II Corinthians 9.6-15: As the apostle Paul encourages us to generous living, we are reminded that God works through our obedience to produce a bountiful harvest of righteousness. We first must be reminded of God's generous nature toward us and trust that our generous acts toward others will contribute to God's grand plan of his good kingdom.

II Corinthians 7.2-16: Paul shows us how to live in the spiritual tension of sin and the pursuit of righteousness. We cannot find peace through a therapeutic glossing over of sin, both individual and societal. We must face sin in ourselves and in the world. But we confront it in ourselves through our salvation in Christ. And we confront it in the world through the ethic of love, as we seek to model God's righteousness and teach it. Our world seeks comfort by denial of sin. We seek comfort by addressing it through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 6.3-13: Paul models for us a life that is authentic and whole. He does not seek to make himself seem better, but fully puts himself out there in his weaknesses. He lives his life out of the fulcrum of Jesus' death and resurrection. It is this path that guides us to unity in our soul, a unity of purpose toward serving Christ and seeking his glory.

II Corinthians 5.11-6.2: Paul's hope and life calling is to guide people to an trust in the centrality of Christ in their life and in all things. It guides us to an urgency of the call of the church, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in our world.

II Corinthians 4: "We do not lose heart!", Paul says twice in this text. The hardships and suffering he's faced do not define him and his vision of life, but his vision of what is unseen guides him forward. He stares at the unseen, which is the reality of the coming kingdom that is that which is truly real. What is real in our present isn't fully real, because it doesn't last, but what lasts and doesn't fade is what is truly real. That is the coming resurrection and the coming kingdom.