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 13:1-3. What is the context of the preceding chapter? How does chapter 13 connect with chapter 12 (12:31)?
• List the positive gifts or actions mentioned in 13:1-3. What are the negative results listed? Describe the contrast between the two in each scenario.
• In each scenario, what do you think would have been the goal of the person taking each action, since love was not present? (see footnote for vs. 3)
• How different would the end result of each action be if love had been in the motivation?
• 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

• How do you view your own faith, action, or sacrifice for the Lord and his church? How should those be evaluated, according to this passage? Why do you think this is the case?
• Recall a time in your own life when you completed a seemingly good action, but then realized it was without love. How did a lack of love either impact the result of that action or others’ perception of it?
• Why do you think these 3 verses are listed after the topics studied as a church in the preceding chapter? What relevance does this have for our local body of believers at SWBC?