I Corinthians 1:1-17

1:2 - "Called to be saints together with all those in every place who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." This is what true Christianity look like. We see ourselves as members of the universal body Christ. This is not a competition...it is not about whose denomination is better...it is not about who can grow the biggest church or who has the coolest pastor...Christianity it about the unified priesthood of believers. Do we operate like this? Do we celebrate the victories of our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we pray for them? What needs to change in our interactions with Christians outside of our church?

1:5 - The grace that comes from God should filter down into every aspect of our lives. When God's amazing, undeserved grace gets a hold of us: our actions change...our words change...our minds change...our hearts change. The grace of God enriches and transforms all areas of our lives...the grace of God shapes us to be more like Christ. If this reality is not taking place in your life, then maybe you have not fully embraced the enormity of God's grace.

1:17 - This is really important for Christians to hear and understand. You do not have to b able to speak the perfect words to represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You do not have to be eloquent. You do not have to have a Bible college degree. You don't have to be an ordained minister. You don't need any special training. Christians must simply be ready to allow the power of the cross to speak for itself through their lives. You don't need a special Christiany acronym, you just need to tell your story. Tell about the transformation you have seen in your life and the lives of others...tell about how the cross brought life from death...righteousness from sin. So many Christians fail to preach the good news of Jesus with their lives because they don't think they can...they don't think their ready. But here's where they go wrong - it isn't about them...it isn't about their communication skills or their personality. The cross does it's own talking...God's grace is sufficient...all we have to do is make ourselves available to what God is going to do through our lives - He takes care of the rest.