Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 application questions

Following up on the video discussion from yesterday, here are some questions and reflections for application.

• Do you think of yourself as being "on the way" with regard to your salvation? And do you see the cross as the power to enable you to continue to grow and progress in it? What leads us at times to think the we are "past the cross" and focus on something else?
• What comes to mind when you think of "power"? What are powerful things, in your opinion? Consider what makes them powerful to you. Do you see those things in the cross? What does the "power of the cross" teach you about real power? 
• What comes to mind when you think of "folly" and "foolishness"? How is what the world offers in terms of "power" actually folly compared to God? 
• Which of the two groups do you tend to be like the most: the Jews, who need signs to believe, or the Greeks, who need convincing arguments or eloquent words? What did this passage speak to in your heart, about these tendencies?

Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:18–25

In this study we look at Paul's contrast of power—specifically the power of God—with folly, and especially the folly of humanity.

Here's the video:

Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:10–17 application questions

Following up on Paul's words about the splinter groups and factions in the Corinthian church, we might consider the following questions about application...

• What kinds of "groups" have emerged with people in your church (including in your own life)? Are there people that follow certain people (e.g., R.C. Sproul, Tim Keller, John Piper), schools (e.g., Calvinism, the Puritans), movements or issues (e.g., particular schooling methods, social justice matters)? 
• How do the voices that exercise this kind of selectivity add and enrich the conversations within your congregation? How do they challenge you in ways that you haven't thought of before? How do they advance a deeper understanding of the Gospel and Kingdom?
• Do any of those selectivity patterns distract the congregation from the Gospel? What causes that to happen in your context?
• In light of Paul's words, how ought we to approach selectivity within the church? How can we see it as strengthening the church? How ought we to take care with it? 
• Get introspective for a moment: in what ways do your own selectivity preferences present a distraction from the Gospel for you? What do you need to re-align to put them into proper perspective in light of the Gospel?

Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:10–17

This week as we continue into Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, we see that he shifted from introduction to the start of addressing issues and concerns—starting with his concern about the divisions within the congregation.

Here's the video for this study: