January 23, 2026; I Corinthians 1

Daily Dose of Hope

January 23, 2026

 

Scripture: I Corinthians 1

 

Prayer:  Abba Father, You are the potter, we are the clay, and the work of Your hands. Mold us and fashion us into the image of Jesus, your Son. Father, may we be one in You as He is in You, and You are in Him. Glory and praise to you, forever and ever. Amen.

 

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida.  We have been journeying through Paul’s letters.  Today, we are starting our fourth pastoral letter, I Corinthians.

 

Let’s start by talking a little bit about Corinth.  It was a Greek city, about forty-five miles from Athens.  It was highly prosperous but also known for its immorality.  We read about Paul’s time in Corinth in Acts 18 during his second missionary journey.  It’s in Corinth that Paul meets Priscilla and Aquila, fellow tentmakers and believers.  He started his time there by preaching in the synagogues but the Jews were generally not responsive.  That led Paul to begin to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles in the area.  And he was very successful.  Thus, the church in Corinth included both Jews and Gentiles.  Paul stayed with the Corinthians for roughly a year and a half.  During that time, there were some Jews who brought charges against Paul for his teachings.  The discord continued after he left.  Thus, the Corinthians church was dealing with these outside pressures, as well as serious internal discord and immorality.  Paul stayed in touch with them through letters.  We have two of these letters (there were probably others) in the New Testament.

 

In this first chapter of I Corinthians, we immediately notice this is a letter. Paul starts by identifying himself as the author and makes it clear that the recipients are those in the church at Corinth. After a brief expression of thanksgiving, Paul wastes no time at getting to a most pressing point. There is disunity in the church. Factions have emerged over who to follow. Some say they follow Paul, others say Apollos or Cephas, and some say Christ.

 

We don't know the details of the disagreements, or how the factions came about. Really, I don't think the fine points are that relevant. What's more interesting to me is how Paul handles the situation. He reminds them who and whose they are. He reinforces the mission. We get so distracted by our own egos and allegiances; the mission is what suffers. The mission is sharing the Gospel, spreading the Good News of Jesus.

 

Let's fast forward 2000 years. How often have we as individual Christ-followers and as a church gotten off track because of disagreements with other Christians? Think about people you have personally known who have left a church because they got mad about something. Conflicts over individual personalities, music styles, bruised egos, miscommunication, or even the color of the new carpet, can totally derail a church from the true mission! What if we just had laser focus on Jesus? What if the mission trumped everything else? How might that change things?

 

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki