Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:9-10.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. — 1 Corinthians 5:9–10

Paul clears up a massive misunderstanding. The Corinthians assumed he meant, "Cut off contact with sinful people entirely." But that was never God's strategy. We don't reach the world by abandoning it, avoiding it, or hiding from it.

Paul's point is far sharper: Christians are not commanded to avoid the world. Christians are commanded to discern the church.

Jesus Himself ate with sinners, welcomed sinners, and loved sinners. But Paul warns believers to be cautious around professing Christians who live openly in sin without repentance—those who claim Christ while rejecting His authority. That's where the real threat lies.

Unbelievers acting like unbelievers doesn't corrupt the church. Believers acting like unbelievers without shame does. When the church begins to affirm what God condemns, the confusion spreads. The witness weakens. The church slowly becomes the very culture it's called to rescue.

That's why Paul says you'd "have to leave the world" to avoid sinners outside the faith. The danger isn't out there. The danger is when what's out there walks into the church, refuses to repent, and finds applause instead of correction. Your mission is in the world—your discernment is in the church.

So be wise about who shapes your spiritual life. Move toward unbelievers with compassion and conviction. But be cautious with believers who live in open rebellion while claiming the name of Christ. Discernment isn't harsh—it's holy. It protects your heart. It protects your relationships. And it protects the church you love.

DO THIS:

Evaluate your closest Christian relationships. Deepen connections with believers who strengthen your walk with Christ, and set boundaries with those who pull you away.

ASK THIS:

1. Who influences my spiritual life the most right now?
2. Are they pushing me toward Christ or pulling me toward compromise?
3. Where do I need to practice healthier discernment?

PRAY THIS:

Father, give me wisdom to love the world like Jesus did while discerning the church like Paul taught. Guard my heart, shape my relationships, and keep me faithful to You. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Build My Life"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:6-8.

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. — 1 Corinthians 5:6–8

Paul moves from confronting one man's sin to confronting the entire church's tolerance of it, and he does it with a picture everyone in Corinth understood: leaven.

1. Leaven is quiet.
2. Leaven is small.
3. Leaven works invisibly.

Yet once it's mixed in, it spreads through the whole batch of dough. It doesn't matter if it starts in a corner—it ends everywhere. That's Paul's point.

Sin never stays personal. It always becomes communal.

• A private compromise eventually affects public integrity.
• A hidden lust eventually damages relationships.
• A tolerated sin eventually shapes a church's culture.

Just like leaven, sin spreads beyond the person who commits it.

That's exactly why Paul confronted Corinth so strongly in the previous passage. Discipline wasn't only about the man—it was about the whole church, because what one person hides, the whole body eventually breathes.

This is why Paul commands them to "cleanse out the old leaven." He's pulling from Passover imagery. Every Jewish family searched their home by candlelight, removing every crumb of leaven so the new batch would remain pure. Even a pinch of the old dough could corrupt everything new.

Paul is applying that same spiritual search to the church:

• Remove the old habits.
• Remove the excuses.
• Remove the tolerated sins.
• Remove the attitudes that spread like rot.

If we want a healed church, we must remove what is poisoning both the individual and the body. This is not just about your life. This is about our life together.

But Paul ends with a powerful statement: "As you really are unleavened…" In other words, you're already made new. So live like it. Your identity is clean. Your standing is pure. Your church has been washed. So stop kneading in old corruption. Stop letting sin expand. Stop pretending one compromise won't spread to others.

This is Paul's call to you. This is Paul's call to your church. This is Paul's call to every fellowship that wants to remain spiritually healthy. Remove what spreads death. Keep what spreads life.

DO THIS:

Do a "Passover sweep" of both your personal life and your church involvement. Remove whatever small thing you've been tolerating before it grows and affects more than you realize.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I underestimated the spread of a small sin?
2. How might my compromise be shaping others around me?
3. What leaven needs to be removed so my life—and my church—can stay healthy?

PRAY THIS:

Father, show me anything in my life that's quietly spreading and corrupting what You want to renew. Give me courage to remove it and help me strengthen the purity of my church as well. Make me unleavened with sincerity and truth. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Give Us Clean Hands"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:1-2.

The sin in Corinth wasn't subtle, hidden, or debatable. It was so scandalous that even the surrounding pagan culture was shocked by it. Paul writes:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. — 1 Corinthians 5:1–2

Paul cannot believe what he's hearing. A man in the church is committing sexual sin that even unbelievers reject, and instead of grieving over it, the church is arrogant about its tolerance. This is not just a Corinth problem—it's a problem in today's church as well.

Sexual sin is no longer shocking in the culture, but the deeper issue is that it's no longer shocking in the church. Porn has become normalized. Cohabitation is assumed. Adultery is reframed as emotional escape. Lust is dismissed as human nature. Same‑sex behavior is being affirmed rather than confronted by churches that are more focused on appearing compassionate than being holy. We are treating as normal what God calls destructive.

This is where Paul's words cut through our excuses. The church is never more vulnerable than when it stops being distinct. And if we lose our distinction, we lose our witness. We cannot rescue a world we're trying to resemble. Believers today must reclaim what Corinth forgot: holiness isn't harsh—holiness is healing.

Calling sin what it is doesn't crush people; it frees them. Truth is not the enemy of compassion; truth is what makes compassion meaningful. Love doesn't celebrate what destroys people; love confronts what destroys people so they can be restored.

If we stay silent, people stay trapped. If we stay passive, people stay wounded. If we tolerate what God calls sin, we slowly become a church shaped by culture instead of by Scripture.

This moment demands courage. Courage to grieve what God grieves. Courage to stand for truth when it's unpopular. Courage to gently persuade others toward the life God blesses. Courage to be different in a world that demands sameness.

We cannot change hearts, but we can point to the One who does. We cannot force holiness, but we can model it with conviction and compassion. You don't persuade people by blending in; you persuade them by living what they desperately need.

This is why Paul urges the church to mourn rather than shrug, to confront rather than ignore, and to lead rather than imitate. The church must be the place where truth restores—not where sin hides.

DO THIS:

Ask God to reveal any area of sexual compromise or complacency in your life. Confess it honestly, and commit to helping others walk in truth with humility and courage.

ASK THIS:

1. Have I become numb to sexual sin—in myself or in the church?
2. Where have I stayed silent when I should have stood for truth?
3. How can I lovingly help someone move toward holiness?

PRAY THIS:

Father, open my eyes to anything that mirrors the world instead of Christ. Give me courage to stand for truth—even when it's costly—and compassion to help others walk in it. Make me a voice of clarity and a vessel of restoration. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Refiner"

Fame is loud. Faithfulness is quiet. God only measures one.

What does real leadership look like when you strip away applause, opinions, and platforms? In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul confronts a culture obsessed with evaluation and reminds the church that God isn't looking for celebrities—he's looking for faithful stewards. This chapter calls us to stop chasing approval, stop sitting in the judge's seat, and start living for the only commendation that lasts.

1. When you think about leadership, what metrics tend to matter most to you—and why?

2. Where do you feel the pressure to seek approval instead of obedience?

3. How does Paul's description of leaders as "servants and stewards" challenge modern leadership culture?

4. What's the difference between being successful and being faithful in God's eyes?

5. Why do you think Paul says it's a "small thing" to be judged by others—or even by himself?

6. In what ways do we unintentionally play the judge with people's motives or ministries?

7. How does the phrase "You receive, not achieve" confront pride in your life?

8. Why is it tempting to expect comfort, recognition, or applause in ministry or service?

9. What does fatherly leadership look like in real life—at home, church, or work?

10. If God evaluated your life today, where would faithfulness be clearly visible?

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 4:21.

Paul ends the chapter with a question that sounds like a loving father sitting down after a long, difficult day:

What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness? — 1 Corinthians 4:21

This isn't a threat. It's an invitation. Paul isn't eager to discipline them; he's eager to restore them. His heart is essentially saying, "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

And isn't that exactly how so many of us relate to God? We resist. We push back. We defend ourselves. We dig in our heels. Instead of confessing, we explain. Instead of yielding, we argue. And eventually, God has to use the "rod"—that loving, corrective pressure that wakes us up. Not because He's angry, but because He refuses to let us drift into destruction.

But Paul is showing us a better path—the path of restoration.

Humility invites gentleness. Repentance invites tenderness. A softened heart invites God's nearness. We often assume God is eager to be harsh, but Scripture tells a different story:

God would rather restore you than correct you. He would rather embrace you than discipline you. He would rather speak softly than press firmly.

Paul's question becomes God's question for you: "How do you want me to come to you?"

If you respond with a humble, teachable heart, He comes with love. If you respond with pride and resistance, He comes with correction. Not because He wants to, but because sometimes correction is the only thing that shakes us awake.

Don't make God use the rod when He's offering restoration.

If you feel conviction today, that is God's kindness. If you feel warned, that is His mercy. If you feel nudged toward obedience, that is His love. Paul pleads with the Corinthians—and God pleads with us—to choose the path that invites gentleness.

Choose restoration.

DO THIS:

Humble yourself before God today. Ask Him, "Is there anything I'm resisting that You're trying to restore?"

ASK THIS:

1. What area of my life would cause God to approach me with correction rather than gentleness?
2. Have I misunderstood God's discipline as His anger?
3. What step of repentance could open the door to restoration?

PRAY THIS:

Father, soften my heart before You. Don't let me push things to the point of the rod. Help me choose humility so I can experience Your restoration instead of Your correction. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Come Thou Fount"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 4:18-20.

Some in Corinth were puffed up—loud, confident, full of opinions. They acted as if Paul would never return, and even if he did, they imagined they could stand toe-to-toe with him. Paul answers with calm clarity:

Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. — 1 Corinthians 4:18–20

Paul is done with the noise. He's not coming to evaluate their words—he's coming to see their lives. Big talk is cheap. Real power isn't.

We live in a world drowning in words—content, opinions, debates, arguments, and theological posturing. The Corinthians did too. But Paul reminds them that the kingdom of God doesn't advance through intellect that merely informs or through language that elevates the ego. It advances through power—the kind that transforms.

God isn't impressed by vocabulary, clever arguments, or spiritual branding. Those things often feed pride more than faith. What He looks for is the unmistakable evidence of the Spirit—a power that softens hard hearts, produces repentance, crucifies ego, heals broken places, strengthens the weary, and transforms character from the inside out.

You can imitate style, tone, or theological vocabulary. But you cannot imitate the power of God flowing through a surrendered life.

What we're after isn't the allure of power—it's the ability to see real power when we encounter it. You recognize it in people who spend time with God, who carry peace you can't manufacture, who walk in humility that confronts pride, who speak with quiet authority born from obedience, and who display fruit that only the Spirit can produce. You can sense it. You can't always explain it. But you know: this person walks with God in a way I need.

That's what Paul is after. That's what the Corinthians were missing.

You don't measure a life by what it says, but by what it carries.

Talk says, "Look at me." Power says, "Look at Christ." Talk elevates self. Power reveals the Spirit. Talk feeds ego. Power grows humility.

Paul isn't coming to hear speeches. He's coming to see surrender. That's what God desires from us, too.

Let your life carry more weight than your words.

DO THIS:

Take five quiet minutes to ask God, "Where is talk overshadowing true spiritual power in my life?" Let Him highlight one place where surrender needs to deepen.

ASK THIS:

1. What talk have I trusted more than transformation?
2. Do people experience Christ's power or just my opinions?
3. Who in my life carries real spiritual power—and what can I learn from them?

PRAY THIS:

Father, free me from empty talk and spiritual performance. Fill me with Your power—the kind that transforms my character and carries Your presence into the world. Make me a vessel you can use. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Holy Spirit"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 4:17.

Some people talk a good game. Timothy lived one.

Paul had a big problem in Corinth—a proud, divided church drifting from the way of Christ. So he doesn't just write another paragraph. He doesn't send a rebuke. He sends a person.

That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. — 1 Corinthians 4:17

Timothy wasn't a random choice. He was the right man, in the right moment, with the right life.

• Paul met him in Lystra as a young man known for sincere faith (Acts 16:1–2).
• He was raised by a godly mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5).
• Paul invited him into ministry early (Acts 16:1–3).
• Timothy proved faithful through suffering, travel, pressure, and conflict (Phil. 2:19–22).
• Paul trusted him so deeply that he sent him to tough churches—Philippi, Thessalonica, Ephesus… and now Corinth (1 Thess. 3:1–2).

So why send him?

Because Timothy didn't just know Paul's teaching—he knew Paul's ways. He lived the gospel Paul preached. Timothy is who Paul would be if Paul were standing in the room.

The Corinthians didn't need more clarity. They needed more example. A humble one. A faithful one. A consistent one. A fellow worth following.

We all need examples like Timothy… and we're all called to become examples like Timothy. Not perfect. Just faithful. Steady. Growing. Becoming the kind of person who makes it easier for others to follow Jesus.

Be a fellow worth following.

And here's the truth: You can be. Not by being impressive. Not by being flawless. But by walking closely with Christ until your life naturally points others toward Him.

God can shape you into the kind of person others look to for strength, courage, and clarity. The kind of person who lifts prayer burdens, speaks truth gently, and carries the presence of Christ into every space.

You don't need a platform. You don't need a title. You just need a faithful life.

Let God form you into a fellow worth following.

DO THIS:

Choose one area of your life where you want to grow into someone "worth following." Invite God to shape you—and someone you trust to sharpen you.

ASK THIS:

• Why did Paul trust Timothy so deeply?
• What qualities in Timothy do I need to grow in?
• Does my life help others follow Christ more clearly?

PRAY THIS:

Lord, form in me the kind of life others can follow. Make me faithful, steady, humble, and true—like Timothy. Shape me into a fellow worth following. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Lead Me to the Cross"