Crossborn

"When you come together, I hear there are divisions among you." 1 For 11: 18 "Divide and conquer" is an ancient principle, practiced by tyrants and conquerors for centuries. But it goes all the way back to the Devil's playbook! Jesus Himself warned us about it: "A house divided against itself will not stand." Mk 3: 25 And--wouldn't you know?--that's what was happening in Corinth. Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA  From his series on 1 Corinthians "To the Saints at Sin City".

"...the head of every man is Christ; the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God..." 1 Cor 11:3 "A perfect woman, nobly planned, to warn, to comfort and command..." wrote Wordsworth of his "Phantom". But was she just an "apparition"? Because we desperately need the real thing! This world desperately needs all the beautiful qualities of a woman; just as much as we need the qualities of a man! How wonderful, our glorious God, who has given us both. And all for our own protection.  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange CA, from his series on First Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City  

"...(for I am) not seeking my own good, but the good of many, so that they may be saved." 1 For 10: 33 "Where is there a dungeon as dark as one's own heart, or a jailer as inexorable as the self?" asks Nathaniel Hawthorne in one of his tales. That is so true! But when a person becomes a Christian, all of that begins to change. He no longer lives in the "dungeon of the jailer". He no longer seeks his own good, but the good of others. And his ultimate burden--just like His Savior!--is for the lost!  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series on First Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City

1 For 10: 12-22 "...flee from idolatry...for the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons and not unto God." 1 For 10: 14, 20 American preachers used to equate "money" and "ambition" with idolatry when they preached. After all, no American was drawn to the actual idol of wood or stone. But--my!--how that's changed! Now we find idols everywhere! They decorate our living rooms and ornament our gardens. Do we really know what we're doing? Do we really know what an idol is? Let's settle this issue today!  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA.  From his series on 1 Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City  

"We should not put Christ to the test, as some of them did..."    1 Cor 10:9 (ESV) Paul has been pressing upon the Corinthians that the risk of being rejected by God is real! Merely 'belonging', in some superficial way, is no guarantee that the danger is gone! This morning, Paul goes on to give the most vivid historical proof of this: the Israelites who 'belonged' to the Exodus, but who tempted the Lord with their rebellious ways. The parallels to present day American are startling, to say the least!   

"I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air." 1 Cor 9: 26  The Apostle Paul was an extraordinary man: history's greatest evangelist and missionary. Everywhere he went, he left churches in his wake. But if you could ask Paul how he would most like to be known, I'm sure he would tell you: "Soul-winner will do." It was actually his greatest ambition. It should be ours too.  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: First Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Rom 12: 2 Pastor Bob Boxer delves into the powerful message from Romans 12 about the battle for your mind, and the importance of your winning it! 

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O King.But even if He does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3: 17-18 The Bible never promises us freedom from adversity. In fact, God uses every trial, every hardship, every "setback" to "promote" us toward a closer walk with Christ.  Pastor Jiri Novak offers deep insights into the "fiery" ordeal of Daniel's three friends.  Calvary Chapel Old Town, Orange, CA

"We will put up with anything, rather than hinder the Gospel of Christ." 1 For 9:12 The only real hope for all Mankind is found in those four little books of the Bible called "the Gospels". Take those out and you don't have a Bible! All 62 of the other books orbit around those four! Nor would you have any hope! Like Paul in our text this morning, every faithful Christian knows that and lives for the sake of the Gospel. How about you? Are you ready to be one of them?  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel, Old Towne, Orange CA.  From his series on First Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City

"But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." 1 Cor 8:9 ESV That poor little Corinthian church! Paul finds yet another source of division to address.  This time, the "strong" ones, exercising their Christian liberties, were looking down on the "weak" ones with their tender conscience, and causing them to stumble. it still happens today! Let's learn this well... Message by Pastor Rod Schorr From his series on 1 Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City

"You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men." 1 Cor 7: 23 Everything changed when you were bought with that price! That's actually the theme of this next section of First Corinthians. But the change was in you; not in the world; not in your circumstances. In fact, you are still very much in the circumstances. And--wouldn't you know?--that is precisely where God wants you!

"They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have put Him." Jn 20: 13 The very first report on the morning of the Resurrection was bad news, not good! Did you know? Mary Magdalene hastened to the disciples to report that someone had desecrated the Savior's tomb, and even taken His body. And why shouldn't she suspect that, after what she had just seen on Friday? This is the "grief" that comes from a world of bad news! Does it strike a chord today? But--oh!--hold on! We are right at the brink of great joy!  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA  

If any man has a wife...(or) any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever..."  1 Cor 7: 12-13   Christian faith is so much more than spiritual principles and theological truths. In fact, God wants to bring order and meaning to every corner of your life: every situation, circumstance and relationship. "Do you mean, even this sad, one-sided marriage of mine?" Yes! Even that sad, one-sided marriage!   Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: First Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City  

"Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband." 1 Cor 7: 3 Shakespeare's 'Benedict' once put it well: "When I said I would die a bachelor, I didn't expect to live until I married." (Much Ado II:iii:260) I love that! But the truth is that many a die-hard bachelor has learned there's nothing wrong with 'wedlocked'! In fact, it is just plain 'better' for most people, and better for the whole world as well! That is Paul's main point as he addresses some questions on marriage this morning. Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: First Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?" 1 Cor 6: 19 We live in a culture obsessed with two things: our bodies and sex. Our little girls grow up under the ruthless gloom of standards of physical perfection; we diet, exercise, airbrush and photoshop, all because the 'body' is now our new religion! Then, of course, there is our unbridled appetite for sex. How refreshing is the Christian in all of this: a gracious temple of the Holy Spirit in a wilderness of depravity!  Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: 1 Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City  

"...but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6: 11 It's America's favorite word: "rights"; but--guess what?--having turned our backs on the God of our Salvation, all of our "rights" just become cumulated "wrongs". How wonderful if I can live life His way instead of mine! This morning, Paul addresses that very issue with the Christians in Corinth. Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: First Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City

"I have written to you in my letter, not to associate with sexually immoral people..." 1 Cor 5:9 "Tell me what company you keep, and I'll tell you what you are," said Don Quixote's sidekick one day, and that sure made him wiser than his master! Christians today need to take it to heart: we are not to get "mixed up" (literal translation) with the sinful practices of this world or lend our fellowship to those who do. Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series: 1 Corinthians: To the Saints in Sin City

"Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief?" 1Cor 5:2 NIV Nothing distinguishes the Christian more than the way he grieves. He just does not do it the way the rest of the world does. This morning, as Paul addresses a scandal in the church at Corinth, he actually rebukes the believers for not "grieving". What about you? What makes you grieve? Let's take a look... Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA From his series:  First Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City

"We have been made a spectacle to the world; to angels as well as to men." 1 Cor 4:9  "All the world's a stage, its men and women merely players," announces one of Shakespeare's characters. Perhaps that's true, but no one is more "on display" than the Christian! Our Scripture this morning calls the Christian "a spectacle to the world". What on earth does that imply? Let's take a look... Message by Pastor Rod Schorr, Calvary Chapel Old Towne, Orange, CA.  From his series on 1 Corinthians: To the Saints at Sin City

"For who sees any distinction in you? And what do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 4: 7 I love how Shakespeare lets poor, tormented Hamlet be his mouthpiece; "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason. How infinite in faculty...and yet, to me...what a quintessence of dust."  All of which is perfectly Biblical. The Bible warns against exalting Mankind, and that is what Paul is addressing this morning.