Wisdom is God's Gift, Second Service May 24, 2026

Paul plants the church at Corinth by refusing to trade in lofty words and impressive wisdom, and the text drives that home by fixing everything on “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The cross places faith’s weight on the power of God rather than human skill, so factions and celebrity loyalties ring hollow because it is “always all about Jesus,” not about the names on a resume. The message lands in weakness, timid and trembling, because God delights to use the weak, the poor, and the despised, much like Moses the stutterer who became the great communicator of the Law. Multiplication not division is the church’s business, since rivalries sin against the crucified center.

The mystery of God’s wisdom, Paul says, was hidden and then sprung at the right time, a wisdom the rulers never grasped or they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. God’s hand steers history, even exile, to discipline idolatry and deliver a Messiah, so writing God out of the story leaves only sound and fury signifying nothing. A picture helps: Aslan’s “deeper magic” cracks the stone table when an innocent dies for the traitor, and the cross works the same older, deeper rule, so death runs backward. Jesus does not check the boxes of anyone’s tribe. To the Jews, the cross is a tree of shame that upends their expectations of a Davidic liberator and stretches grace to all nations. To the Greeks, a crucified criminal is moronic, especially without temples and statuary and with talk of bodily resurrection.

Yet the gospel bears its own witness. Prophecies converge in the Bethlehem-born Son of David, Isaiah 53 sings beforehand of rejection and suffering, the apostles die for a resurrection they say they saw, and miracles frame the message. The obstacle is not evidence but will. The Spirit therefore steps in. God’s Spirit searches all things and reveals God’s deep secrets, giving apostles and prophets words from God and leaving Scripture as the Spirit’s voice. The same Spirit knows the human heart’s deceit and drags the courtroom to the surface, where only an Advocate can stand. Through blood-stained lenses, the Father sees the covenanted as clean.

The mind of Christ, given uniquely to the apostolic witnesses, now lives on the page. Unspiritual readers gnaw at the bark and never hit the wood, but those who yield to the Spirit find the mystery opened “from Genesis to the maps.” God’s patience means salvation is genuinely offered, and delay means resisting God’s will. Today is the day. Repent or perish is not a slogan, it is mercy in plain speech.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The cross shatters human boasting The crucified Christ removes any ground for platform-building or personality cults, because faith rests on God’s power, not eloquence. The center of the church is not influence but atonement, not polish but blood. When the message is “Jesus Christ and him crucified,” division withers and multiplication takes root. [36:49]
• 2. God’s wisdom runs deeper than history What looks like defeat becomes victory because an older rule is at work, where an innocent dies for the guilty and death runs backward. Exile, empire, and even crucifixion become tools in God’s hand to unveil the plan prepared for glory. Writing God out of the timeline drains it of meaning; trusting him re-reads everything. [43:28]
• 3. The Spirit unveils God’s deep secrets Only God knows God, so only the Spirit can disclose God’s mind and gift the words that explain spiritual truth. Scripture is the Spirit’s deposit, and submission to him turns bark-gnawing into heart-penetrating understanding. Apart from the Spirit, the cross sounds foolish; with the Spirit, it becomes wisdom and life. [58:27]
• 4. Evidence abounds, but will resists Prophecy, birthplace, lineage, suffering, resurrection witness, and miracles mount a cumulative case that is more than sufficient. The sticking point is not data but desire, because a heart set on autonomy will call light darkness. Devotion smells like life to the repentant and like doom to the perishing. [56:15]
• 5. Today is the day to repent God’s patience is real, but it is not permission to kick the can down the road. Delayed surrender pushes against God’s stated will that all come to repentance. Grace signs names in blood in the Lamb’s book of life, but it does not sign them tomorrow. [65:21]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [32:46] - Road trip to Unity and wisdom
• [33:13] - Texas wisdom and a grin
• [35:07] - Wisdom literature and two proverbs
• [36:17] - Secular eyes vs spiritual eyes
• [36:33] - Paul’s message: Christ crucified
• [38:42] - Multiplication not division
• [40:12] - Weak vessels and Moses
• [43:00] - Aslan’s deeper magic and the cross
• [44:57] - The mystery hidden and revealed
• [48:27] - Stumbling block to Jews, folly to Greeks
• [54:00] - Reasons to trust the Messiah
• [56:15] - Not evidence but the will
• [58:27] - The Spirit reveals God’s secrets
• [61:22] - The mind of Christ and Scripture
• [64:40] - God’s patience and urgent repentance
• [66:33] - Closing prayer and invitation

Bible Reading
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV)
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (ESV)
"But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God."

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Observation Questions

1. According to 1 Corinthians 2:1-3, how does Paul describe his demeanor and method when preaching to the Corinthians?
2. The sermon compared the cross to Aslan’s “deeper magic” in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. What unexpected outcome does this analogy highlight about Jesus’ sacrifice? [43:28]
3. Why did the cross seem like a “stumbling block” to the Jews and “foolishness” to the Greeks, according to the sermon? [48:27]
4. What role does the Holy Spirit play in understanding God’s wisdom, based on 1 Corinthians 2:10?

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Interpretation Questions

1. Why might Paul emphasize his “weakness, fear, and trembling” as part of his preaching? How does this contrast with worldly standards of leadership or persuasion?
2. The sermon states, “The cross places faith’s weight on the power of God rather than human skill.” How does this idea challenge modern cultural values around success or influence?
3. How does the analogy of Moses (a “stutterer” used by God) [40:12] reinforce the theme that God delights in using the weak or despised?
4. Why is repentance described as an urgent matter in the sermon, and how does this connect to the idea of God’s patience? [01:05:21]

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Application Questions

1. In what areas of your life (work, relationships, church) do you feel pressure to rely on “lofty words” or human skill instead of trusting God’s power? What would it look like to shift that focus to Christ’s sufficiency?
2. The sermon warns against division in the church by emphasizing that “it is always all about Jesus.” How can you actively redirect conversations or conflicts in your community toward unity in Christ? [38:42]
3. The Holy Spirit is described as the one who reveals God’s truth. What habits or practices could help you depend more on the Spirit’s guidance when reading Scripture or making decisions?
4. Repentance is called “mercy in plain speech” and “today is the day.” Is there a specific area of resistance in your heart where you’ve delayed surrendering to God? What step can you take today to address it? [01:05:21]
5. The cross “shatters human boasting.” How might humility look different in your life if you truly believed your worth and purpose were rooted in Christ’s sacrifice, not your achievements?
6. The sermon says, “Evidence abounds, but will resists.” Where have you seen yourself or others dismiss spiritual truth not because of lack of evidence, but because of a desire for autonomy? How can you pray for softened hearts in those situations? [56:15]