All for the Kingdom with Ben Smith

Our sinful nature is quick to take the glory from the blessings and gifts of God for ourselves. We often even claim that they come from us rather than God. Yet, when confronted with our true weakness, we come to know through experience the sufficiency of God’s grace - that His grace is enough.

Paul had seen God move in mighty ways. Often when many were coming to salvation, it also was a time when persecution and hardships were the greatest. Fourteen years earlier, while he and Barnabas were preaching in Lystra, Paul noticed a crippled man listening who had believing faith. He healed the man, and he immediately stood up and walked. When the crowds witnessed this miracle, they did not pra...

In these final verses of chapter 11, Paul continues his defense of his apostleship and denouncement of those preaching a gospel contrary to the true gospel. Generally, it is good advice not to “toot your own horn.” However, sometimes, you must “toot your own horn” when defending against arrogant braggarts leading others astray. This is the case in this passage. To that end, Paul allows himself som...

Without a biblical worldview, there is no understanding of evil's real and present danger and the need to restrain it. When faced with evil, political leaders often prescribe legislative, regulatory, economic, or education remedies, believing that the undesired behavior can be overcome with better programs and laws. Or individuals speak of their own difficult situations and ascribe the blame or th...

No matter how far a child has wandered or how great a child has rebelled, godly parents do not give up hope that God will draw them back. No matter how long it has been, godly parents continue to call on the Lord to rescue their child and take every opportunity to speak the truth to their child. This is the heartbreaking intensity with which Paul writes this passage. He loved the church at Corinth...

Due to equipment malfunction, no video recording of this sermon was made. The audio recording was very poor and partially captured. The audio for this podcast was made by stitching the original audio with post-production audio recordings.  Because the recording is so poor, I have made my pulpit notes available for download for free. To download my notes, go to  https://www.bensmithsr.org...

During the summer months, there are several Sundays when I am out of the pulpit. I will return to preaching through 2 Corinthians when I return to the pulpit, but for these weeks where I have been away, I will be posting sermons from the book of James I preached in 2020. As an interesting historical note, considering that James begins the letter with the instruction to "consider it all joy, my bre...

I believe that God's timing is perfect. As such, I trust that the timing of this sermon podcast episode is perfect. I preached this sermon on August 7, 2022. The podcast episode should have been published the following week. However, after nearly seven months had passed, I went online to get the link for the sermon but could not find it. After some investigation, I realized that it had never been...

Leaders can be tempted to adjust the message to be most appealing to the crowd, even at the expense of the truth. Congregations can be tempted to desire what is entertaining over what is true or to give more honor and authority to what draws a crowd than what is faithful and true to God's word. Who has the most significant cultural influence today? Some say it is the one who can draw the largest c...

Most everyone is generous to something. The question is not whether you will be generous. The question is, what will you be generous to? Whatever has your heart will also enjoy your generosity. 2 Corinthians 9 is more than just a command to be generous. This passage also teaches practical truths about how you can be a cheerful giver and how your giving is a testimony to the grace you have received...

The Bible recognizes the sinfulness of man and man’s nature of rebellion. Recognizing the destructive nature of this rebellion, the Bible recognizes the need for rulers to establish and enforce the law. And the need for oversight for leaders because they, too, are sinful. In these final verses of the chapter, Paul gives testimony to Titus and the two brothers he is sending back to the Corinthian c...

In August of 2022, I preached this passage as part of a sermon series titled “Back to Basics.” Now that we have come to this chapter again as I preach through the book of 2 Corinthians, I trust that in the providence of God, this sermon, which was first preached only nine months ago, will again be used by God to bless and edify the church. Paul encourages the church to excel not only in the good t...

Regret is a powerful emotion. Generally, it is connected to missing or squandering an opportunity or being unsatisfied with a decision later revealed to be foolish, unwise, or bad. Walking in obedience before the Lord may cause you to experience difficult days and know momentary grief and suffering, but you will never regret it. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul references an issue of sin he addressed in 1...

All relationships require some level of separation. Marriage requires "forsaking all others," citizenship requires "renouncing all other allegiances, and to be a child of God requires forsaking all other masters. Romans 10:9 declares that salvation comes from believing God raised Jesus from the dead and confessing Jesus as Lord. If Jesus is Lord of your life, you have forsaken all other lords and...

The image of a train leaving the station has long been a helpful image for a present opportunity. When the train arrives, you have the opportunity to get on. However, this opportunity will not last. The train will leave, and when it does, you will lose the opportunity for travel. How many will miss the opportunity to get on board because they are too tied to the luggage on the loading dock? Weighe...

From 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, Pastor Ben preaches on how the gospel transforms your life. In this passage, Paul uses "therefore" three times to build his argument for how an eternal gospel perspective transforms how you live. The resurrection transforms who you live for; therefore, the gospel transforms how you live, and; therefore, the hope of the gospel transforms how you relate to others.

Is there something wrong with your body today? Is there something not working as it should, injured, or dysfunctional? Though there may be a few who would not admit to it, the answer for most is “yes.” For some, the dysfunction or injury is apparent. Others suffer from a physical or mental dysfunction that is not observable to others. 1 Corinthians 5:1-10 does not ignore the difficulties we experi...

It is good and helpful for you to think about and work out issues of theology and doctrine. Those under the Lordship of Jesus rightly desire to be as obedient to His word and faithful to His commands as possible. Therefore, those who are disciples of Jesus spend their lives working out their faith and striving to understand God's word better. And yet the saving gospel is not complicated or hard to...

As we remember the triumphal entry, we recognize that these events point us to what will be. Jesus is coming again. There is coming a second triumphal entry. Having defeated sin and death on the cross, He will return as a King of kings. Having atoned the wrath of God, He will welcome the saints into the presence of God. Having received the worship of a few, he will soon receive the worship of ever...

Perspective changes everything. An invading army is bad, but not when protected by a heavenly host. That is what Elisha's servant discovered when the king of Syria surrounded their city (2 Kings 6:8-23). In our passage, Paul continues to recognize the reality of suffering he had experienced and that all those who follow Christ will know. And yet he speaks of the afflictions of this world not as un...

Leaders naturally want to project an image of power and strength. Any perceived weakness threatens their ability to command the attention, loyalty, and support of those they lead. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul makes a radically different claim. He does not claim strength, power, ability, intelligence, or any other characteristic of worldly admiration. Instead, he identifies himself with the forgettab...

Paul knew what it was to be blinded to the truth. Paul knew what it was to be blinded to who Jesus is. And Paul knew what it was to see the gospel light. In Corinthians 4, he teaches on the transformation of the gospel, the opposing work of Satan, and the truth that only God can shine the light of knowledge that reveals His glory through Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul references the events recorded in Exodus 19-34. He compares the glory of the law with the glory of the new covenant and salvation in Jesus Christ. You may ask, "what relevance does the law of Moses have today?" You may wonder what connection the events of the Israelites near Mt. Sinai have with you today. The relevance and connection are that all who are outside of the red...

The imagery that Paul references in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 is of a Roman General’s victory parade. When the victorious general returned home, there would be a parade to celebrate his victory and the general’s success. The sights and smells of the event would be memorable. There would be incense burned in honor of the hero. There would be processions of soldiers and officers. There would be grand ce...

When I was a child, my parents would say something to me before administering discipline. They would say, “this hurts me, more than it hurts you.” To be honest, as a child, I could not understand how this could be true. Now as a parent, I both understand what they meant and have said these very words myself. Discipline is a necessary part of raising children. Discipline is an essential part of any...