If depression is prevalent in the world at large, it is even more so in the church. Depression is a common struggle Christians experience because of their own failure to grapple with the situation in life, and also their limitation or inability in controlling the outcomes which they never expected or wanted to avoid at all cost. In this passage, we learn the characteristics, causes, and the cure for depression, as we see David battling with it.
The unity of the church refers to the union of the people of God, bound to Him and to one another by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s that One blood which saves God’s people, and this same truth produces unity that transcends race, culture, age, and social status. Gospel, when truly embraced, will transform us and pursuing unity among the saints becomes an inevitable reality. In this passage, we learn how pursuing unity in the Kingdom of God is part of gospel witness, and also necessary to experience joy in Christian life.
Our culture is obsessed with the concept of productivity and fruitfulness, so much so that we now have apps on our phones to suggest us of what’s best next, and it is most often focused on the use of time that results in monetary benefit or up-skilling ourselves. It is a kind of “precious” commodity that is meant to satisfy us and bring a sense of joy and fulfillment. But the Bible has a very different approach to the use of time, one that produces spiritual growth, maturity, and see the need to ultimately glorify God and find our true joy in Him. In this passage, we learn what it means to live wisely for God during these times, and see what kind of fruitfulness He calls us to live.
We usually express gratitude through praise when someone helps us at a time of helplessness. We also bestow honor and praise to someone who is very prominent in the society. So our praise of someone is often dependent on what they have done for us, or who they are as a person. What if the God of the Bible is both generous or kind towards us at every situation in our lives and also the Greatest in this entire universe? In this passage, we learn how we need to praise God and the importance of doing it.
Corporate Worship exists primarily to honor God, to remember His promises, to praise Him for who He is and for what He has done for us. So if the worship is all about Him and not about us, then we’re required to do so in a way that He has commanded us to worship Him, not the way we think He should be worshiped. In this passage, the Apostle Paul confronts disorderly worship practices in the church, and gives us instructions on how to worship God decently and in order.
The gift of tongues was a supernatural gift given by the Holy Spirit to God’s chosen servants to speak in foreign human languages for the sake of preaching the gospel. The gift of prophecy on the other hand was a word of God spoken by a prophet under the divine authority of God to His people. The Corinthian church misused both of these gifts for their own popularity and brought chaos and confusion in the public worship of God. In this passage, we learn the how the gift of tongues and prophecy were used in the early church and the practical way Paul commands to handle these gifts in the church.
The gift of tongues in the Bible always referred to foreign human languages. God’s servants and His apostles were given special authority and power through the Holy Spirit to speak in foreign languages which they have not learned, for the sake of advancing the gospel in other parts of the world. In the Corinthian church, people were misusing this gift of tongues to elevate themselves as super spiritual Christians appearing to have high status in God’s sight than those who don’t speak in tongues. In this passage, we see how the apostle Paul handles this tension and discrimination in the church and the solution he provides.
The Corinthian church presumed that speaking in tongues was a sure mark of the Holy Spirit dwelling in a Christian, without tongues there would be no Holy Spirit in our lives. Does the Bible affirm this view? What are the spiritual gifts? Are they still applicable today? In this passage, Paul clarifies the place that Tongues and other spiritual gifts have in the life of the church.
Head covering is a very contentious issue. However, this shouldn’t divide churches or break fellowship with others because head covering is not a practice upon which the church is built, in this sense it is a secondary issue. The church is built upon the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ. Having said that, we should not avoid learning about this practice and its importance in worship. This passage explores head covering and its implications in our context.
If you experience great blessings in your life, it’s not because you did something right in the sight of God and earned it, but because of God’s goodness and mercy towards you. In this passage, the Psalmist invites us to know who this God is, and what privileges He gives in order to keep us safe through this journey of life. God not just gives us comfort and hope in difficult circumstances through His promises (that in itself is a privilege we receive which we don’t deserve), but He also journeys with us through life. That’s an unspeakable privilege for those who trust in the Lord.