📖 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."

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