Sanctuary

What comes to mind when you hear 1 Corinthians 13?

What do you especially appreciate about 1 Corinthians 13 today?

In verses 1-3 Paul describes the necessity of love. Have you ever experienced the “nothingness” of life without love?

In verses 4-7 we read the poetic description of love. How does your understanding of these verses change when you read them in the context of the issues facing the church in Corinth?

Paul describes the actions of love with “love” being the subject of 16 verbs in a row. How does it challenge you today to see these verses as more than just poetry, but a call to action?

How do you sense God desiring to love others through your actions today?

A measure of love is its “capacity for tension and disagreement without division.” Would people in your life say that this is true of you?

Verse 8-13 point to the preeminence of love and how it will last forever. How have you seen love make an eternal impact in your life?

What is something that you see “dimly” today that you look forward to fully understanding in eternity?

Read Ephesians 3:14-19 and reflect on how you have grown in your understanding of God’s love for you. Ask God to continue to grow your understanding of his love for you!

Read 1 Corinthians 12.12-26. What’s the primary implication of this text? What speaks most personally to you in this text? 

What’s God’s primary purpose for community? How does this primary purpose motivate you to move past that which is good, for that which is best? 

The purpose statement for Sanctuary is, “To be transformed by the Gospel to live and love like Jesus.” How is God currently using community in your transformation? 

In your own words, define Biblical unity.

What’s the difference between Biblical unity and the unity of the world? What’s the difference between Biblical unity and uniformity? How are you experience unity through diversity? 

Using the human body, Paul illustrates our need for one another. How do you see yourself fitting in the Body of Christ? 

Review the text. How does Paul lift up the weak? 

How does Paul lift up the poor, and those who may sense a lack of dignity and worth? 

Isaiah 61 has long been the call of Sanctuary. Read the text and find the connection points between it and 1 Corinthians 12. 

Read Mark 14.3-9. How does Jesus minister to those who are weak, sick, the poor, and those who may sense a lack of worth and value? How does His example challenge you? How does His example motivate you? 

Read and reflect on the following statement: “We don’t go to the poor to make a difference. We go to the poor to make us different.” How have you experienced this statement as truth in your life? How has the poor made you different? 

Read 1 Corinthians 12.25-26. There are members of our Body who are suffering. How might you move toward those who are suffering? How might you allow others to move toward you when you suffer or mourn? 

Four questions were asked as part of the message on Sunday. Answer each. 

With whom are you suffering?

With whom are you rejoicing? 

Who rejoices with you?

Who suffers with you? 

Why is communion so important for the Body of Christ? How important is communion to you? What’s the primary purpose for you in receiving communion?

Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” What’s one step you can take toward someone different than you? How might you express His love to another today? 

Read 1 Peter 2.4-9. What’s the primary implication of this text? 

Notice the phrases in the text that are quoted from the Old Testament. How does it encourage you to know Peter would have referenced the Old Testament as he writes to the churches in Asia Minor? 

What’s the ongoing nature of this text? What’s one example of God’s ongoing work in building you into a spiritual house?

How were the people of Israel a royal priesthood? In what ways did they serve faithfully? How and when did they compromise their calling? 

Read and reflect on the summary of verse 9:
I am chosen. I am a royal priest. I am His treasured possession. Brought from darkness to light to declare His praises. 

How does this truth remind you of your identity? Where does this truth challenge you? Do you see yourself this way, the way God sees you? 

Read 1 Corinthians 12.1-11, 28-30. What is Paul’s primary purpose for writing this text? 

In your own words, define spiritual gifts and the purpose of spiritual gifts. 

Read Romans 12.3-8; Ephesians 4.11-12; 1 Peter 4.9-11. As you read these lists of gifts, how do you see them building up the local church? What’s the priority and purpose of gifts as noted in these texts? 

Read and reflect on the quote from Ked Hemphill:
“A spiritual gift is an individual manifestation of grace from the Father that enables you to serve Him and thus play a vital role in His plan for the redemption of the world.” 

What do you believe is your spiritual gift? How has your gift been affirmed communally? How are you stewarding the gift God has given you? 

Why do some Christians believe the gifts do not operate in the local church any longer? How do you see the gifts at work in our local church? 

Karl Barth noted people come to church with one question on their minds, “Is it true?” What question continues to come to mind as you come to church? How have you experienced the truth of each of the following: 

Is it true?

The love of God,

the saving power of Jesus Christ,

the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit,

the resurrection from the dead,

the forgiveness of sins….

Is it true?

Read John 3.16-17. How does this passage speak to you today? What in the text encourages you? What inspires you? 

How important is the local church in the day and time of Paul? How did the local church in Corinth impact the world around it? How important is the local church in our day? How important is our church to you? 

Describe how the local church in Corinth was distinct from any other place in all of Rome? 

Read Galatians 3.26. In your own words, define being “one in Christ.” How is this truth being lived out in your life today? Where is one area of growth for you as it relates to this truth? 

Read Revelation 7.9-10. How does this picture of heaven impact your life on earth? How does this picture of heaven impact your life in the local church? 

Read and reflect on the quote by Dallas Willard: “The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.”

Read 1 Corinthians 11.2-16. What spaces to you most personally in the text? 

What’s the purpose for Paul writing this portion of the text? How does this impact us at Sanctuary? Why is order in the gathering important to Paul?

Read verse 3 and then answer the following questions: What are ‘these important traditions’ that Paul notes? What are they not? How do we often confuse our religious traditions from what Paul is describing here? 

Read verses 4-5. What does the Bible mean when it describes, “prophesying?” What’s the cultural implication of these verses? What is important for us to hold onto today? 

How do you view the role of women in the local church? What do you believe is biblical about what a woman can or can’t do in the local church? 

Read verse 6 and then verse 13-16. What is the cultural context of this verse? What does this mean for us today?

Read verses 7-12. After reading this text, how important is “authority?” 

Read Ephesians 5.21. In your own words, define “mutual submission.” 

Read Galatians 5.6. How does Paul truth call you to act in mutual submission? What does love look like in submission? 

Spend some time praying for God’s wisdom to continue to be given to you and to our church leaders. Pray for unity and mutual submission for our church.