Cornerstone West Los Angeles » Sermons

The Christian view of sex seems backwards to modern people, but it’s actually joyful and hope-giving. Paul shows us how by teaching us about our body. For Christians, the body is sacred and valuable and it matters how we use it.  Application Questions: 1. When it comes to our city, do you think we view the body as very important or not very important?  2. Why is it good news that God cares about y...

Whether it's life stage, a special circumstance, or specific struggle, we're all tired. Sometimes exhausted. Jesus meets us in our need with an offer of his rest. In Him, we find the unexpected and potent peace of His presence - the rest we truly need.  Application Questions: 1. What are some ways in which you look for rest?  2. How is Jesus' unexpected offer of rest actually good news?  3. How ca...

The Kingdom of God is something we all long for—whether we admit it or not. Paul sees that the Corinthians were losing sight of the kingdom, and their lifestyles showed it. So he refocuses them on the kingdom: what it is, what keeps us from it, and how the gospel gives us a new identity that brings us into it. Application Questions: 1. How do you see a desire for the kingdom of God in your own lif...

In Corinth there are Christians who are handling disputes among one another by suing each other in secular courts. Paul shows them that this kind of action undermines the witness of the gospel in the church. Through the power of the gospel the church should be able to handle disputes through discernment, reconciliation, and unity. Application Questions: 1. How different is authentic Christian comm...

When we hear of someone being removed from the church community we inevitably have a lot of questions. Isn't that unkind? What exactly does that mean? Why would God promote that kind of shunning? But most of our questions stem from misunderstanding what is typically called "church discipline." But when we understand the biblical concept of "church restoration" things become more more clear and com...

What do you do when sin runs rampant in the church? How do you handle unrepentance in the body? Paul takes on some of the hardest questions facing the church in Corinth (and the church in LA) head on. And he does it with boldness, love, and a confidence in the restorative power of the gospel.

New Year’s Day is usually a letdown. The real celebration is the night before, and we wake up in another year with another set of things we’d like to change. The Bible gives us a better way to celebrate the New Year, one that connects it to God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future. Application Questions: 1. Are you a New Year’s Resolution kind of person or an anti-New Year’s resolution...

Christmas can be a time of incredible darkness and pain, only highlighted more clearly because of the lights and joy of the season. But Christmas is a story of a God who knows our darkness, and who chooses to enter our darkness with us and for us. Christ is God in the flesh, God revealing Himself to a dark and broken world, and it is into the darkness Christ goes, the darkness of our world and the...

Paul wields his authority in 1 Corinthians, but in a way that isn’t very familiar to us today. We struggle with authority, but Paul teaches us the better way of authority founded on the gospel. Application Questions: 1. Do you tend to reject authority or embrace it? 2. What is compelling about Paul’s vision of authority as loving, worth imitating, and determined?  3. How does the gospel free us to...

We're all searching for a better way to live. But the only way to live that truly satisfies is backward from what we would expect. On the cross Jesus not only saved and redeemed us, but he also showed us the way forward in this fallen world. He showed us the truly better way to live. And it's the way of the cross. Application Questions: 1. In what ways do you see the lie of achievement sneak into...

In Corinth, like Los Angeles, everyone is climbing the ladder towards success and significance. And if you want to make sure you are significant, you have to do a lot of judging—of others, and of yourself. Paul explains how the gospel upends the way we judge others and ourselves: by giving us true humility in Jesus Christ. Application Questions: 1. Do you care more about what others think of you o...

We are God's temple and all things are ours in Christ. We must fight to keep our eyes on Him, to humble ourselves before the One who made us all the things that we are. When we do, He lifts us up and sends us out, empowered by His Spirit to do His work. Application Questions: 1. What does it mean to you that you are God's temple?  2. How can you humble yourself more before the Almighty God?  3. Ho...

How do you build a church? What do you expect from your pastors and Christian leaders? What do you expect from your local church? How you answer these questions will not only determine how you're involved in the local church, it will also determine how you build your life as a Christian. And, as Paul continues to show us: Jesus has a better way to build. Application Questions: Prior to this sermon...

Paul corrects a prideful church in Corinth, and as he does we get a lesson on spiritual growth. Like moving from an infant towards maturity, spiritual growth means we grow more and more into the image of Christ in our hearts and our lives. We receive God’s truth, and others help us, but ultimately it’s God who gives the growth. Application Questions: 1. What is your experience with spiritual growt...

1 Corinthians 2 is shaped like the Trinity. The Father decrees the gospel before the ages, the Son purchases our salvation on the cross, and the Spirit applies that salvation to us as we perceive and enjoy the wisdom of God. Far from making things dry or overly intellectual, the doctrine of the Trinity enriches and deepens our spiritual lives as we appreciate God in his fullness drawing us into hi...

Paul is giving the Corinthians a better way for wisdom, and he finishes in this passage. In a city where the gospel can look so foolish to so many, Paul gives us confidence that it really is God’s wisdom and power in the world. But we receive that wisdom by the Spirit, not by our own intelligence, effort, or morality. That means we live in the city as humble recipients of God’s own Spirit, who bas...

Our hearts are always preaching and being preached to. The world and our own hearts naturally prize our own wisdom and strength. But the gospel is best received in weakness, so that we are better able to see what is most true and rest in not in our own wisdom, but in God’s power.

Paul transitions from talking about the foolishness of the cross to talking about the foolishness of the church according to worldly standards. God has designed the church to be weak and foolish according to the world's standards, because this brings Him great glory. Application Questions: 1. What does allegiance look like in your life? 2. How does your job, your worldly "success," attempt to draw...

Paul teaches the Corinthians the difference between the wisdom of the city and God’s wisdom. Worldly wisdom focuses on success, significance, and strength, while God’s wisdom reveals itself in the seeming insignificance and weakness of Christ crucified. Application Questions: 1. In your own words, how would you describe the “wisdom of the world” that Paul talks about in this passage?   2. How have...

The world offers us countless social, religious, and political tribes. When these tribes show up inside the church they turn disagreements into divisions. These tribes tell us that they are our most significant identity and the reason for our hope. But, in reality, they're just God-replacements characterized by empty promises and fleeting belonging. Christ offers us a better way. Application Quest...

The book of 1 Corinthians is written to Christians in a vibrant and challenging city. Paul writes to show them a better way to live than what their city has on offer, and in this introduction he lays the foundation: the grace we find in Christ.  Application Questions: 1. How does the description of Corinth compare to your experience of Los Angeles? 2. Paul mentions four blessings Christians receiv...

Paul closes the letter to the Galatians by reminding them not to boast in the flesh, but to boast in the cross of Jesus Christ.  Application Questions: 1. How has Galatians affected you over the past several months?  2. How do you experience the siren song of boasting in yourself or something in the world?  3. What about boasting in the cross excites you? What about boasting in the cross challenge...

A life of freedom is a life lived for the good of others. When we are set free from our self-salvation projects, we are able to live the deeply interdependent relational lives we were created to live. The problem is, living our lives for others often makes us tired and weary. It doesn't feel as picturesque as the Bible describes it. Paul meets us in our weariness with a surprising anecdote: a remi...

Paul shows us how the fruit of the Spirit is meant to be directed outwardly to one another in the context of the Church. We are called to humility towards one another, not comparing and judging others. We are called to reconciliation with one another, forgiving and restoring. And we are called to sacrifice for one another, bearing one another's burdens. Application Questions: 1. Do you view the ch...

The fruit of the Spirit is not a list of things to do but a description of what Christian growth looks like. Paul shows us the content, the nature, and the process of Christian growth so that we can participate more fully in what the Spirit is doing in our lives. Application Questions: 1. What is compelling to you about experiencing the fruit of the Spirit in your own life?  2. Christian growth is...