1 Corinthians 14:1-33 Niv

For Reading and Meditation:     Ephesians 4:25-32

There is a price to pay for our desire to grab at easy answers and that price is "trivialisation". Trivialisation is the acceptance of explanations that ignore the difficult questions of life in order to experience relief from confusion. I have no hesitation in saying that this is a curse of the modern Church. One...

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Corinthians 1:1-11

We continue meditating on our Lord's second Beatitude: "Blessed [or happy] are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." The word "mourn" has reference to more than just sorrowing over the death of a loved one; it includes all those experiences in life where we may feel crushed, broken or sorrowful. I feel...

CHARITY is love; and what can be so worthy of the Christian's thought, care, and anxious desire, as love? Love to God, the centre and source of all excellence; to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, the personification of everything that is lovely; to believers, for His sake, and because they are His children and representatives; and to sinners, because He commands us. The law requires it, and the gospel, when applied by the power of the Holy Ghost, produces it. It is not in our hearts...

The subject here, of course, is the use of tongues without interpretation in the meetings of the church. Paul is opposed to the practice. He insists that what is spoken must be intelligible, otherwise no one is edified.

But the verse can be applied in a broader sense. When we speak, we should speak loudly enough for everyone to hear, otherwise we might just as well be speaking in a foreign language. In almost every audience there are people who are hard of hearing. It is a great trial...

Amen is an extremely useful word with which to express hearty approval of what is being said. Many congregations could afford to use it more often in their services.

The word is found 68 times in the Bible. From 1 Corinthians 14:15-16 it is clear that it was used in the meetings of the early church. So we can be assured that the use of the Amen is eminently scriptural.

Not only so, it is imperative. The sublime nature of the...

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. § Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh shall bless His holy name forever and ever.Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises...

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. 14:33).

The day we were saved, total war was declared between sinful self and the Holy Spirit. Lasting peace will come when we rest in Calvary's conquest of sin and self, and allow that victory to be applied by the...