Fresh Bread and Core Values
We can be flexible about many things, but in Scripture God has given us bedrock, unbending truths that don’t change no matter how much time passes or culture shifts.
Question for Group Discussion based on Mark Scott’s Bible lesson for April 14, 2024
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1. Have you ever been part of a work or church group that made every member feel important and needed? Name a result or achievement that came from that group.
Ask two people to read aloud 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 27-31, one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Then ask a third person to briefly summarize the passages.
2. Paul reminded the Corinthians about their former way of life, having been “influenced and led astray to mute idols” (1 Corinthians 12:2). How do you think reminding them of their past would help them appreciate their new life in the Spirit?
3. How do different spiritual gifts in the church work together to create unity?
4. Why is it important for each member of a church to recognize their own role within the body of Christ?
5. What is the significance of Paul’s reference to the Trinity (Spirit, Lord, and God) as he wrote about the distribution of spiritual gifts in the church (vv. 4-6)?
6. Paul indicated that each believer’s spiritual gift (“the manifestation of the Spirit”) has been “given for the common good” (v. 7). What does that tell you about the gift you have been given?
7. Can you identify the spiritual gift you have been given to build up the body of Christ?
8. In this week’s lesson, Mark Scott wrote, “God is the giver of the gifts, ministry is the purpose of the gifts, and edification is the goal of the gifts.” What has been most edifying for you in coming to Christ or in your life as a Christian?
9. Paul concluded this section by encouraging believers to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (v. 31). This will be the focus of next week’s study, but for now, what gifts do you think are greater than the gifts Paul has listed in chapter 12?
10. Based on our study and discussion, complete the sentence: “I will . . .”
For Next Week: Read and reflect on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. You can also read next week’s supplemental texts and the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
We can be flexible about many things, but in Scripture God has given us bedrock, unbending truths that don’t change no matter how much time passes or culture shifts.
The public may have lost confidence in higher education more generally, yet I believe we may be entering another golden era in Christian higher education.
Someday we will lay down our WOMBATs and our treasured accomplishments. What will matter most then? Clinging to Christ and the cross.
For the Christian, a new year means another growth step to take, another goal to set, and more fruit to bear in God’s kingdom.
From the Christian Standard archives, Dorothy Errett reminds every Christian of New Year’s resolutions we all should make to begin the new year.
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