WELCOMEAdult II Couples Class

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Adult II Couples Class

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Assuming you could take your family with you

to spend Christmas

anywhere in the world,

where would you go?

Physical Spiritual Practical Church Misc

PRAYER REQUESTS

-Savage Family

-Country Haven Church

-Heup Family

-Haraway Family

-Tony: Cancer treatments

-Cathy Laster: Cancer treatments

-Abraham Garcia: Cancer treatments

-Griffith Goodyear

-Global Missions Offering

-Christmas program

CHURCH STUFFClass Events Church Events

Benevolence Fund R.E.A.P. (R-Team) Scripture Readers

Needed Monthly Fellowships

November?? December 15th –

Woffords January ??

Dinner out Friday (30 Nov)

5th Sunday Breakfast (30 Dec)

Quarterly Service Project Ends of the Earth

Project

Jesus’ Birthday Party (2 Dec) E-Sunday (9 Dec) Blood Pressure Checks (9 Dec) Budget Cmte Mtg (12 Dec) IBC Christmas Dinner

(5:45pm/12 Dec) Youth Christmas Party (14 Dec) IBC Christmas Program (16

Dec) Business Mtg (19 Dec) Olive Grove Terrace Visitation

(23 Dec) Calendar Planning/Caroling (23

Dec) Praise, Play & Play (31 Dec)

QUESTION OF THE DAYAdult II Couples Class

discoverjoy.com

Assuming you could take your family with you

to spend Christmas

anywhere in the world,

where would you go?

Chronological Bible

Discipleshipweek forty-eight

1 Corinthians

Iva May and Dr. Stan May

Chronological Bible Study

Our Goals:

To make a one year journey through the story of the Bible (His Story)

To be able to identify the 14 Bible eras and connect them to the other eras

To understand the spiritual formation of the individuals plugged into His Story

Creation

Patriarch

Exodus

Conquest

Judges

Kingdom

DividedKingdom

Captivity

Return

Silent

Gospel

Missions

End Times

ChurchToday

Church EraChurch Era

Jesus responded to Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” by introducing His other sheep as the church, “And I say to you that you are Peter (petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

• Jesus foretold the creation of bodies of believers who would meet together regularly for worship, instruction, service, fellowship and mission.

• These churches are built on the confession that Jesus is the Christ.

CONTEXT After the Fall, problems became the norm

for hu-man society• Cain murdered his own brother• Strife became so bad that within 10 generations God destroyed the

human population with the Flood• Israel’s sons sold their brother into slavery• Israel became a divided nation over governance issues

In New Testament times problems still surface• The Apostles argue with one another about who will be the greatest• People ask Jesus to intervene and settle disputes• Unsurprisingly, problems begin to appear in the early church

Churches are made up of people• “Church people” are redeemed by Christ, but still struggle with sin• The church at Corinth reflects the reality of these problems

CONTEXT• The gospel moves beyond Israel’s

borders and begins embracing Gentile believers, prompting the Apostles to address various issues• James writes about righteous behavior flowing out of real belief• Peter encourages Christ followers who struggle with persecution• Paul addresses problems and theological truths

• Legalism• Assurance of the Lord’s return• Enduring suffering• False teachers

OVERVIEW• There is a messy, but growing

com-munity of pagan-background believers at Corinth

• Paul confronts their problems system-atically• Exalts the wisdom of God in the gospel of salvation

through Christ• Teaches on the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of

the church• Addresses multiple problems that come with inte-

grating members from diverse religious backgrounds• Today’s lesson looks at two main

sins that were producing division among the believers• Condoning immorality in the community• The trend to settle disputes by lawsuits

KEY TRUTHS• Problems will

accompany church growth, but they must be identified and addressed before they get out of hand

• Disunity is a sign of carnality, not spirituality

• Problems often reveal those in the church through whom God is working, and those who oppose His true work

CHURCH ERA

KINGDOM PROBLEMSDevotion to Men Divides the BodyTolerance of Sin Defiles the BodyMishandled Disputes Disrupt the

Body

1 Corinthians 1, 5 & 6

DEVOTION TO MEN DIVIDES

THE BODY

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

DEVOTION TO MEN DIVIDES

Believers began Identifying with the Teachers “I am of Paul” “I am of Apollos” “I am of Cephas” “I am of Christ”

All of them had come to Christ, albeit through the Preaching of Different Men Christ saves primarily by the human agency

of proclamation But the proclamation doesn’t make the man

great

DEVOTION TO MEN DIVIDES

Paul Warns against Glorying according to the Flesh and Admonishes them to Glory in Christ Alone 1 Cor 1:27-29 ~ “But God has chosen the foolish things…

the weak things…base things…the despised…the things that are not…so that no man may boast before God.

1 Cor 1:30 ~ “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

Pride in the works of man, rather than Christ, provides fertile ground for division

Paul’s Solution to the Problem Make a holy distinction between the Holy Spirit as communicator of

truth and the servant who merely delivers the message Recognize gifted teachers but follow Christ

• Have you ever known someone who has attend-ed a certain church just because of the pastor, or some other person? What might that say about that person’s spiritual growth?

Finding personal spiritual validation by following popular spiritual leaders may reflect an attitude of carnality

• What was the threat to the church by having people devote themselves to the teachings of specific church leaders? Division occurs when Christ-followers identify themselves with

a particular teacher, and then smugly judge others by the teachers they follow

TOLERANCE OF SIN DEFILES THE BODY

1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9-11

TOLERANCE OF SIN DEFILES

The Corinthian Believers Celebrate their Attitude of Tolerance One of their own was living in open sexual sin They were allowing this member to actively participate in the com-

munity of believers

The Reason for Paul’s Rebuke Their ‘generosity of grace’ was badly misplaced

• Even the “pagans do not tolerate” such behavior They were improperly accepting an immoral relationship

• “And you are proud!”

They were proud of being more tolerant than their pagan neighbors• They should instead be “mourning” over the sin in their

church

TOLERANCE OF SIN DEFILES

Paul’s Solution to the Problem Acknowledge the sexual immorality in their

midst Recognize that such activity should not

characterize any believer• Should be a cause of concern for

the spiritual condition of the one who is causing offense

The church is obligated to ‘judge’ that person• Judge – to pronounce an opinion

concerning right and wrong Finally, deal with the sin appropriately

• Withhold fellowship if there is no repentance

• Why should any public sin, especially sexual sin, be treated seriously by the church?• 1 Cor 6:15-16 ~ “Do you not know that your bodies

are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘The two will become one flesh.’”

• What should be the overall goal of the church when addressing the sin of one of its members? Restoration Galatians 6:1 – “Even if anyone is caught in any

trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…”

MISHANDLED DISPUTES DISRUPT

THE BODY

1 Corinthians 6:5, 15-20

DISPUTES DISRUPT THE BODY

Believers were Handling Disputes between Themselves the Wrong Way They were taking one another to court They were not handling disputes among the body within the

body

Paul’s Solution to the Problem The Corinthians should allow their new identity in Christ to

guide their interaction with each other• Justified people act justly toward one another

Recognize that followers of Christ must not act like the world• Better to endure a wrong than sue a brother!

(6:7)

• What potential worldly consequences are we open to when seeking public resolution of a conflict?

• How should believers seek to resolve issues of real conflict between one another (property disputes, liable, personal offense, etc.)? Seek to talk and pray through the offense with the goal of resolution Ask a trusted leader to act as a third party mediator Set a goal of resolving any personal offense at the lowest level Remember the unintended consequence of possible damage to the

name of Christ’s church before seeking the help of the public court system

Carnal Christians are those who find personal validation by following a particular teacher or persuasion instead of simply being Christ-followers

Followers of Jesus Christ need to understand that their physical bodies host the Living God, and, therefore, must abstain from sexual sin

Churches have problems, but their solutions are unlike the world’s solutions Believers should not seek to resolve their problems as

non-believers do

CONCLUSIONS

BIBLE TRIVIA QUIZThe Books of 1 Corinthians &

Acts(1pts) What animal, referred to in the Law of Moses, did Paul use to justify accepting material support for his work as an apostle? “For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox

while it is treading out the grain.” (1 Corinthians 9:9)

What was Paul’s recommendation for a woman who refused to cover her head? “For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her

hair cut off...”(1 Corinthians 11:6)

Fill in the blanks: “And now these three remain: _____, ____, and ____. But the greatest of these is ____.” “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the

greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

BONUS ROUNDBonus Questions (2pts)

After traveling through Macedonia, Paul arrived in Greece. How long did he stay there? “Paul…left to go to Macedonia. When he had gone

through those districts…he came to Greece. And there he spent three months…” (Acts 20:1-3)

By Paul’s account, how big was one of the crowds before which Jesus appeared after His resurrection? “After that, he appeared to more than five

hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:6)

NEXT WEEK…..Adult II Couples Class

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Romans 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 & 15

Kingdom Citzenship