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 14:1-25. What has Paul’s argument in 1-19 been? How does that overall argument relate to the argument of 20-25?
• What are the commands that Paul gives in v. 20? How do those relate to the previous section? How does v. 21 help you understand v. 20?
• In v. 21 Paul quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12. Read Isaiah 28:1-13. What is this section about? What do vv. 11-12 predict? Who is the audience of those speaking with strange lips and a foreign tongue?
• What is the conclusion Paul draws from Isaiah 28 in 1 Corinthians 14:22?
• How does v. 23 illustrate that tongues are a sign for unbelievers?
• How do vv. 24-25 illustrate that prophecy is a sign for believers?

Prayerfully Meditate

• From this passage, what is the purpose of the gift of tongues?
• How do Paul’s comments about tongues in this section contribute to his argument in the chapter as a whole? What is he arguing tongues do in this chapter?
• How do Paul’s comments about prophecy in this section contribute to his argument in the chapter as a whole? What is he arguing prophecy does in this chapter?
• In what way are tongues a “sign” for unbelievers according to this passage?
• In what was is prophecy a “sign” for believers according to this passage?
• How does this passage highlight the goal of the spiritual gifts that Paul has been emphasizing in this chapter?