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 11-12 to keep the context for chapter 13 in mind. Remember the issues the Corinthians had with gifts especially gifts dealing with words, speech, tongues, etc.  
• Reread 13:1-3 and review the importance of love compared to all of the super gifts Paul expressed. 
• Focus on verses 4-7 for the sermon this Sunday. How is Paul contrasting love from verses 1-3 to these verses? List all of the defining attributes Paul builds in these verses.
• Review how each of these attributes relates to the Corinthians abuses of their gifts. How is Paul contrasting their behavior with how the gifts are intended to be used?
• How does verse 7 relate to gifts? What is the purpose of the gifts? To whom are the gifts for? 
• 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 how you use your gifts in the body?  Do you exhibit these characteristics of love in the use of your gifts?
• How does love bear, believe, hope, and endure all things?
• What are the Corinthians not patient in?  What are they boasting in? How are they rude and arrogant? What are they rejoicing in? When gifts are used to glorify self instead of God, what are we saying about our view of God?  
• We often cherish the gifts God has given instead of the giver. When the gifts and our ability to use them supersedes the giver what happens to the use of these gifts?