Series: The New Covenant Lifestyle Speaker: Steve Hixon Sermon Series Listing

		“Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant -- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

An Emotional Letter

In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (actually his fourth, but it's the second one we have) he steps away from his normal, well-organized, scholarly tone. He lets his guard down and gives us a glimpse of his struggles, his frustrations, and his deep emotions. He tells us about his fears, his disappointments, his joyful victories, and we begin to see what makes him tick.
In that process, Paul paints a picture of the Christian life that is compelling in its simplicity and challenging in its possibilities. He lays the solid foundation of God's grace, and then urges us to live the adventure of seeing God work through ordinary, imperfect people like you and me. Paul talks about...

being part of God's triumphal procession,
spreading the aroma of Christ to everyone we meet,
living in a world where spiritual warfare is always present,
God's miracle of salvation in the “clay pots” of our lives,
contemplating death and the life to come,
the privilege of being Christ's ambassadors.

This is definitely one of my favorite passages in all the Bible, and I hope you come to appreciate it as well.