Trinity Church of Portland - Sermons

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “The Beauty of the Body” is from 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and was preached by Pastor Thomas Terry.As we finish chapter six, the Apostle Paul moves into pointing out the beauty and sacred nature of the body. The Corinthians were subjected to a Platonic culture that minimized the importance and transcendence of the human body. This led to pagan practices that were sinful, so these new Christians needed to be lovingly corrected in their thinking and lifestyle to align with scripture. We live in a culture where it has become acceptable to live as if our bodies don’t matter. So, as Christian’s we must live in a way that counts our bodies as important, transcendent, and sacred because we have been purchased by God in Christ.

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “Our Future Reign and Past Redemption Changes Our Present Relationships” is from 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 and was preached by a guest preacher, Pastor Alex Duke from Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.In chapter six, the Apostle Paul moves into pointing out how wrong it is that the Corinthians are taking each other to court because some Christians are cheating other Christians. Paul is saying that rather than suing each other it would be better to be cheated. This is because a church that fails to deal with its internal conflicts loses its ability to stand out and to speak up in a fractured, disunified, and litigious world. Paul points out that because God will use his people to one day help in judging the angels they can now begin deciding trivial matters rather than taking these matters to civil courts. Finally, Paul reminds them that their past redemption is what qualifies them to now decide matters of importance. They have been washed, sanctified, and justified by the Lord Jesus. This is the impetus of how to cut out the root of the petty sin we struggle with. Remember what Jesus has done for you!

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “The Harder Side of Church Discipline” is from from 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 and was preached by Pastor Greg Taylor.The apostle Paul in writing this part of his letter to the Corinthians is seeking to show them the importance of not allowing unrepentant sin to gain a foothold in the church. Because to not deal with unrepentant sin brings harm to Christ’s church, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Church discipline is one of the mechanisms God uses to bring wayward Christians to a place of restoration, and this leads to greater purity in the church, where God is obeyed and Christ is glorified.

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “Spiritual Parenthood In Pagan Times” is from from 1 Corinthians 4:14-21 and was preached by Pastor Jan Verbruggen.In this text the apostle Paul is writing as a spiritual parent and lets the Corinthians know he is willing to correct them, to check them, and to chastise them. Paul commands the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Paul prefers to come to them in a spirit of gentleness because they have responded in repentance and faith, but if not he is willing to come in discipline, as a stern father. The spiritual parent will love enough to correct and to point their spiritual children to Christ and the hope of the gospel. This is what we all need and this must be done in the power of the kingdom of God.

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “Let God Be the Judge” is from from 1 Corinthians 4:1-13 and was preached by Pastor Greg Taylor.In this text the apostle Paul explains to the Corinthians that Christian service requires servanthood, stewardship, and sacrifice. It is God who equips his people for service so that we can serve well and steward the resources God puts in our care faithfully. We must also remember to be cautious to not put ourselves in the place of judging the service others because it is God alone who holds that place.

This morning we continued in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture, an exposition of 1 Corinthians. This sermon titled “Church Unity Through Church Identity” is from from 1 Corinthians 3:10-23 and was preached by a frequent guest preacher at Trinity Church, Pastor Cody Cannon who is the Lead Pastor of Life Pointe Church in Woodland, CA.In this text the apostle Paul reminds the local church who they are and encourages them that they will find unity when they realize their identity in Christ. This unity is worth fighting for because it honors God and glorifies Jesus and it is God's will for the church.

This morning we arrived at our fifth sermon in our current series, Christian Living In The Current of Culture. This sermon titled “Big Babies” was preached by Pastor Thomas Terry from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.Because the Corinthians were living with an attitude of spiritual superiority, Paul starts this section with a reproof telling the Corinthians he could not affirm them as spiritual people but rather as people of the flesh. They were spiritual babies living as people who were spiritually immature without an appetite for the deeper things of God. Many Christians in our context have no appetite for the things of God, instead they substitute worldly wisdom and are apathetic toward God’s wisdom.If you are not growing in spiritual maturity receive this reproof and lay aside your worldliness, apathy, and stop feeding your flesh and instead turn to the Lord—ask him to help you change, and build you up in his word.

This morning we continued in our series Christian Living In The Current of Culture, preaching through Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. This sermon titled “God's Better Wisdom” was preached by Andrey Gorban from 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.This sermon text teaches us the great importance of God's wisdom versus human wisdom. We must not allow ourselves to prefer human wisdom over God's wisdom because human wisdom is incomplete and always changing. God's wisdom does not change and is made effectual by the Holy Spirit to equip us for service through His scriptures to bring glory to Christ.

This morning we celebrated Resurrection Sunday and continued our series Christian Living In The Current of Culture, preaching through Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. This sermon titled “The Message of the Cross” was preached by Pastor Thomas Terry from 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5.This sermon text helps us see the power in the preaching of the cross of Christ—the gospel, which Paul brought to Corinth and preached to both Jews and Greeks. Despite the fact that many in Corinth and in our own day view this message as foolishness, it is the wisdom of God which he uses to save people. God also calls people to salvation through this message who are seemingly unimpressive according to the world’s standards. This must cause us to boast only in God—never can we boast in ourselves or anything we have done.

This morning, we continued in our series Christian Living In The Current of Culture, preaching through Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. This sermon titled “The Key To Dealing With A Divided Church” and was preached by Pastor Thomas Terry from 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.This sermon text points us to the importance of church unity in order that the mystery of God's glory to be made known. Jesus prayed for this unity and Paul prioritized correcting disunity in the Corinthian church. This sermon considered the struggle with unity present in Corinth in two areas, divided doctrine and divided leadership. The local church must be united in doctrine that is Biblical as well as by leaders who are unified in teaching and accepting that doctrine.