We live in a broken world where we face pain, hardship, and sadness. Jesus' cry of forsakenness shows us how to endure suffering. - Watch at: https://vimeo.com/882600126?share=copy

Prolonged chaos is stressful; we prefer to be at peace that to be in disarray. In Corinthians, Paul urges the church to embrace order in their gatherings instead of chaos. By doing so, we will love each other well. - Order!

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.

Vs. 26-33 - Tongues and Prophecy in the Gathering

Vs 34-35 - Women in the Gathering

Vs 36-40 - Summary

Questions: Summarize chapters 11-14 in your own words. Have you identified your own spiritual gifts? How can you utilize something that youre good at to benefit someone else this week?Watch at: https://vimeo.com/882644587?share=copy

The spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy can seem spectacular in nature and Paul urges the Corinthians, and us, to use them correctly. In doing so, he urges believers to prioritize ‘we’ over ‘me’ in the worship gathering. - Body Building

1 Corinthians 14:1-25

The purpose of the corporate worship gathering is the building up of Gods people

The gift of tongues:

The gift of prophecy:

The proper use of both gifts:

Questions to consider: What has been your experience with the gifts of tongues and prophecy? How does Paul prioritize these, in your own words? How does individualism affect how you evaluate the corporate worship gathering? How might it look if our focus was on building each other in these gatherings?Watch at: https://vimeo.com/883097834?share=copy

In one of the most famous Bible passages, the Apostle Paul extols the virtues of love above all of the other things that we as people find important. It leads us to evaluate our own lives for evidence of love for others - how well am I loving people? - Love, Actually

1 Corinthians 13

Without love we are nothing

13:1-3 - The Necessity of Love

13:4-7 - What Love Looks Like

13:8-13 - Loves Eternal Perspective

The Challenge: Use your gifts (something youre good at) this week to show love to someone else in our church family.

Questions to consider: How does Paul define love? How would your life and our church be different if we truly loved each other like this? What stops you from loving this way? How can you intentionally demonstrate love to someone with your gifts this week?Watch at: https://vimeo.com/883096892?share=copy

In 1 Cor 12:12-31, Paul compares the Church to a body, stressing the significance of each member. Unity is crucial, as diversity in roles contributes to the body's effective functioning. - Body Parts

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Why is the church called the body of Christ?

What does it mean to be a body part? (v. 12-14)

The attitude of inferiority (v. 15-19)

The attitude of superiority (v. 21-26)

What does this mean for our church? (v. 27-31)Watch at: https://vimeo.com/883096315?share=copy

It can be easy to feel we are inadequate. We can see how gifted others are and wish we could be like them. But for those who are followers of Jesus, we have the Spirit of God in us and therefore we can live courageously and humbly. - Same Spirit, Different Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Jesus' followers have may have different gifts but the same Spirit

12:1-3 Who has the Spirit?

12:4-6 The Same Spirit

12:7-11 Empowered for the Common Good

Application Courageous and humble faithfulness.

For further thinking: Why is it important to know that you have the same spirit as other believers? How does this cause courage? How does this cause humility?Watch at: https://vimeo.com/883095776?share=copy

Divisions in a community are damaging. In the community of Corinth, these divisions were evidenced in the way they observed the Lord’s Supper meal. Our church community will be strong if we can be the community that Jesus died to create without fracturing into factions.

How does the Bible instruct us to honour one another in the context of the gathered church? In one of the most complex passages in the New Testament, Paul reminds the church of the importance of respecting each other, and, therefore, respecting God.

Community is hard and yet community is necessary for all of us on our journey of spiritual growth. Community is also one of the ways in which God displays His glorious wisdom. How can you take a step into community?

What does it mean to remain closely connected to Jesus? How do we remain that way? As we examine the “Abiding in Christ” phase of the discipleship journey we will learn from Jesus how to stay connected to the source of our life.