Heroes of the Faith, Part 2

Creating a Yearly Word

Our Imperfect Family

Breaking Free From Spiritual Bondage

31 Days of Unity

Entrusted to Lead

The Parable of the Ten Minas

Heart Check

Mentoring Lessons- Preparedness

Freedom From Money Stress

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Dealing With a Case of Incest</div><div class="p"> 1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father&#8217;s wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn&#8217;t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,#5:5 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.#5:5 Or of his body so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 6Your boasting is not good. Don&#8217;t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch&#8212;as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.</div><div class="p"> 9I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people&#8212; 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister#5:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in 8:11, 13. but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.</div><div class="p"> 12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. &#8220;Expel the wicked person from among you.&#8221;#5:13 Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21,24; 24:7</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Lawsuits Among Believers</div><div class="p"> 1If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord&#8217;s people? 2Or do you not know that the Lord&#8217;s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6But instead, one brother takes another to court&#8212;and this in front of unbelievers!</div><div class="p"> 7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men#6:9 The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts. 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.</div><div class="s1">Sexual Immorality</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;I have the right to do anything,&#8221; you say&#8212;but not everything is beneficial. &#8220;I have the right to do anything&#8221;&#8212;but I will not be mastered by anything. 13You say, &#8220;Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.&#8221; The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, &#8220;The two will become one flesh.&#8221;#6:16 Gen. 2:24 17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.#6:17 Or in the Spirit</div><div class="p"> 18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="1CO.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Concerning Married Life</div><div class="p"> 1Now for the matters you wrote about: &#8220;It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.&#8221; 2But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.</div><div class="p"> 8Now to the unmarried#7:8 Or widowers and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.</div><div class="p"> 10To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.</div><div class="p"> 12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.</div><div class="p"> 15But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?</div><div class="s1">Concerning Change of Status</div><div class="p"> 17Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God&#8217;s commands is what counts. 20Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.</div><div class="p"> 21Were you a slave when you were called? Don&#8217;t let it trouble you&#8212;although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord&#8217;s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ&#8217;s slave. 23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.</div><div class="s1">Concerning the Unmarried</div><div class="p"> 25Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord&#8217;s mercy is trustworthy. 26Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.</div><div class="p"> 29What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.</div><div class="p"> 32I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord&#8217;s affairs&#8212;how he can please the Lord. 33But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world&#8212;how he can please his wife&#8212; 34and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord&#8217;s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world&#8212;how she can please her husband. 35I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 36If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong#7:36 Or if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin&#8212;this man also does the right thing. 38So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.#7:36-38 Or 36 If anyone thinks he is not treating his daughter properly, and if she is getting along in years (or if her passions are too strong), and he feels she ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. He should let her get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind to keep the virgin unmarried&#8212;this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who gives his virgin in marriage does right, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.</div><div class="p"> 39A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is&#8212;and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols</div><div class="p"> 1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;We all possess knowledge.&#8221; But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3But whoever loves God is known by God.#8:2,3 An early manuscript and another ancient witness think they have knowledge do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves truly knows.</div><div class="p"> 4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that &#8220;An idol is nothing at all in the world&#8221; and that &#8220;There is no God but one.&#8221; 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many &#8220;gods&#8221; and many &#8220;lords&#8221;), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.</div><div class="p"> 7But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.</div><div class="p"> 9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol&#8217;s temple, won&#8217;t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="1CO.9">
 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Rights as an Apostle</div><div class="p"> 1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 3This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4Don&#8217;t we have the right to food and drink? 5Don&#8217;t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord&#8217;s brothers and Cephas#9:5 That is, Peter? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?</div><div class="p"> 7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn&#8217;t the Law say the same thing? 9For it is written in the Law of Moses: &#8220;Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.&#8221;#9:9 Deut. 25:4 Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10Surely he says this for us, doesn&#8217;t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12If others have this right of support from you, shouldn&#8217;t we have it all the more?</div><div class="p">But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.</div><div class="p"> 13Don&#8217;t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.</div><div class="p"> 15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Use of His Freedom</div><div class="p"> 19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God&#8217;s law but am under Christ&#8217;s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.</div><div class="s1">The Need for Self-Discipline</div><div class="p"> 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.</div>
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