Preach 2 Corinthians!

A key part of Paul's apostolic ministry in the mid 50’s AD was the organising of a collection of money to relieve the poverty of the Jerusalem church. The collection did more than relieve poverty. By making a generous gift to the Jerusalem church the new gentile churches affirmed their Gospel partnership with the Jewish Christians. For more background see 2 Corinthians Introduction.

At Corinth an enthusiastic beginning seems to have fizzled out. In addition there were money tensions caused, it seems, by Paul refusing to accept patronage and working for a living to support his ministry. Problems were made worse by false teachers denying Paul’s authority as an apostle. Given the breakdown of relationships and a delicate situation Paul could be forgiven for not pressing an issue as sensitive as money. But he does press it, and very hard! A full two chapters (2 Cor 8 and 9) are devoted to teaching about financial stewardship as he urges the Corinthians to complete the collection for their own spiritual blessing as well as the relief of Jerusalem. Paul’s focus is not the money; in the entire two chapters Paul never uses the word 'money' once – or any other financial word. His chosen words such as privilege, service or generous act are all English translations of the the single Greek word charis meaning 'grace'.

Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 has been broken down into a five week preaching series. However, it is possible to edit this and reduce the series to four weeks. Indeed this has been done with the accompanying small group resource material Study 2 Corinthians! . Paul's rich teaching repays and rewards careful preparation and reflection. Clergy and planning groups will need to explore the background notes and sample sermons and decide how appropriate this preaching track is for different congregations in the local church.

As with all preaching the text must be life for the preacher before it can be life for the congregation. Those preparing to preach on stewardship will find it helpful to consider resources for personal reflection based on Matthew 16:13-20 and Matthew 16:21-28.