Are You Building for Eternity or Blowing Smoke? | 1 Cor 3

Описание: 📖 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 • Are you building a life that will last for eternity, or are you wasting your days blowing smoke? Every Christian will stand before the judgment seat of Christ where fire will test what you built with your life.

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • February, 8, 2026.

The Bible says we are "laborers together with God"—active participants in His work. But we're not just working WITH God; He's also working ON us, cultivating us like a field and building us up like a temple. The question is: what materials are you choosing to build with?

In this powerful exposition of 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, Pastor Fortunato walks through three key metaphors—the laborer (work), the husbandry (growth), and the building (construction)—to show how God is developing His people. But the sermon's convicting heart addresses the fire test every believer will face. When your works are tested by fire at the judgment seat of Christ, will they survive or burn up as smoke?

Wood, hay, and stubble represent the temporal—what we did for our own glory, selfish motives, and carnal desires. It might look impressive now, but it won't last the fire. Gold, silver, and precious stones represent eternal value—what we did for Christ with pure motives.

Are you giving God your best or just throwing Him your leftovers? Would you give your spouse the scraps from your plate and call it dinner? Then why would you give God the leftover time after you've consumed eight hours of entertainment? This sermon challenges believers to stop mining for fool's gold and start building with materials that will survive eternity.

This expository message walks through 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Corinthians 15:10, and Colossians 3:17, explaining:

• Why we are laborers TOGETHER with God, not just working FOR Him
• The three metaphors: work (laborers), growth (husbandry), construction (building)
• What it means to be "lively stones" built into God's spiritual temple
• The two categories of building materials: eternal vs. temporal
• How the fire test at the judgment seat reveals what you really built
• Why wood, hay, and stubble represent religious activity with wrong motives
• What rewards await those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones
• How to avoid the regret of lost opportunity and wasted potential

The sermon concludes with C.T. Studd's famous poem: "Only one life, will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last."

⏱️ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction: We Are Laborers Together With God
1:35 - Three Key Metaphors in 1 Corinthians 3:9
1:52 - Laborers: Active Participants Working WITH God
2:34 - Husbandry: We're Being Cultivated by God
4:32 - Building: God is Constructing Us Into His Temple
7:30 - 1 Peter 2:5 - We Are Lively Stones
11:30 - Every Day People Are Building and Choosing Materials
12:30 - The Fire Test: What Will Survive?
14:20 - Temporal Materials: Wood, Hay, and Stubble
17:22 - Stop Giving God Your Leftovers and Scraps
24:05 - Eternal Materials: Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones
30:43 - The Judgment Seat is About Accountability, Not Punishment
31:53 - C.T. Studd Poem: "Only One Life Will Soon Be Passed"

📖 Key Scriptures (KJV):

"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." — 1 Corinthians 3:9

"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." — 1 Corinthians 3:14-15

"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." — 1 Peter 2:5

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." — Colossians 3:17

⛪ About Pilgrim Baptist Church:
We're a family integrated church in Cookeville, Tennessee where families worship together under verse-by-verse expository preaching from the King James Bible. At Pilgrim, we believe in serious teaching for strong families built on biblical authority.
Most of our sermons are verse-by-verse exposition through entire books of the Bible, systematically working through God's Word so believers understand Scripture in its full context.

Families worship together. No entertainment. No shortcuts. Just faithful, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that transforms families.

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📍 Visit Pilgrim Baptist Church:
170 4th Ave, Cookeville, TN 38506

Sunday Services:
10:00 AM - Family Integrated Sunday School
11:00 AM - Morning Worship
2:00 PM - Afternoon Service & Prayer Meeting

Thursday Service:
6:00 PM - Midweek Bible Study

🌐 Learn More: pilgrimbaptist.church
✉️ Contact Pastor Fortunato: [email protected]
📞 Call: 931-219-2224

Plan your visit: pilgrimbaptist.church/plan-your-visit