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 6:1-11. Is there continuity between verses 1-8 and 9-11?  What connects these verses? 
• Who are the unrighteous Paul is referring to in verse 9?  Look at verse 1 for context.  Paul spells out in great detail in verses 9-10 the unrighteous, why would he do that here?  Read back through chapter 5 and see the man in sexual immorality, is Paul addressing him here?  Does handing someone over to Satan and not inheriting the Kingdom of God have any correlation?  If so, what would that be?
• Paul identifies some of the Corinthians as once being a part of this sinful list of people who were not inheriting the Kingdom. What, if anything, has changed for them now according to Paul?  Paul articulates the change in terms of washing, sanctifying and justifying and states those actions as completed by the Spirit of God in the name of the Lord Jesus.  What work did the Corinthians play in any of that according to this passage? Look for other references to washing, sanctifying, and justifying in the New Testament to try to determine their definition and usage here.
• 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

• What would the Corinthians think of when Paul lists the sinful list of behaviors?  Would you identify with any of those sins as being in your life either in the past or the present?  How can you have confidence you are in the Kingdom of God if you were involved in any of those sins listed by Paul in this passage?  Thank God that the work of cleansing and being made holy does not rest in your hands.  What work do you have in being made holy?
• How should this passage cause us to look at the church? Why is it necessary to identify sin within the church and approach those in rebellion?  Prayerfully consider the holiness of God in light of his desire for the church to be holy.  Seek to understand the great gift we have in receiving the righteousness of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
• Examine your own actions.  What is the motive of your heart in everything you do?  Pray for the Spirit who washes, sanctifies and justifies to reveal to you sin that is causing you to rebel and be in dis-fellowship with the body of Christ.