Weekly Sermon Reflection Questions

Sown in dishonour and weakness, God promises that all who believe in Jesus as Redeemer Saviour shall have their natural mortal bodies raised spiritually glorious and powerful.

Isaiah 64 is a heartfelt cry for God’s intervention and restoration.  It is a prayer to restore God’s presence amongst His people.  The themes in this passage are related to the Advent season – time of reflection, anticipation and preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ.

The writer of Hebrews declares that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters (V11). Jesus proved this by His incarnation at the first Christmas when He came down to our level and identified as our peers. Why is Jesus, the Second Person in the Trinity, not ashamed to become like us and identify with us? Jesus had good reasons to be ashamed 1) because of who He is and 2) because of who we are.

A common parable is told about four blind men and an elephant. By feeling just one part, they each had a very different idea of the appearance of the elephant based on their perceived truth. In the same way, no assumptions can be made about what God is like based on just our own understanding. Also, we cannot know Him just by thinking or feeling. He has to reveal himself to us!

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples went round the Roman empire preaching the gospel. They were passionate, but more importantly it was because they took Jesus’ command seriously – to make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

“Before discipleship, there must be relationship,” a tagline of the Care Group Ministry in Christ Methodist Church. Relationships start with friendship. Friends are those who understand us and know everything about us but still choose to love and support us. “A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out” (Grace Pulpit). We can all be assured that we have such a friend in Jesus.

It is always a good thing for us to desire the power of the Holy Spirit. It is always wonderful when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. One question we need to reflect on is what happens after we are filled with God’s power.

Whatever we do, we ask, “Is it worth all the effort and cost”? In a spiritual context, Paul answers this question of “Is it worth it” with an unequivocable “yes”! The reason is the resurrection hope.

1 Corinthians 15-16 discusses the certainty (15:1-34) and nature (15:34-58) of Christ’s resurrection, and the readiness of giving (16:1-4) that forms the shape of church life (16:5-24).

The Greeks in the Greek city of Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They sneered at Paul when he preached on the resurrection of Christ (Acts 17).

In 1 Cor 15:1-49, Paul addresses the Church of Corinth who had allowed pagan beliefs and the practices of the Imperial Cult to sway them from their conviction in the resurrection of Christ.

Prophecy is not necessarily foretelling the future, it is also forth-telling or speaking forth God’s will for present circumstances. In many cases, prophecy does not contain predictions about the future. The biblical test is whether the prophecy is fulfilled or not. The apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to prefer prophecy to tongues. However, there is a place for both, as well as other gifts, if they are made intelligible and exercised in an orderly manner.

Christians are to eagerly desire spiritual gifts to build each other up. Usually attention is drawn to the more spectacular ones such as healing, prophesy or speaking in tongues. Paul addresses this issue and reminds the Corinthian church not to allow gifts to be a divisive issue but to always focus on the giver rather than the gift.

The prophet spoke God’s promise to an anxious people seeking relief – exiled by God to Babylon for their sinful rebellion. God promised to gather them back after 70 years. (29:10) In the meantime, they were to “call on Him” in prayer so that He “will be found” when they sought Him “with all their heart”.

God wants to move us into a deeper walk with him, a deeper experience of His grace and a deeper manifestation of His power. Instead of dwelling on what we lack, let us embrace the potential of what we possess. Our God is a God of movement (Genesis 1:2, Acts 2), but we often feel stuck, leading to frustration.

An issue faced by the Corinthian church was they were judging each other by what spiritual gifts each had, rating some gifts as more important than others. Paul addressed this issue in three chapters including chapters 12 and 13.

Paul addressed the issue of spiritual gifts to the Corinthians, especially where it affected their public worship.  Coming together as a church, they had confusion and disagreements because of the different levels of Christian maturity. 

Today’s sermon looks at the first 2 of 3 issues in corporate worship – 1) head covering, 2) holy communion, 3) use of spiritual gifts. Use of spiritual gifts will be covered in later sermons.

Worship is about honoring God, and the focus of worship should rightly be on Him.

The eating of meat sacrificed to idols was contentious in the Corinthian church. While such meat could be consumed if its origin was unknown, the apostle Paul absolutely forbade the consumption of such meat in the context of an idolatrous worship in a pagan temple.

The experience of failing is a wake-up call and Paul also warned the Corinthian church of their presumption and demanded their exclusivity. 

In 1 Cor 8, Paul addressed the issue of whether meat that has been offered to idols can be eaten in temples, at home or at social events. Was it even permissible for Christians to purchase them even though it would be difficult to identify the source of meat that had been sacrificed to idols? Would rituals taint food? What about more overtly religious rites in temples? Ch 8-10 introduced the concept of laying down our rights for the sake of love and unity.

Laying down our rights is an anathema to the world. We think we are entitled to have everything our own way. However, it becomes problematic when it leads to an inability to see beyond our own needs. Paul shares valuable insights on how to lay down our rights for the sake of the Gospel.

Joyfully freed in Christ and eagerly anticipating His return will determine how accountably we live for God, whether married or single. 

Right after Paul talks about sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 6, he moves on to address another issue faced by the church in Corinth, namely marriage and singlehood. There appeared to be two extreme views on sexuality: one being that sex was simply a bodily appetite that needed to be met while the other was a denial of sexual needs. Right after Paul talks about sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 6, he moves on to address another issue faced by the church in Corinth, namely marriage and singlehood. There appeared to be two extreme views on sexuality: one being that sex was simply a bodily appetite that needed to be met while the other was a denial of sexual needs. In this chapter, Paul mediates between these extremes as he discusses marriage and singleness…

Today we live in a hyper-sexualized culture — heavily influenced by the west which is obsessed with sex. Parents are concerned that our children are exposed to sex at an increasingly younger age. Many of us struggle with the perversions of sex, such as lust and masturbation. Unfortunately, many of us are shameful and silent about it. Some others may no longer believe that the gospel can redeem us from our sexual struggles, or are ignorant of the rich insights that God has about sex. This silence prevents us from understanding sexual holiness and brokenness and its impact on our faith. The Christian writers Albert Mohler, Timothy and Kathy Keller and Sam Allberry provide some answers.

Society today has distorted the beautiful gift from God – sex.  During Paul’s time, the Corinthian church was dealing with multiple issues that threatened to divide it and the message of the Gospel.  The Corinthian church not only tolerated the city’s culture that was immersed in sexual promiscuity but seemed proud of their broadmindedness.  Sex was just a physical act, devoid of any consequences.  Our society today does not seem to have changed much either. 

In 1 Cor 5 Paul turns his attention to church discipline. He has heard that a certain man is sleeping with his stepmother and the real shame is that there is no outrage! The congregation appear to be proud of their tolerance and broadmindedness. Paul finds this deeply disturbing and addresses four areas of church discipline.

READ | SERMON NOTES Summary | Why do we need discipline in church? What happens when we don’t discipline? How do we balance relationships and trust with Christian values and beliefs? Having a theology of Christian discipline(theory) aims to guide

Looking for wisdom in all the wrong places? That was how the Corinthian church quarrelled divisively when worshippers sought to follow the wisdom of certain human leaders they chose to align with.