“Church is just a bunch of hypocritical, mean people.” 

You would not believe how many times I have heard this type of a statement.  It is the number one reason people have given me for why they do not or will not go to church.  There are other reasons, and this has its own baggage attached; however, how sad if even a small grain of truth is present in the sentiment.  And you know it to be truer than we would like to admit.  Perhaps you have been hurt by someone in the church, maybe you have hurt someone…

This week, we continue in our series on First Corinthians, A Better Way, by examining 1 Corinthians 13.  In this familiar passage by Paul, we are going to receive a powerful lesson in the indispensable presence of love.  I have titled this message “Love’s Essential Quality”.  Paul’s description of love is so counter-cultural it is almost unrecognizable.  However, this type of love is non-negotiable, an absolute necessity in the Christian life.

DC Talk begins one of their songs with this quote, “The single greatest cause of atheism is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”   But the “deny Him by their lifestyle” is not usually those obvious, dramatic “sins”, it is the subtle / snarky / rude / assuming type lifestyle choices that simply derail many.

Join us as God, through Paul, challenges our understanding and commitment to a lifestyle of life-changing love.