Today we are reading from 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5:

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Today we read about Paul coming into Corinth.  We remember for our last day’s reading that Corinth was a church that had some divisions, regarding who their favorite preacher was. And we will see moving forward that this church had divisions about a bunch of other things as well.  I’m sure Paul knew these things coming in when he came to preach.  So what did he do?  

He decided he was not going to make it about him.  He was not going to come in with the sermons and have people walking away saying, man, Paul is awesome.  That was not his desire to have folks come away from a message thinking, that Paul was awesome. It was his desire for folks to walk away from a message saying “Jesus is awesome.”  

Paul knows the answer to the people’s problems is not more Paul. The answer to people’s problems is more Jesus.  He is always the answer.  He is always the point.  Paul said I knew nothing but Christ crucified.  I didn’t come with great words or wisdom.  I came to Jesus. 

Today in our lives, what are we looking to?  Or rather, who are we looking to?  Are we placing our hopes on another person, even someone great?  Are we placing our hopes on our children, our spouse, our parents, our whomever?  These are all great people. I love my children. And spouse. And parents. And friends. And church. But they are not my hope.  

Jesus is my hope.  

Another person is never our hope or our answer. Only Jesus. And if are placing our hopes in preachers, or parents, or living vicariously through our children or grandchildren, then we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.  It’s only Jesus.  

Jesus is awesome.  May we remember that, above all else.  

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