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 12:14-26 (Reread 12:1-13 if needed to refresh your mind on the context). What are the key words in vs. 14-26? What visually comes to mind when you read this passage?
• Who arranged the members for their individual functions? Why is each member to function as intended? What are the consequences or implications to the whole body if a member does not function as intended?
• How many times does the author refer to a member not completing their function because they are not capable versus the members simply not wanting to? What does that reveal about the author’s intent for this passage?
• What is stated about those members whose function might be viewed as less honorable? What is the importance of those members and their roles?
• 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

• Have you ever been part of a local church (body) with members who neglected their function? How did that affect the whole? Have you ever neglected your function as a member of the body?  How did that come to light?
• What functions related to the Spirit’s gifting might be viewed as lesser in the church today? Why? What role does our culture’s view of status play in our view of each member’s role in the church?
• What is counter-intuitive about some of the members and their function in the church? Why do you think God has arranged it this way?
• From this passage, how might your perspective need be changed toward each member and their role in the church?