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 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 for the full context for this Sunday's sermon. Review your notes from last Sunday, listen to the sermon again, and review the Sermon Prep class notes from last time for a complete review of the material covered last Sunday to prepare you for verses 11-16 for this Sunday.
• Verse 11 starts with “nevertheless” connecting the upcoming verses with the previous.  Nevertheless is a conjunction that displays contrast but usually brings additional clarification. What is the contrast and how is it bringing clarification to relationships between men and women?  
• Verse 12 starts with a “for” indicating a reason to explain the previous verse. Paul is giving the reason for the contrast in verse 11. What is the source for Paul’s argument in verse 12? How do you know? What authority does that give Paul’s logic?
• What source does Paul argue from in verses 13-15? How is this different from verse 12 or is it? What does this display about how Paul view of gender roles and the who has the authority to define them?  
• What is the purpose and meaning of verse 16? Here “contentious” in the ESV is understood as quarrelsome. How does Paul handle those who want to argue?  
• The Sermon Study equipping class notes are available online for anyone wanting to dig deeper. Please review this week's notes to help study this passage. Click here for the notes.

Prayerfully Meditate

• Reflect on why Paul continues this line of logic and argues from this base.  Who and what is Paul claiming has authority over the Corinthians?  Who and what is the defining source today regarding gender roles?  
• How come it is so easy to lean away from God as the source and authority for issues that appear to be so clear in Scripture?  Do you see 1 Corinthians 11 as clear?  Why or why not?  What is the basis for your argument?
• What side of the argument have you landed on regarding this passage and why is it easy to get hung up in the details (head covering, angels, long hair, etc.) and not be able to come to a clear understanding? What is in your heart that takes up authority over Scripture? Is it human wisdom? Is it fear of man? Pray for a clear view of your heart on this issue and see how you can align with Paul’s definitive view he penned in the Spirit as God's Word.
• Prayerfully meditate on this entire letter to the Corinthian church in view of their culture versus our modern culture. Do differences in culture change the principles laid out in Scripture? Seek prayerfully and Biblically to apply these passages in our culture under the same principles Paul laid out almost 2,000 years ago and see how relevant this passage is to our modern day.