Second Sunday after the Epiphany 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Context

Our text for this week is the initial greeting of Paul's letter to the church in Corinth. This is the first of four weeks for which the epistle reading comes from the beginning of 1 Corinthians.

Corinth was not some sleepy little village; it was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia and a central commercial hub. It was a melting pot of ideas, religions, and cultures. Imagine a city that is a mix of modern-day New York (commerce and culture), Las Vegas (immorality and excess), and ancient Athens (philosophy and debate)—that's a relatively good approximation of Corinth.

Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus (roughly 53–55 AD) and sent it to Corinth, specifically to a community he had founded there about three years earlier…

1. Paul addresses this letter to 'those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.' Knowing that this specific church was famous for its dysfunction, fighting, and immorality, why do you think Paul chose to call them "saints" right at the start? How does it make you feel to know that 'saint' is a title given to messy people, not just perfect ones?

2. In verse 2, Paul writes to the Corinthians and to ”'all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” Why do you think he emphasizes that Jesus is 'their Lord and ours'? In what ways do modern Christians (or our specific church) struggle with the same 'tunnel vision' or tribalism that the Corinthians…