Paul gives us two major reasons why we should practice Church discipline.

?The pursuit of happiness:? In the Declaration of Independence, this phrase is connected with ?life and liberty? as the three important rights ?endowed? by the ?Creator? as a ?self-evident? truth. What exactly did Jefferson mean by ?happiness?? How has Postmodern culture re-defined this important word?

Paul gives instructions of how to deal with rebellious, defiant sin in the church.

The atrocities occurring in Syria defy all comprehension: Over 100,000 killed, over 2 million refugees, and a quarter of the population displaced. On 21 August, in the suburbs of Damascus, the brutal Assad regime killed over 1,000 of its people via rocket-launched chemical weapons. In addition, hundreds were burned by the chemical weapons, while others inhaled the gas with horrific consequences. Many of the victims were children. It is all unimaginable! Bashir al-Assad now joins the ranks of Mussolini, Hitler and Saddam Hussein, barbarians who used poison gas against their own people.

In Chapter 4, Paul gives us a method of how we hold one another accountable in Christ.

Paul teaches on being a part of the temple of God, and also being part of the inheritance of God.

Recent polls now show that a majority of major Christian denominations, including Catholics, support legalized same-sex marriage. This is a tectonic shift: In 2004, 36% of Catholics and 34% of mainline Protestants supported legalizing gay marriage; today 57% and 55% of mainline Protestants do so. Among evangelical Protestants, the shift has been less dramatic?11% in 2004 to 24% today. Molly Bull in The Atlantic writes that ?[This shift] is the fruit of an aggressive campaign by a determined gay-rights movement that realized, particularly in the wake of the 2004 elections, that you cannot win politically in America if you are arguing against religious faith.? Until recently, religion was on one side, while gay rights was on the other. Central to this strategy was the effort to redefine the issue.

Many today speak of the ?New Atheism,? which is best represented in the writings of the Four Horseman of the New Atheism?Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel C. Dennett and the late Christopher Hitchens. In many ways, they are not making any new arguments in their defense of atheism, but there is militancy about these individuals, especially Richard Dawkins. One of the more significant dimensions of this phenomenon is that former Christians, or at least emerging adults who came from Christian homes, are expressing an interest in atheism. To that end, Larry Alex Taunton of the Fixed Point Foundation endeavors to bridge the gap between Christians and atheists in a spirit of gentleness and mutual respect. (Taunton attended Grace University in the 1980s).

Dr. Eckman discusses Paul’s teachings to the Corinthians regarding their misunderstandings of the apostolic messengers of the time, and that serving the Lord means being accountable to Him & serving Him well, so that we may hear Him say “Well Done.”

Detroit is the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy. The Economist summarizes the details: Its long-term debt is estimated to be $18.2 billion ($27,000 per resident). Of this amount, about $9.2 billion is in unfunded retirement benefits. Since 2008 the city has spent about $100 million more each year than it has brought in. Attempts to solve these monumental challenges have been hampered by a feeble-economy, a shrinking population and rapidly increasing ?legacy costs.? Property-tax revenues have declined by 20% since 2008; income tax revenues by 30% since 2002. Fifty years ago the city was rich: GM, Ford and Chrysler made nearly all the cars sold in America. Detroit?s population was 1.8 million people. Today, it is 700,000?many of those are poor and poorly educated (e.g., 82% have no more than a high school diploma).