meat that
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  has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol
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  is not really a God and that there is only one God.
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  There may be so called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some
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  people actually worship many gods and many Lords.
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  But for us there is one God the Father, by whom all things were
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  created and for whom we live. And there is one Lord Jesus
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  Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we
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  live. However, not all believers know
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  this. Some are accustomed to thinking
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  of idols as being real. So when they eat food that has
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  been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of
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  real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.
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  It's true that we can't win God's approval by what we eat.
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  We don't lose anything if we don't eat it, and we don't gain
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  anything if we do. But you must be careful so that
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  your freedom does not 'cause others with a weaker conscience
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  to stumble. For if others see you with your
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  superior knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, won't
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  they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food
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  that has been offered to an idol?
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  So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for
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  whom Christ died will be destroyed.
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  And when you sin against another believer by encouraging them to
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  do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against
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  Christ. So if what I eat causes another
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  believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I
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  live, for I don't want to cause another believer to stumble.
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  Ah, Jesus, you know that we live in a world that is so
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  individual, that is all about my desires, my wants, my needs
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  being gratified. But here Paul writes about a
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  better way, a way that is always cognizant of the needs and the
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  desires of those around us. That even as we live in the
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  freedom that you have won for us, Jesus, that we can always be
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  mindful of how we live and how we act.
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  So that in everything we do, we are encouraging our brothers and
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  sisters around us toward faith and fidelity to you.
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  So convict us to always think communally and not individually
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  as our world would tell us to, and that as we think communally,
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  we might think of how we can continually point those around
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  us to you and the love and the freedom that you have for them.
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  Thank you Jesus, for this love and this freedom that you offer
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  us so graciously and so generously.
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  We are in awe of you and we love you and we pray all of this in
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  your saving name. I'm in.