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Growing in God and Sobriety!

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!!!!
Bible Study
1 Corinthians Part 1
1:1-10


  • Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
(Apostle (lit., “one who is sent”): There is particular stress on Paul’s authority as an apostle through divine call. Sosthenes was not a fellow apostle, but certainly a fellow minister of the gospel. He was probably the ruler of the Jewish synagogue mentioned in Acts 18:17.)


  • Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
(Sanctified in Christ Jesus could be rendered “made holy by virtue of your relation with Christ Jesus.” Here Paul has special reference to the Corinthians’ right relationship with God. They are set apart for God’s special use. His aim in the epistle is to bring the Corinthians’ actions and life-style into closer harmony with God’s expectations for those He has made His own.)


  • Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
(Grace . . . and peace: In the former, Paul contemplates all that is understood by God’s gracious unmerited favor as it is extended to sinners. The latter has in mind benefits that fall from the exercise of God’s love.)


  • So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
(While gift has a wide variety of meanings, here it probably has reference to spiritual gifts, a theme developed later in the epistle.)


  • Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Confirm (strengthen, establish, make firm): Historically, the gospel had been confirmed in them. Now they anticipate the prospect of that blessed event when Jesus Christ shall also confirm them blameless before the throne of God.)


  • God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Unto the fellowship of his Son: The term fellowship includes both union and communion. The Corinthian believers had been brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this great truth implies that they had been brought into communion with one another. Here in a nutshell is the theme of this epistle.)


  • Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
(Now is transitional. With this, Paul turns to his appeal for unity. No divisions: The first major concern of this epistle has to do with the divisive spirit in Corinth. Paul approaches the problem by first denouncing their factional tendencies (vv. 10–31), then by demonstrating the quality of divine wisdom as contrasted with human wisdom (ch. 2). In chapter 3, he considers those qualities that make for mature Christian service. Finally in chapter 4, he defends his own ministry, and that of Apollos and the apostles, contrasting personal discomfort which he himself endured with the arrogance of the Corinthians who are now criticizing him.)
My Prayer for the Day
"Heavenly Father, today I am just grateful that I heard the call. I am grateful for my specific gift giving to me, and giving to all thoses that choose to follow you. Show me Father where I can serve you and my fellows today...Direct and guide my thinking, remove all morbid reflection, remove any need to control, manipulate, or prove myself worthy. Please remove all selfish and self seeking motives in my relations with others. Father help me to accept all that is, all that was, and all that will be-Thy will, not mine, by done..In Christ Jesus name-Amen"
Todays Action

  • Today I will stay focused on what I am doing in the moment. If I slip in to morbid reflection about future events, I will ask God to remove the obsession to worry
  • Today I will not insist on my way-I will graciously and happily do what he would like to do today...No input from me...I won't even point to show him which exit to turn off! (that's hard for me)
  • Today I will make a to-do list as to get all that's in my head out on paper and I WILL not procrastinate or make excuses as to why it's not done 
  • Today I will reach out to all newcomers-I won't assume that they already "know" how to work the program or somebody already told them how. I will-as it is my/our responsibility to carry the message no matter if I never hear back, no matter if they tell me to f-off, no matter they tell me I'm stupid....it doesn't matter. 
Podcast of the Day
Primary Purpose Big Book Study Group
Tonight We Studied from "The Doctor’s Opinion” part One
http://podbay.fm/show/438992195/e/1518480904?autostart=1
Listen to more AA Podcast:


Big Book
How It Works...continued.... 
"We went back through our lives. Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty. When we were finished we considered it carefully. The first thing ap­parent was that this world and its people were often quite wrong. To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got. The usual outcome was that people continued to wrong us and we stayed sore. Sometimes it was remorse and then we were sore at ourselves. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters got. As in war, the victor only seemed to win. Our moments of triumph were short-lived.

 It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.

 If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.
We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill. How could we escape? We saw that these resentments must be mastered, but how? We could not wish them away any more than alcohol.

 This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were perhaps spiritually sick.
Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended we said to ourselves, “This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.’’

We avoid retaliation or argument. We wouldn’t treat sick people that way. If we do, we destroy our chance of being helpful. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one."