Mount Pleasant Baptist Church

  Daily Nugget: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:” II Corinthians 1:1 In the introduction to his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul reveals part of the secret to his success. The preacher was used of God because it was the “will of God” (II Corinthians 1:1). I say “part of his secret” because there was another factor that was not mentioned here. However, Paul’s testimony throughout the New Testament makes it very clear what it was. It was God’s will that Paul, the one-time enemy of God and His people, got saved, become an apostle, and let himself be used of God. He did what God showed him to do. His obedience to God was his real "secret" of success. This distinction between “God’s will” and obeying God’s commandments is very important. After being saved by relying on Jesus’ sacrificial offering on the Cross for all sinners, most ha

Daily Nugget: In concluding his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul included a fearful warning. His advice was the root of why Paul tolerated all he did to give the Gospel to whomever he could. His alert should be why we try to reach as many as possible with the Gospel truths that can save people from an eternal Hell. The preacher’s warning was, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” (I Corinthians 16:22) Anathema is Greek for “banned, excommunicated, or cursed.” The Chaldean-rooted “Maranatha” has to do with when “our Lord comes.” Ignoring confusing commentaries and their disagreements among each other over tenses and meanings of these words, the preserved English (KJV) gets across a clear message. The warning boils down to, “If you don’t love Jesus, you’re in deep trouble when Jesus returns and judges.” Throughout the Bible, a principle is taught. It is “… love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mig

Daily Nugget: No one is perfect, or they would not need to be saved. All are sinners and bound for Hell unless something prevents that from happening. The only thing that can prevent one from an eternity in torment is by accepting Christ as Saviour. When one is saved, they are a new creature in Christ. A person is changed when they are truly saved. Paul was certainly proof of this. Before His salvation, Paul did all he could to serve God his way. In doing so, he unknowingly became an enemy of God and Christians. The man was responsible for killing many believers and did much to slow the spreading of the Gospel. After he was saved, his enthusiasm in opposing Christianity was rechanneled to tell many others how they could be saved. He became a sincere servant for Christ. No matter what he did after salvation, Paul still had a past. There was no way to undo what he had done. All he could do was go forward in doing the right things after being forgiven and do all he could for the cause

  In I Corinthians 14, Paul clarifies that the gift of prophesy is one of the most needed blessings from God. He remarked that speaking in a foreign language (“tongues”) was a special gift. However, it did not benefit many people. Prophesy enlightened many in the body of believers. This gift also encouraged (exhorted), educated, and comforted believers (I Corinthians 14:3). “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” I Corinthians 14:3 The gift of prophesy, because they did not have the entire Bible at the time, involved some futuristic predictions of God’s workings, but it met other needs. Prophesy included the ability to instruct, explain the Bible's teachings, and make others aware of what would happen. As Jesus was not with them at the time and not all the books of the Bible were readily available, people needed someone to tell them of future events and God's workings. They needed, and God provided, someone to inform and warn

Daily Nugget: Paul continued teaching about the sign gifts in this chapter. Although he knew how the gifts could encourage early Christians and give the church a powerful testimony, he saw one spiritually inspired attribute of higher value. Paul saw how essential it was to have love for others. This love is not necessarily the emotion the unsaved understand. It is a love that only a Christian can truly understand and have. The indwelling Spirit of God can make it possible for one to love others in a way that is impossible without God’s help. Paul knew the gifts were either temporary or that they would be different in the future. The preacher knew that when “… that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” He knew when the entire collection of writings was put together in our Bible that the gifts would be no longer necessary for Christians. Many would know all God wanted them to know within the pages of the inspired Word of God. When prophecies, tongue

Daily Nugget: I Corinthians 12 begins Paul’s discourse on spiritual gifts that were given to early believers. This church, and others at the time, did not have the complete Word of God, as we do today. Because they did not have His Words to guide them, God gave the early Christians special gifts. Others they ministered to would then know God was using the Christian. They were “sign gifts” as a sign that God was still with them. It encouraged all involved that God was still working in lives. The nine gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-10) for that era included: Wisdom: this gift helped the possessor to make the right decisions. Knowledge: Not knowing the past, present, and future as we can today by reading our Bible, they needed a person that could tell them spiritual truths. Faith: During this early dispensation, people needed people to help them trust God and live by faith. They needed one to encourage them about the things of God that they could not see or prove. Healing: This sign gift

Daily Nugget: Many of Paul’s letters rebuked (I Corinthians 11:17, 22) the Corinthian church. Because they never truly rid themselves of the snares of their worldly lives, it hampered them from growing in the things of the Lord. Scriptural instructions intended to help the believers grow spiritually and get closer to their God and Christian brethren often became a source of contention among them and caused division (I Corinthians 11:18-19). One such instance was their conducting of the Lord’s supper. The ordinance of the Lord’s supper was to help them remember (I Corinthians 11:25-26) what Jesus had done for them. It was to be a time of solemn remembrance of the sacrifice God’s Son made for them, when His body was broken, and that His blood was spilled for their sins. Instead, they took that time and made it into a feast. Some went hungry. Some got drunk (I Corinthians 11:21). Others were embarrassed for not having what others had (I Corinthians 11:22). The meaning of the Lord’s sup

Daily Nugget: The compiled Word of God, the Bible, has many purposes. It tells man the mind of God, what He likes and disapproves of, how to live, how to die, how to be successful, why one fails, and many other important life lessons. There is another purpose for having God’s preserved Word. That reason is so man can learn from examples of those in the past. A wise man should not want to repeat the errors of others. Reading and learning from others' mistakes is one reason God allows us to have His preserved Book. “Now these things were our examples…” I Corinthians 10:6 “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples and they are written for our admonition…” I Corinthians 10:11 Although the vehicle of temptation, sin and trials, has changed appearance and may not look like it did 6,000 years ago, they are very similar. A man may no longer be tempted to have a chariot like his Roman neighbors, but today he may lust after a car just like his peers. Seldom does a man lust afte

  Daily Nugget: At the beginning of I Corinthians 9, it is seen that Paul faced a situation that many have experienced. They doubted Paul. His call to serve God was in question. In his case, it was doubted if Paul saw Christ and could be called an apostle. Obviously, in our case, that would not be the situation. Still, we too can become objects of the scrutiny of others in our service for the Lord. Paul’s defense was that he saw Christ (Acts 9:3-6, and again in Acts 18:9-10), but there was a more visual proof that God was using the man. That same evidence can also determine today if the Lord is using a person. Verification can be accomplished by examining the “fruits” produced by what has been done for the Lord. If God is using a person, there will be evidence. In Paul’s example, the man was leading multitudes to the Lord. People were getting healed, many miracles had been performed, and he was starting churches. How could anyone stand there and quibble over whether or not God was u

  Artwork for I Corinthians in a 161 1 KJV In I Corinthians 8, Paul dealt with another problem those in the Corinthian church were facing. At the time, there was much idolatry occurring in the area. Food, including meat, was given to the “gods.” As part of the worship, many ate the meat. Some Christians got very upset if any child of God consumed the offering. There was much contention in the church over the matter. The preacher knew there were no other “gods,” so it did not bother him to eat meat given to a non-existent deity. He saw, however, how many were offended over this practice. His recommendation in this situation was a wise suggestion. Paul knew that many of those that were offended by the eating of the meat were weak Christians. Maybe some of the converts had just gotten saved and came from a background of worshiping the different idols. For this reason, Paul said if it was going to offend someone, it would be best not to eat the meat. It would be terrible if a pers

Daily Nugget: In I Corinthians 7, Paul gave those in the Corinthian church some marital advice. In verses 13-20, the preacher addressed one problem that had most likely been asked him: “What should one do if one is married to an unsaved person.” His wisdom was to stay together if the other person was willing. It must be one of the most difficult situations when one is married to an unsaved person. The Bible advises a Christian never to marry an unsaved person to begin with (II Cor. 6:14), but it occurs. Perhaps a person did not know about what God had said about it. Maybe they thought the person would get saved, or that they could change them. For some, they may have gotten saved after the vows were said. No matter how the situation occurred, many have found themselves married to an unsaved spouse. Paul’s advice was not to separate. If the mate was pleased to stay, his counsel was to let them stay (I Corinthians 7:12-14). Such a situation is most difficult as goals, thinking, desires

Daily Nugget:  The church in Corinth was very worldly, and because of it, battled sin. Paul spent some of his writings rebuking them for the iniquity in which they were involved. In this chapter, the preacher dealt again with sexual immorality. Apparently, a Christian man was engaged in fornication with a prostitute. Paul’s wisdom on this matter is one of the most important principles taught in the Bible. When practiced, this teaching protects Christians from being tainted by sin and separates them to be a cleaner vessel for the Master’s use. The preacher reminded them they were a temple where the Holy Spirit lived. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” I Corinthians 6:19 Many still respect the church house and show it by how they treat it. Most would not think of cursing in it, spitting on its floor, or defaming it in any way. A church building is a good place to hear God’s Word preached and

Daily Nugget: Sin became blatant in the early Corinthian church. A man committed sexual immorality with his father’s wife. It was a well-known fact to those in the ministry. Instead of being grieved and doing all they could to discourage the sinful activity, they praised (“puffed up”) the immoral practice (I Corinthians 5:2). The iniquity was talked about with joy (“glorying” - I Corinthians 5:6). The members were not broken-hearted (I Corinthians 5:2) over what continued in the church. Although Paul was not there and did not hear the other side of the story, as is always wise in discerning a situation, the preacher knew it was wrong. He pleaded with the church to discipline the members committing the sin and distance themselves from those committing the iniquity (I Corinthians 5:9). Not only was the sin wrong and a poor testimony to the community, but sin can be contagious. Paul wisely counseled them, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole l

Daily Nugget: The world does not understand Christians. As far as they are concerned, living the Christian life is foolishness to them. The Christian life does not give the unsaved enjoyment, answer their questions, or give them the things they value, so they often write it off as a waste of time. There is, however, more than one way to see things. With unopened spiritual eyes and minds, the lost see it their way, but God sees things completely differently: The unsaved see it silly to follow the teachings of a man who died a long time ago. To a regenerated mind, it is wise (I Corinthians 4:10) to follow the One that paid their fare to a wonderful eternity. The lost see it as a sign of weakness (I Corinthians 4:10) to let others get away with doing them harm and not getting even. It is equally unwise, in their eyes, to follow the guidelines from a book with, supposedly, God’s preserved words. To a saved person and the God in Heaven, it takes unnatural strength not to react the way o