Our Great Gift Registry

1 Corinthians Chapter 12

What is the most meaningful gift that anyone has ever given you?
What is the coolest gift that you ever gave to someone else?

Why does Paul start out his discussion of spiritual gifts by discussing how to determine the source of a spiritual power?
How would you describe the litmus test that Paul defines for spiritual powers?
What are some spiritual influences you see in your everyday life?
How can you discern if those forces are from God, yourself, the world, or from the enemy?

Into what categories would you sort the different gifts mentioned in this passage?
Why would God be so intent to give these particular gifts to his church?
Why would Paul discuss these particular gifts with the church of Corinth?
Which of these or other gifts do you see present in your life?
How could you go about practicing these gifts in our Context Group? In our church?

Based on our medical knowledge, how is the local church similar to a human body?
Why is it so important to Jesus (and Paul) that the church function as a unified body?
Why is this truth particularly vital for the church in Corinth to understand?
What obstacles tend to keep you from being united together with those in your local church?
Why is unity in the church such a difficult goal to obtain?
What steps can you take this week to increase the reality of church unity?

God Wants Us to Be On the Same Page

1Corinthians 1: 1 – 17

Build a passionate case for who you think is the best public speaker in America today.

Describe the relationship between Paul and this church based simply on what you see here in this beginning of the letter. Why do you think he is so intimately connected with this group of disciples? What can we do to build deeper ministry relationships in our lives?

What are the positive things about the church that Paul lists off in this section of greeting and celebration? Why would he start by detailing the healthy attributes of this congregation? What does his list of positive characteristics show us about what the Apostle values in churches? Why does he value these particular things? How can we as a context group better mirror some of these attributes in our community?

What are the details of the primary problematic situation in the church that causes the Apostle to write this letter? Why in the world is this such an enormous concern to him? What are some ways that we act like this as Christians today? What can you do to promote Christian unity in our church this week?

What are some things that you discover about Jesus in this passage?