In the World–August 3, 2025

Download “In the World” for August 3, 2025, here.

REVEALED AS FIRE

Last month, the city of Portland, Oregon, revealed the name and logo for their new professional women’s basketball team: Portland Fire. The team logo is a rose with petals made of flame, representing the Rose City, Portland’s nickname. Portland Fire was also the name of a professional women’s basketball team from 2000–2002. “We are thrilled to complete the journey of bringing professional women’s basketball back to the Rose City,” said Clare Hamill, Interim President of Portland Fire, “while honoring the legacy of the original franchise to blaze a new, bold path forward.”

REVEALED BY FIRE

Paul instructs Christians in Corinth that their leaders are building on the foundation he had laid. If they do so in a way that is wise and that pleases the Lord, they will receive a reward from him. But if they build in a shoddy or unwise way, they will suffer loss. A day of fiery testing is coming that will display the quality and character of what has been built in God’s new “temple,” composed of God’s people.

1. What’s your favorite professional sport? What’s your favorite team?
2. If you could name a team for your hometown, what would you call it?
3. How can someone build the church with gold, silver, or precious stones? How can someone build in a shoddy way?

Additional Resources

Any videos or web materials are for your personal use. If you play any media files in class, be sure to have the necessary rights to do so.

• Contemporary Worship Weekly
• Echoes Worship Weekly
• Traditional Worship Weekly
• Theology of Work Project, “Do Good Work (1 Corinthians 3:10–17)
• Bruce Henning’s “Is Temple-Building in Your Mission Statement?”
• Jared C. Wilson’s “Pastoral Ministry Is about Souls, Not Stats”