Day #35

Read

The church in Corinth was a mess but God still loved them and inspired Paul to write this letter to help them out. Today you will be reading the rest of 1 Corinthians beginning with chapter 8. There are many interesting passages in this reading. We will discuss some of them when you are finished.

Reflect

Paul was always thinking about how to lead people to Jesus. His goal was to "gain more" or "to win as many as possible", as he stated in I Corinthians 9:19. Is this your goal as well? If you get nothing else out of reading through the New Testament, hopefully you will walk away from this study with a deep desire to see people become Christians. By now you should be involved in a study with a non-Christian. If you haven't been reaching out lately, get with your discipling partner and explore effective ways to share your faith.

In your reading of chapter 11, you hopefully learned more about the Lord's Supper. The church in Corinth turned this sacred time into a big feast. The rich were meeting early so they could eat all the food they brought without having to share it with the poorer members. This was so backwards from what Christ intended His church to be like.

Speaking in tongues is discussed extensively in chapters twelve and fourteen. The early church was able to receive miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They could speak languages of other nations without having to learn them. Paul told the Corinthians these miraculous gifts would cease, (I Corinthians 13:8). When were they supposed to cease according to this text? Have they ceased yet? Do Christians still have the miraculous gifts today? Write down your questions about the miraculous gift including the gift of tongues. Get with your Christian partner and talk about it.