Dear Church Family,

This is a reminder to please sign up to work VBS if you are able. We have increased the level of our background checks this year, so it takes a little more time. This is essential in helping keep our kids safe! Also, please take one of the sticky bears off the column in the foyer to help us with supplies. We will have to be patient with the renovation going on in the Preschool Wing, but how exciting it will be when it is finished!

The following is another great insight from Dr. Chad Bird I hope you’ll enjoy:

Blink and you will miss some masterful biblical interpretation and preaching in 1 Corinthians 1. Paul the Apostle is also Professor Paul the Bible Teacher.

Paul exemplifies how Jewish interpretation often worked. At the end of 1 Corinthians 1, he quotes a little section of Jeremiah 9:24, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” It can seem like almost a throwaway line, a kind of proverbial truth.

But, no. That little quote is an outstretched hand, fingers beckoning us forward, inviting us to walk backward to Jeremiah 9 and the surrounding verses.

See how Paul echoes and expands what Jeremiah says:

Jeremiah: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom (9:23).
Paul: God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise (1:27).

Jeremiah: Let not the mighty man boast in his might (9:23).
Paul: God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong (1:27).

Jeremiah: Let not the rich man boast in his riches (9:23).
Paul: God chose what is low and despised in the world (1:28).

Jeremiah: I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness (9:24).
Paul: Christ Jesus became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1:30).

Finally, having mirrored Jeremiah point by point (without ever telling us), Paul concludes by finally explicitly quoting the prophet, “As it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:31).

It’s easy to miss what Paul has done, but not if you know Jeremiah 9. And even if you didn’t know Jeremiah 9, Paul’s quote from that chapter should send us running back to the broader context.

When we do, we see that the apostle has been interpreting and preaching on the Old Testament, using Jeremiah as the basis for preaching the cross of our Lord Jesus.

Go and do likewise.

Mark