PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are needy children. Teach us how to walk humbly with you. Be glorified in us, your church.

READ: 1 Corinthians 4:14–21

MEDITATE:
Paul tempered his hard-edged irony by recalling how the Corinthian believers came to faith in the first place. Paul was not just one of many guides or guardians or teachers who had guided the new Christians. They only had one father in the gospel—and that was Paul. There is tenderness here in Paul’s appeal.

There is also sensitivity when he talks about Timothy, his “son” whom he loves, who will clarify Paul’s teaching. Paul wants to know the power of the church, not its boasting words. Spiritual power from God is the evident mark of the kingdom.

Where is the spiritual power in TEC? Has the church changed its beliefs, or merely its tone? Are the changes outward, or changes of heart?

Questions and Application:

1. What does this passage say?
2. What does this passage mean?
3. Does the way TEC lives as a denomination reflect what it teaches?
4. Does our congregation’s life reflect what we teach?
5. Does my life reflect what I believe?
6. Have we become arrogant in any way?

PRAY: Lord Jesus, when you looked out over Jerusalem you wept. Help us to weep as we look out over the lost in our generation.