If we’re living by our Well-Word-World mission at North Sub, we expect that over time, our church will increasingly be characterized by our six Core Values.

As such, we believe it’s essential for church leadership to practice those core values, to promote those core values, and not to permit any departures from those core values.

Over the past seven years, we’ve emphasized many of those core values frequently from the pulpit and in our discipleship curricula. However, when it comes to the core value of Healthy Relationships, our teaching has been minimal in recent times. It’s time we rectify that!

Our core value of Healthy Relationships reads as follows: “We will sensitively equip singles, married couples, and families to navigate their unique challenges in following God's design for healthy relationships.” The time has come to give concerted attention to this sort of equipping.

As a few of us looked through the New Testament letter of 1 Corinthians, we were struck by how much emphasis there is on healthy relationships of several varieties. For example:

1:1-17 – Relating to those who gravitate toward different teachers/tribes
3:5-4:13 – Relating to human leaders
4:14-21 – Relating to those whom we disciple
5:1-6:8 – Relating to those who have fallen into sin
6:9-20 – Relating to one another sexually
7:1-40 – Relating to spouses and potential spouses
8:1-13 – Relating to those whose consciences differ from ours
9:1-27 – Relating to those to whom we minister
11:2-16 – Relating across genders in the context of a worship service
11:17-34 – Relating at the Lord’s table
12:1-31 – Relating amidst diversity in gifts
13:1-13 – Relating in love
14:1-25 – Considering others in the use of our gifts
14:26-40 – Relating to others in corporate worship
16:1-24 – Relating to fellow believers in need

As such, 1 Corinthians seemed the perfect book to preach through beginning this Fall.

Instead of trying to cram sixteen chapters into eleven weeks, we decided that we’d string this series out until Memorial Day (taking several breaks for Advent, Pastor Tim’s sabbatical, etc.), allowing us twenty Sundays to work through it thoroughly. Not every week will deal explicitly with Healthy Relationships – we won’t force that theme onto the texts – but we expect that most weeks, the text will challenge us on how to conduct our relationships in a healthier way.

All sermon videos will be posted on our YouTube channel and website shortly after services. All sermon audio will continue to be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. We hope you’ll join us in asking the Lord to prepare our hearts to receive this instruction from the Word regarding our relational lives as followers of Jesus.

Influences You May Detect Informing the Content of This Sermon Series

Anthony Thiselton’s NIGTC Commentary
Ciampa and Rosner’s PNTC Commentary
Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, Akin and Merritt
1 Corinthians For You, Andrew Wilson
Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Paul David Tripp (all his resources on marriage and parenting)
The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, Andy Crouch
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes, Kenneth Bailey
The Meaning of Singleness, Danielle Treweek