Message Notes for April 28, 2024

Series: Under the Hood

Title: The Power-Filled Church

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV ​ And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

The power of the gospel is in the simple message of Christ crucified.

It is through weakness that God’s power is made known.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Faith should rest only in the power of God through Christ!

Family/Group Study Notes for the week of April 28, 2024

Series: Under the Hood

Title: The Power-Filled Church

* Share with each other how the power of Christ has been evident in your life. How are you seeing demonstrations of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others? How would you describe God’s active power moving in the church today?

* Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. What does Paul want to get across in this section of his letter to the Church in Corinth? How can weakness be an advantage in sharing Jesus? What are people putting their faith in today? Why? How can putting faith in other people or things rather than in Jesus, lead to dead ends and disappointments? Why do people get disappointed with Jesus? How does that disappointment point to a struggle of faith? How would you describe the power that comes from Jesus Christ crucified? How is that powerful?

* Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What is the point Paul wants to get across? How can our pride, strength, or self-sufficiency, get in the way of truly experiencing the power of God in our daily lives?

* What makes you fearful to share the good news of Jesus with others? If you were to copy Paul’s model of sharing Jesus to the Corinthians, how would that change your witness?

* Review the simple gospel message below. How can you use this or adapt it for letting others know about the power of Christ?

Look Up to God – He created us, loves us and wants a relationship with us.

Psalm 100:3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Look In to Ourselves – Our sin destroys our true identity and separates us from God and His true intent for our lives now and eternally.

Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard

Look Out to Jesus – God sent His son Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin. It is through belief in Jesus’ sacrificial life, death, and resurrection that we are forgiven, restored and gifted eternity with our Heavenly Father.

John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

Look Through Faith – It is by putting our faith in Jesus that our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and our eternity with God is secure.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  2  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.