Paul gives the Corinthians a better way for church: one not focused on flashy spiritual experience but on genuine spiritual substance. Spiritual gifts are not meant for showing off but for building up, which puts a culture of love at the heart of the church community.

Application Questions:

1. Do you have any experience with prophecy or tongues? Is it positive, negative, or both?

2. Do you treat spiritual gifts more as tools or trophies? 

3. How can the gospel free you to pursue building up the church community? What would that look like practically for you? 

The hope of the gospel is the hope of rest. We were designed by God, as finite beings, for rest. But what we often think of as rest is not God's design. Christ shows us the nature, need, and hope of rest.

Application Questions:

How is rest in Scripture different that what you imagine?

In what ways is your soul weary?

How does the future hope of eternal rest speak to your life now?

Paul pushes us even further in our understanding of love when he tells us it “never ends.” This is more profound than we realize, showing us how love is the foundation and culture of heaven, transforming our lives now on earth and pointing us to the never failing love of Christ.

Application Questions: 

1. When you think about heaven, what comes to mind? 

2. How can heaven as a world of love guide you in your life now? 

3. How does heaven as a world of love help you understand more deeply what Christ has done for you?  

This passage is famous as sweet and inspiring, but the more we listen to it, the more we are confronted by the size and importance of love. Love is what we want and need, but also what we don’t have on our own. Jesus does have it, and enough for us that we can be transformed to love like he does.

Application Questions: 

1. Why do you think this passage has become so sentimental for so many people?

2. How does this passage confront you personally?

3. How does this passage show you Christ and prompt you to practical ways of showing love to others?

Guest Pastor Jim Newheiser preaches on Christian ambition and God's will.

As the recipient of the free gift of God by grace, through the atoning work of Jesus, you are the body of Christ. This identity provides us with a greater appreciation of our unity and diversity, a greater belonging through our interdependence, and a greater understanding of God's love and care for us.

Application Questions: 

1. In what ways are you tempted to feel that you are not a part of the body? 

2. How can you move towards esteeming more those who are different than you in Christ's body? 

3. How can the reality of your identity as a member of the body of Christ lead you to greater fellowship with others and communion with God this week?

What are your spiritual gifts? Do you know? How do you find out? How do you exercise them? If we've each been given special gifts by God for the benefit of those around us, these are important questions we all need the answers to. But before we can answer any of these questions we need to know: what are spiritual gifts in the first place?

Application Questions: 

1. What have you previously understood spiritual gifts to be?

2. If spiritual gifts aren't simply special abilities, but are instead the activities and areas of service God has called you to (and empowered you for), how does that change how you understand your gifts?

3. How might our hearts be misled if we assume spiritual gifts are special abilities that we can utilize according to our own wills?

4. What are your next steps in identifying your spiritual gifts at use in our local church?

Like the Lord’s Supper, baptism is powerful but often neglected. In Romans 6, Paul shows us how baptism connects us deeply to important spiritual realities, that can help us navigate life even decades after our baptism.

Application Questions: 

1. How have you thought about baptism in the past? 

2. What stands out to you about baptism as a picture of the gospel?

3. If you haven’t been baptized, what’s preventing you from taking that step? 

4. If you have been baptized, how might it help you to remember your baptism this week? 

When Paul instructs the Corinthian church on the Lord’s Supper, he does more than correct their errors. He explains what the Supper means for us, and how that meaning draws us closer to Christ and to one another.

Application Questions: 

1. What is your experience with the Lord’s Supper? How were you taught about it? What role has it played in your spiritual life?

2. What stood out to you most about Paul’s explanation of the Lord’s Supper? 

3. How does the Lord’s Supper communicate the gospel to us?

4. How can the Lord’s Supper become a more important part of your spiritual life going forward?

One of the most confusing passages in the Bible is on one of the most confusing topics in our world: gender. The Bible’s approach to gender celebrates the differences between man and woman without denigrating either. Paul encourages the Corinthians to embrace, not deny, those differences in their own lives.

Application Questions: 

1. Our world has different approaches to gender. What are some that you’ve experienced?

2. How does Paul’s view on gender celebrate difference without denying equality?

3. What about the gospel frees us to embrace God’s design even when it’s a struggle?

4. What are some practical ways we can embrace being male or female in West Los Angeles?