I praise you because you always remember me and follow the teachings that I have handed on to you.

Don't you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or would you rather despise the church of God and put to shame the people who are in need? What do you expect me to say to you about this? Shall I praise you? Of course I don't!

"Do not bear a grudge against others, but settle your differences with them, so that you will not commit a sin because of them.

Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don't care for him at all.

For rulers are not to be feared by those who do good, but by those who do evil. Would you like to be unafraid of those in authority? Then do what is good, and they will praise you,

and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good.

When you meet together as a group, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat.

And if any of you are hungry, you should eat at home, so that you will not come under God's judgment as you meet together. As for the other matters, I will settle them when I come.

If, then, the whole church meets together and everyone starts speaking in strange tongues---and if some ordinary people or unbelievers come in, won't they say that you are all crazy?

This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.

It's useless to bring your offerings. I am disgusted with the smell of the incense you burn. I cannot stand your New Moon Festivals, your Sabbaths, and your religious gatherings; they are all corrupted by your sins.

I hate your New Moon Festivals and holy days; they are a burden that I am tired of bearing.

The LORD says, "Shout as loud as you can! Tell my people Israel about their sins!

The people ask, "Why should we fast if the LORD never notices? Why should we go without food if he pays no attention?" The LORD says to them, "The truth is that at the same time you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers.

You steal, murder, commit adultery, tell lies under oath, offer sacrifices to Baal, and worship gods that you had not known before.

You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, 'We are safe!'

Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.