Renaissance Church Renaissance Church Providence RI

What people have had the most theological influence on you? What is the criteria you look for to trust the person’s spiritual expertise? Whether we’re aware of it or not, we tend to be on the lookout for people to emulate, and it’s important to discern the level of truth we hear from different teachers.

The 1st century Corinthian culture was no exception to sifting out false teachers, and in the mess some challenged Paul’s validity. 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 looks at the relationship between Paul and the Corinthian church and how the good fruit from the Corinthians bears witnesses to God’s true transformation and the good gospel message which Paul delivered to them.

2 Corinthians 2:17

What habits do Christ followers fall into that turn them into “peddlers of God’s word,” that cheapen or distort the gospel? How can we better understand and walk in the righteousness that Christ declares over his followers? Chris Waugh walks us through what gets disguised as Christ’s authority and Christ’s authority actually looks like.

Luke 24:13-34

Let’s talk about an Easter story after Easter! What if you already had the sign you were looking for? Council Leader Vicky Griffiths goes through the encounter of Jesus with the people on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection, how Jesus’ explanation of the scriptures and his breaking bread with the travelers both point to Him as the Savior we are looking for.

Church spaces all throughout the globe are talking and singing about the resurrection of Jesus, and Christians have hope to be raised from the dead at Christ’s second coming. But there are ways we can experience resurrection life now! Somehow, the Spirit of the living God can raise us out of spiritual death today and seat us with the resurrected Christ in heavenly places. We can be raised out of the muck of guilt and shame now. There are so many more implications, and Pastor Scott points out the unexpected path to resurrection life is the same one Christ took. Through death to sin and self, there is new life ahead.

2 Corinthians 2:12 - 16

What does it mean to be “the aroma of Christ to God?” The aroma refers to the fragrance of a sacrifice burning up to the heavens. Imagine a person’s heart, marked by the sacrifice of Christ, set ablaze by the Holy Spirit, with smoke reaching up to please the Father—this is the pleasing aroma to which Paul in 2 Corinithians refers. Chris Waugh challenges some of the common habits we have, such as letting savviness for knowledge get in the way of the heart, or putting on our best self at worship services like we put on perfume. But God wants to purify the heart and set it ablaze. This is what pleases the Lord.

How should a church respond to scandal within its community? Because the church is made of people who still sin, Christians need to prepare for how to disciple repentance and how to respond well to people’s sinful behavior. Pastor Scott talks about when to respond with tough love and when to respond with mercy by studying how Paul advises the Corinthians about a situation within their church community where they needed to call out the sin, confront, and restore the person back into the community.