At the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new walls and gates, Nehemiah plans a six hour worship service where Ezra reads the newly translated Laws of Moses aloud. When the assembly heard God's Word, they realized that they were dirty rotten sinners and needed to do something about that.

Nehemiah comes to the realization that some of the business practices of the leaders in Jerusalem were not only hurting other Jews, they were also in direct opposition to the Bible.

Nehemiah's project is going so well, that those that stand in opposition to the rebuilding of the wall organize and devise a plan to stop him. Nehemiah has a plan of his own as well!

Nehemiah goes before his king and asks for a 12-year hiatus from his job, the king's foreign policy towards Jerusalem to change, and the king to fund the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Quite a big ask for a slave, don't you think?!

We live in a world that seems to be all about the individual. We tend to relate everything to how it affects us personally. Is this what God intended? I don't think so. What does that mean for the church? Does it exist for the people there?

An age old question: How should the church address the issues of morality? In this passage, Paul is especially hard on a man that is "sexually immoral," but what does that even mean? Since the description of the sin seems vague, does that mean that each society and community gets to define it themselves or is there another basis on which to sin? In addition to that, Paul also addresses issues of authority inside and outside the church.

Greeks did an extraordinary amount of talking. I mean, philosophy and rhetoric were legitimate pastimes! Paul knew that talk is cheap. When the Greeks would philosophize, their rubber never had to meet the proverbial road. So, fitting in well with their Greek heritage, these guys talked too much about stuff that just didn't matter. Paul was trying to help these Corinthian speak with power, not just with words.

Being a leader in the Kingdom of God does not come with fabulous perks. Paul, being as sarcastic as he can muster, shows the contrast between the expectations of corporate leadership and the expectations of kingdom leadership.

Have you noticed that pastors can be a weird bunch? In this message, Pastor Ron reveals the reasons for the strangeness of pastors and a pastor’s job description all found in the second chapter of 1st Corinthians. And in all of this, the true nature of what it means to be spiritual is uncovered.

Paul tees up the church at Corinth. He tells them that they have come a long way and show all the signs of Jesus in their lives. And yet, the rest of the letter is about how these people are misusing their gifts and influence. Paul starts his call here for a holistic approach to Christian maturity.

Most people skip though the introduction to epistles, but don't do that here! Paul leaves us several nuggets to chat about.

Paul travels throughout the known world planting churches. In Greece, Paul travels from Athens to Corinth and spends 18 months preaching and teaching - the longest he would spend anywhere. He leaves Corinth for Galatia to plant another church, only to find that the church in Corinth spiraled into crisis. Paul writes back at least four letters to straighten out the mess he left behind. We still have two of these letters and we will be studying the one we call First Corinthians.

We talk a lot about quality time. But, quantity has a quality all its own!

Good parents understand that you cannot simply enforce rules and be a quality parent. The thing is, you can't have effective rules without relationships.

"Christian parents who truly understand the goal of parenting become fully engaged in the challenge. They no longer just build businesses. They build character, value and vision into their young lives." - Bill Hybels, Honest to God