
PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR THE SERMON BY LOOKING THROUGH THESE SUGGESTIONS THAT WILL ASSIST YOU IN MAKING THE MOST OF OUR TIME TOGETHER HEARING GOD'S WORD.
You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.
Carefully Think
- Read Acts 2:41-47. On the day the church began, what did Christians give their attention to when they met?
- Read through Paul's rebuke and instruction to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. What should and should not comprise the gathering of the church?
- Read Romans 12:1-2 and Philippians 3:3. What does acceptable worship consist of?
- Read John 4:19-24. What is the contrast being made in verses 23-24?
Prayerfully Meditate
- When you think about how people approached God in worship in the New Testament, what come to mind? List some of the components, features, ideas about of New Testament worship.
- List what you think are differences between worship in the Old Testament and worship in the New Testament.
- In 1 Corinthians 14:1-12, what is the reason the church should seek to utalize the kinds of spiritual gifts that are understood (as opposed to speaking in other languages which no one else knows)? What does this say about the purpose of our weekly gathering?
- How does 1 Corinthians 14:40 contribute to the way we should think about our gatheirngs?
- What does Colossians 3:16 teach us about singing in the gathering?
- Evaluate some of the following New Testament passages that mention Old Testament concepts. What do these concepts look like now in the New Testament? (E.g., Romans 15:16, Ephesians 2:21, Philippians 2:17, Hebrews 13:15, 1 Peter 2:5).