Discipling Life

Second Corinthians 13:5-13 stands at the conclusion of one of Paul’s most personal and emotionally charged letters. Throughout 2 Corinthians, Paul has defended his apostolic ministry against critics in Corinth who questioned both his authority and his weakness. Some opponents apparently viewed suffering, humility, and vulnerability as signs that Paul lacked true spiritual power. Paul responds by reframing weakness through the lens of Christ crucified and risen. The power of God is revealed not through domination or self-promotion, but through sacrificial love and faithful endurance. Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered if you are becoming the person you hoped to be. Sometimes the questions come quietly at the end of a long day. Am I growing kinder? Am I listening to God? Am I living with love and integrity? In today’s text, Paul invites the church into that kind of honest reflection. He writes, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith” (v. 5). These w...

I mentioned earlier that Wesley said that there is not such thing as solitary religion. You can’t be a Christian by yourself. Life is not meant to be lived in isolation. We need people to serve and people to serve with. Our faith must be more that “me and Jesus” we are called in community to be sent forth as “the Body of Christ, redeemed by his blood” (from the Great Thanksgiving). We are created for connection, for belonging, for a shared purpose that is bigger than any one of us. Paul speaks to this deep truth in 1 Corinthians 12:3-13. He writes that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” In other words, even our first steps toward Christ are stirred by grace that reaches for us before we ever reach back. The Holy Spirit draws us into the life of God and into the life of the community. Paul goes on to say that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (v. 4) and that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (v. 7) The Sp...

It’s not easy to look at someone through a new lens. Our first impressions, disappointments, and disagreements often cling to our view of another person. But God invites us to see differently. God calls us to look not through the lens of the past but through the mercy of Christ. Paul writes, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view” (v. 16). In Christ, the way we see others, ourselves, and the world begins to change. ( 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ) Paul’s words reach to the heart of the gospel: “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (v. 17). New creation is not a distant hope, it is a present reality breaking into our lives through grace. God’s reconciling love does more than forgive; it renews and transforms. This is prevenient and justifying grace in motion. God comes toward us before we are even aware, inviting us to be made whole, and setting us right in relationship with hi...

Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all of the dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth . — 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Every spring, I’m struck by how quickly things change. One day the trees look bare and tired, and the next day tiny green buds appear followed by an explosion of pollen! It’s almost as though creation itself can’t wait to burst into new life. Easter carries that same energy. It’s the season when the church leans forward, expecting transformation, trusting that resurrection is not just a story about Jesus long ago but a promise for us right now. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). He’s u...