Welcome

1. Adult II Couples Class Welcome discoverjoy.com

2. Assuming you could take your family with you to spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you go? Adult II Couples Class Question of the day discoverjoy.com

3. Prayer Requests -Tony: Cancer treatments -Cathy Laster: Cancer treatments -Abraham Garcia: Cancer treatments -Griffith Goodyear -Savage Family -Country Haven Church -Heup Family -HarawayFamily -Global Missions Offering -Christmas program

4. Church Stuff Class 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 CmteMtg (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)

5. Assuming you could take your family with you to spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you go? Adult II Couples Class Question of the day discoverjoy.com

6. Chronological Bible Discipleship Iva May and Dr. Stan May week forty-eight 1 Corinthians

7. End Times 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 Missions Church Today Gospel Silent Return Captivity DividedKingdom Kingdom Judges Conquest Exodus Patriarch Creation

8. Church Era • 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. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 Key Truths

13. Church Era 1 Corinthians 1, 5 & 6 KINGDOM PROBLEMS Devotion to Men Divides the Body Tolerance of Sin Defiles the Body Mishandled Disputes Disrupt the Body

14. Devotion to Men Divides the Body 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

15. 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

16. 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

17. Discussion 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

18. Tolerance of Sin Defiles the Body 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9-11

19. 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

20. 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

21. Discussion 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…”

22. Mishandled Disputes Disrupt the Body 1 Corinthians 6:5, 15-20

23. 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)

24. Discussion 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

25. Conclusions • 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

26. Bible Trivia QUIZ The 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)

27. BONUS ROUND Bonus 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)

28. Romans 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 & 15 Kingdom Citzenship Adult II Couples Class Next week….. discoverjoy.com