One Last Loving Defense

In one paragraph

Pastor Carl finished the series in 2 Corinthians with the final chapter and a half of the letter, reading it alongside a passage from Jeremiah that frames the whole thing. The sermon traced Paul's closing defense of the gospel, his parental warning to the Corinthians, and then ended with Paul's benediction, which the congregation used as their own sending out. Pastor Carl opened in Jeremiah 24,...

Read together

1. Jeremiah 24:1-10 Read in full as an introduction to the sermon, illustrating God's promise to prosper those who turn to Him and judge those who do not
2. 2 Corinthians 12:14-13:14 The main text of the sermon, Paul's defense of the gospel and closing benediction
3. 2 Corinthians 11:3 Quoted to show Paul had already warned the Corinthians about the serpent's craftiness deceiving Eve, as background to the charge that Paul himself was being crafty
4. Deuteronomy 19:16 Quoted by Paul in the 2 Corinthians text as the standard that every charge must be established by two or three witnesses
5. Jeremiah 24:6-7 Returned to near the end of the sermon to show God's promise to set His eyes on His people for good, build them up, and give them a heart to know Him

Talk about it

1. Paul says he came to Corinth seeking the people themselves, not their money or possessions. What does it look like in practice to love someone that way, and where do you find that kind of love hardest to give?
2. Paul tells the Corinthians he is not defending himself to them but speaking in the sight of God, for their upbuilding. How does it change the way you hear correction or hard words when you believe the person saying them is genuinely for you?
3. The list Paul fears he will find when he returns includes quarreling, jealousy, gossip, conceit, and disorder. Why do you think those sins are harder to take seriously than what Carl called the biggies, and what damage have you seen them do in a community?
4. Paul tells the Corinthians to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith, and Carl said this is not meant to plant doubt in a humble believer but to call the proud to account. How do you personally tell the difference between healthy self-examination and destructive doubt?
5. The closing benediction calls the church to aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, and live in peace. Which of those four is the hardest for you right now, and what would it take to move toward it?