The text from which Pastor John will preach this morning is First Corinthians, the First

Chapter verses 1 through 9. Would you please open your Bibles to that passage and follow as I read and as

Pastor John preaches. First Corinthians 1 verses 1 through 9. Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother

Sasthenes to the Church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified

in Christ Jesus, called to be Saints together with all those who in every place call in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

both their Lord and ours, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ

Jesus that in every way you were enriched in Him with all speech and all knowledge, even as the

testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ

who will sustain you to the end guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus

Christ, our Lord. Almost all of Paul's 13 letters begin with his identifying himself in relation to God and his identifying us in relation to God. That's very

different from what you'll see on television, the automobile commercials on television will want you to identify yourself

and define yourself and get your meaning in relationship to a thing.

The beer commercials will want you to think of yourself and define yourself

in relationship to a brotherhood at the pub or the cafe.

The life insurance commercials will want you to define yourself and get your meaning

as you think about the deep and significant meaning of your family and they'll show these

moody shots about little baby being born and graduating from high school and getting married

and having their first home.

And all the soaps and deodorants and foods

...