1 Corinthians Intro

Hi. I’m trying something new on my blog. I’m going to post weekly summaries of the lessons I’m studying, learning, and teaching in 1 Corinthians. I have the humbling privilege of teaching a class of college aged young ladies every Sunday. Last year we studied our way through the women in Jesus’ heritage listed in Matthew 1 (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary). One of my favorite lessons ever came as a result. This year we are doing 1 and 2 Corinthians.

Here they are on our first morning together this year.
Love them...

Just a few things I want you to know:

• These are Bible Studies. I’m currently working on the first week’s post and it’s clocking in at 1200 words so far (so, it’s looooong). Basically each post is what I will teach in a one-hour session.
• So maybe you could take each post and divide it into a few days and study on your own.
• Then come back here and let me know what you’ve learned.
• This material is original-ish (in other words, I’m writing this myself, not following a study someone else wrote). I will include a Sources list at the bottom of this post and add to it as I delve into study each week and add resources. When I use other people’s ideas I will let you know and you can find their work linked to this post.
• All that to say, please share! And be sure to include the address to my blog when you do.
• I’ll still be blogging about other issues (Grandmother’s Cowboy Beans are coming up as well as a little life lesson about the difference in being spent and being drained….) See what I mean?
• To avoid confusion I will label each Bible Study post as 1 Corinthians Bible Study so that you can easily search and find them.

So, welcome to this new adventure. It seems that lots of lessons have a connection to 1 or 2 Corinthians. We love the love chapter and we know there are some good things on spiritual gifts and marriage, but it’s a bit hard to connect the context in this book. I am so excited to finally be studying from start to finish. 

As I began learning about the background to 1 Corinthians I was astounded. The church in Corinth was perfectly located and large. Paul had spent extra time there and they had everything going for them. They should've been bursting at the seams. They were for a while. They’d been a great, gifted, powerful church. But they had a hard time figuring out how to walk the balance between the wealth and expectations of their surrounding culture and the holy expectations of the gospel. The church became riddled with power struggles and immorality. The leaders were majoring on little disagreements while having zero influence on the culture around them. It’s so applicable to our churches and lives today that I’m a little scared to press on. 

As we dive deeper we see these kinds of questions:

• Paul condemns disunity, so is it wrong to have denominations?
• Is it ever ok for a Christian to sue another?
• Should we be excommunicating believers when they misbehave?
• Paul clearly prefers that people stay single……Um. No Thanks.
• Should preachers be following Paul’s model of refusing money from churches where they are ministering? Well, my husband is a pastor paid by our church, so no again, please.
• Why don’t we follow the instructions on head coverings but stick super tight to the next passage's instructions on profaning the Lord’s Supper?
• And then of course there is the issue of speaking in tongues. Southern Baptists love this question. Seriously. Curious yet?

Yep. All of these issues and more will come up…..it’s gonna be a wild ride.

I can’t wait.

One of my favorite introductory quotes came from Matthew Henry He said, 

“We came from the same original, 
and are directed to the same end.”

That’s what I want to learn.

What does that mean?

How can I do that?

How can I be that?

So, join me. Let me know what you’re learning and what additional questions you have.
And by the way, if you're one of my college girls I would truly TRULY love to have your input here in the comments section each week!

So excited,

Jamy

Upcoming Posts:

Click on the title to see each study as it’s available.

Welcome to Corinth and Meet Paul

Divisions Galore

The Steward and The Church
Sex and Suing - Part 1
Sex and Suing - Part 2

Marriage What?

Marriage - Peace When it Breaks
Religious Much?

Freedom to Go Right-less
Selfish Attachments and Temptation

Spiritual Gift Show-offs

Real Resurrection

Bye for Now

Sources: 

"BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages.." BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 100 versions and 50 languages.. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. <http://biblegateway.com>.

 ESV: study Bible : English standard version.. ESV text ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2007. Print.

Garland, David E.. 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2003. Print.

George, Bob. Classic Christianity. Eugene, Or.: Harvest House, 1989. Print.

 Gideon Your Weakness. God's Strength, Member Book.. Nashville, Tennessee: Lifeway Christian Resources, 2013. Print.

Hills, Chad. "Teen Sexual Behavior Quick Facts | CitizenLink." CitizenLink.com - a Focus on the Family Affiliate. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2013. <http://www.citizenlink.com/2010/06/17/teen-sexual-behavior-quick-facts/>.

Prior, David. The message of 1 Corinthians: life in the local church. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985. Print.

Tchividjian, Tullian. "The Gospel Coalition." The Gospel Coalition Blog  Contextualization Without Compromise Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/03/10/contextualization-without-compromise/>.

"Welcome to BLB v3." Welcome to BLB v3. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. <http://blueletterbible.org>.

 Women's Evangelical Commentary New Testament.. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Reference, 2011. Print.

Zodhiates, Spiros. The complete word study dictionary: New Testament. Rev. ed. Chattanooga, TN, U.S.A.: AMG Publishers, 1993. Print.

MLA formatting by BibMe.org.