30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest
Day 17 – Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Cor. 2:1-5).
This week, we have been considering the message of the cross as the content and motivation for our gospel proclamation (1 Cor. 1:17-25). The gospel points to a bloody man hanging in shame on a cross and says to us all, “There is the healing of all your wounds. There is the forgiveness of all your sins. There is the satisfaction of all your desires. There is the wisdom for every question you ask. There is the victory that overcomes.”[1]
The divine wisdom of the cross seems foolish and weak to those who value worldly wisdom and human pride. Worldly wisdom and human pride do not have the power to save anyone. Instead, they only destroy faith in the crucified Christ. Paul showed that the Corinthians themselves were evidence of this truth (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
Now, in 1 Corinthians 2, Paul himself is the example. Paul describes the way he came to Corinth with two negative statements about how he DID NOT come, and two positive statements about how he DID come.
What did Paul NOT do? First, he “did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God” (1 Cor. 2:1). Second, he says, “my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:4). Paul did not want people to respond because of his oratory or his intellect. The problem with relying on these methods is that it becomes all about self-display for self-glorification.
What DID Paul do? First, Paul describes his coming as “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). And second he says, his preaching was “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 2:4). Paul’s method reinforced his message. The reason that Paul is trembling and fearful, weak and unimpressive, is “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
What did Paul mean by that? It means that he put the cross at the center of everything he said and did. He makes tents in the shadow of the cross. He preaches in the shadow of the cross. He disputes with opponents in the shadow of the cross. He eats and drinks and sleeps Christ crucified.[2] In essence, he did what every disciple must do—as Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). He died on the cross every day. He died to intellectual show. He died to impressive eloquence. He died to pride and boasting. As Paul writes to another church, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14).
A crucified Savior can be proclaimed in divine power only by crucified people.
In the cross of Christ I glory,
Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive and fears annoy;
Never shall the cross forsake me:
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds new luster to the day.
Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.[3]
Today’s Prayer
Father, again today I come with eternal gratitude for Christ Jesus who died for my sins on the cross. May I glory in nothing but the cross of Christ. May my every waking thought, word, and deed be in the shadow of the cross.
Lord, let me deny myself, take up my cross daily, and follow my Lord Jesus Christ. Remind me daily that I have been crucified with Christ, that is it no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Let me see that my weakness, fear, and much trembling are the way of the cross and for Your glory. When I am weak, You are strong. Forgive me for when I rely on my own wisdom, courage, and might rather than on the power of my crucified Savior. Forgive me for the times I think and act too much like the world rather than Christ.
Lord, cause me both to live the cross and proclaim the cross.
Amen.
Today’s Action
Remember to pray for someone to come to church with you on February 15.
Please take time to share with me who you want to invite that I can be praying for you and them also. Email me at pastor@newcovenantgj.org or text me at 970-462-7729.
[1] Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Power in Preaching: Decide (1 Corinthians 2:1–5), Part 1 of 3, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/power-in-preaching-decide-1-corinthians-215-part-1-of-3/.
[2] John Piper, The Present Power of Christ Crucified, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-present-power-of-christ-crucified.
[3] John Bowring, In the Cross of Christ, Baptist Hymnal 2008 #247, public domain.
