{"id":26123,"date":"2020-11-06T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T13:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2021\/02\/24\/preaching-on-1-corinthians\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:08:26","slug":"preaching-on-1-corinthians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/preaching-on-1-corinthians\/","title":{"rendered":"Preaching on 1 Corinthians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Historical Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the time Paul arrived in Corinth around 50 AD, his second missionary journey was barely a year old but already wearing on him. He began his eighteen month long stay in that city, by his own admission, \u201cin weakness and in fear and much trembling\u201d (1 Cor. 2:3). Why was that? Because after crossing the Aegean Sea from what is today called the country of Turkey, Paul was attacked, beaten, and jailed in Philippi (Acts 16:19-42); forced out of Thessalonica by an unruly mob (Acts 17:5-10); chased out of Berea by remnants of that same mob who followed him there (Acts 17:13-14); and grievously agitated by the idol-filled streets he walked in Athens (Acts 17:16). Nevertheless, he pressed onward into Corinth determined to continue preaching \u201cJesus Christ and him crucified\u201d (1 Cor. 2:2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corinth was the largest city in Greece at that time, located on a narrow isthmus connecting Macedonia to Achaia. To the east lay the Aegean Sea and to the west, the Adriatic Sea. To keep from having to sail an additional 200 miles south around Achaia, ships headed east or west would be rolled overland on logs across Corinth from one seaport to the other. The city was quite literally a crossroads of travel and commerce, a cultural center, and a notoriously wicked place. The Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was there. Out of the city’s name was even coined a term to describe a person who had lost all self-control or engaged in prostitution. The term was \u201cCorinthianized.\u201d Outside Corinth, a mother who didn\u2019t approve of her son\u2019s choice in women would refer to her as a \u201cfine Corinthian wife.\u201d Outside their homes, angry fathers could be overheard yelling, \u201cNo daughter of mine will be leaving this house tonight looking like a Corinthian girl!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after Paul left Corinth, the great orator Apollos came and ministered there (Acts 18:24-28). Despite the faithful preaching of those two men, the house fellowships that made up the church at Corinth were among the most troubled congregations that Paul established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years passed. Having rested up from his second missionary journey and entered into his third, Paul was ministering in the city of Ephesus. It was there that he received a report from the household of Chloe about deep divisions among the house churches in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:11). Around that same time, Paul hosted a delegation of three men from those churches (1 Cor. 16:17) who had been sent to him with a letter (1 Cor. 7:1). It may have been a list of questions they wanted him to answer in order to prove who was right and who was wrong in their fractured fellowship. Or, the letter may have been their response to what Paul had written to them earlier in a letter that we no longer possess but to which he refers in 1 Corinthians 5:9. If that\u2019s the case, they may have written him back to tell him how wrong he was. Can you imagine?! Regardless of why they wrote what they did, 1 Corinthians is Paul\u2019s reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chart: Preaching Through 1 Corinthians<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know the weekly grind of sermon prep is hard, whether you are in the midst of series or planning a new series. Trying to find key verses you need to highlight in your sermon, finding the historical background to the book, discovering the flow\/structure of book, and even figuring out what is the theme of each section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we created this chart! This chart is designed to\u00a0save you time<\/strong>\u00a0as you prepare to preach a new sermon series from the Book of 1 Corinthians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find a quick visual overview of the movement of the Book of 1 Corinthians. It will help orient you and your hearers as you preach through the entire book or sections of the book. It provides, at a glance, one way to divide the book into pericopes. The chart includes key verses in the book, an overarching title for the book, the overall message of the book, and some historical background. It is color-coded to highlight certain defining aspects of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart could be used as a slide in your church service. It could serve as an introduction to a new series or a weekly check-in before you begin preaching. It could even be printed out and given to the members of your church, as a resource to help them grasp the message of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sermon Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dazed and Confused: How to Live Like Saints in Sin City<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First Corinthians is one of the easiest of all of Paul\u2019s letters to divide into a sermon series. And yet, it\u2019s the most difficult to summarize because it deals with nearly a dozen different issues! The problems that plagued the Corinthian church and the questions that fractured its membership are as deadly and divisive as ever. The answers Paul gives are as relevant today as they were then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first church walked through this letter with me as we considered together the kinds of issues that God\u2019s people must deal with in a world that\u2019s no friend to grace. If I were to preach through the letter again, I\u2019d consider carefully whether to preach it entirely in one series or divide it into two. \u201cDazed and Confused: How to Live Like Saints in Sin City\u201d would be one possible title for a single series. \u201cProblems that Plague Us\u201d and \u201cQuestions that Bedevil Us\u201d could serve as titles for two series covering 1 Corinthians 1-6 and 7-16 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Idea for Whole Series: <\/strong>We must overcome numerous challenges in our struggle to live like saints in this sinful world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10 \u2013 6:20<\/h2>\n\n\n\n