Prepare your heart for our Sunday Morning Gathering by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together.

You will find tangible suggestions for putting scripture to action in your personal life and in our corporate body, links to the songs we will sing, and lyrics for you to prepare for our corporate singing.

This week Dale Johnson, Director of Counseling Programs and Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Executive Director of ACBC, will be opening the word for us. Following is a speaker bio and some ways to prepare your heart to recieve the word preached.

T. Dale Johnson, Jr., is the Director of Counseling Programs and Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is husband to Summer, and they live together in Kansas City, Missouri, with their six children: Easton, Titus, Will, Ellie, and twin girls Annadale and Caroline.

Johnson served as Associate Pastor of Family Life at Raiford Road Church in Macclenny, FL, before completing his Ph.D. in Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Johnson also serves as the Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He regularly travels to speak and is the host of ACBC’s “Truth in Love” podcast.

He is the author of The Professionalization of Pastoral Care in America (Wipf&Stock), The Church as a Culture of Care(New Growth Press), and Legal Issues in Bliblical Counseling. He deeply loves the Scriptures and the local church and is committed to equipping pastors and church members alike to minister God’s sufficient Word.

Critically Think

• Skim 1 Corinthians ch. 1-2. Note all the places Paul contrasts divine wisdom with worldly wisdom as well as the general antithesis between God and man. What did the Corinthians obviously value? How do these two chapters as a whole display the sufficiency of divine revelation in contrast with anything originating in man?
• Read 1 Cor 2:1-5 carefully.
• In v. 1, Paul mentions “when I came to you,” which occurred in Acts 18:1-17. Read that passage and consider Paul’s ministry to the Corinthians.
• How did Paul NOT come to the Corinthians according to v. 1? How did Paul come to the Corinthians according to v. 1?
• According to v. 2, why did Paul come in that way?
• How do vv. 3-4 describe Paul’s attitude and approach to ministry?
• Why did Paul minister in this way according to v. 5?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What was Pual dependent on according to v. 1?
• What does Paul mean by v. 2?
• Note the contrast in v. 5. Why such a contrast?
• Consider the two approaches to soul care expressed in these verses. Which is God’s way? What else is necessary in the mind of Paul/God expressed in these verses for the care of souls?
• In light of these verses: What should our authority be in ministry? What should our content be? How should we go about the Lord’s business?

Intentionally Act

• Consider your approach to your own soul. What do you look to? Whom do you depend on? God and His sufficient Word or the thoughts of man?
• Consider your approach to caring for the souls of others. What resources do you depend on? Who do you look to do the work? In what ways are you undermining the sufficiency of Scripture and the approach described here?
• Why are we so bashful to embrace Paul’s methodology? Search your heart and consider what causes this fear and shame.
• How might you have a conversation with someone with a different approach to ministry in light of these verses? How would you use this passage to graciously point them in a more healthy ministry direction?
• Click the links below to find the lyrics and recordings of the songs planned for our gathering this Sunday; learn the songs, study the lyrics and sing them with others.
• Pray for those leading our corporate gathering this week and for the Holy Spirit’s work as the Word of God is further explained and applied: Dawson Bryant: music; Dalton Vansell: elder prayer & scripture reading; Dale Johnson: teaching.

Songs for Sunday

Morning Gathering

• Psalm 150 (sheetmusic)
• Sing (sheetmusic)
• Take Comfort (sheetmusic)
• Jesus Our Judge and Our Savior
• Oh Church of Christ Invincible (sheetmusic)

Lyrics

Lyrics Morning Gathering - August 24, 2025 by Summit Woods Baptist Church