Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:1–3 application questions

Following up on the exposition part of the study earlier in the week, here are some application questions about 1 Corinthians 1:1–3.

• What do you usually think about your own sanctification? Does it challenge your way of thinking to consider how Paul addressed the Corinthians as "those sanctified"? Do you think of yourself as being viewed as already sanctified in the eyes of God, even as he continues to do the work of bringing this to fuller reality?
• When you consider Paul's address of the Corinthians as "those called to be saints" does it bother you, in light of their ongoing struggles with sin? Who do you think is worthy of the label "saints"? Do you count yourself in that category? If your category of "saints" doesn't include ALL Christians, what requirements or qualifications allows one to be a saint and prevents another from being one? How does that definition of "saints" compare to the way that Paul (and the rest of the Bible) uses the word?
• Paul greets them with a familiar but significant greeting: "grace and peace to you." What does it mean to pass along these two states of being in a greeting? Do you read those words as being perfunctory and empty because they are words of greeting? Or do you recognize that Paul genuinely meant them as what he would have for the Corinthians?

Areas for Prayer

• Lord, teach me to view myself and my spiritual status through your eyes—that, because of the work you completed on my behalf, I need never fear that you see me as fully sanctified and having all righteousness. Remind me of that when I struggle with sin, that I might live according to the identity you have given me through my union with you, and not live according to the flesh.
• Father, give me a sense of unity and inclusion in the church, and protect me from feeling like an outsider from those who are part of your body. Show me what it means that you call me a "saint"—someone set apart for your purposes—and help me to understand my life in light of that reality.
• Lord Jesus, you became incarnate to bring your kingdom to all of creation, and through your life, death, resurrection, and ascension you have graciously secured the permanence of your kingdom come for all the world. Help me, and all of those who believe and trust in you, to see life with "grace and peace" in view, and to relate to one another, to your creation, to ourselves, and to you in light of the grace and peace that you make possible.

Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:1–3

Having spent eight weeks discussing how Christians and the church ought to respond during the pandemic, we've decided that we've said enough on that topic for now.

Starting this week, then, we will begin a new study looking at Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. In this brief introduction, I look at the opening three verses and explore what Paul's salutation to the Corinthians means.

Here's the video:

Check back tomorrow for some application questions.

COVID-19 related links

As we've taken in all of the information about the pandemic, we've found some links and information to be more helpful than others. Below is the list of links that we've found useful for our consideration; perhaps they will be helpful for your church, as well. (I'll update the list as new resources become available.)

General information

CDC Guidance for Cleaning/Disinfecting
CDC Guidelines for Creating a Disinfecting Plan (Quick Guide)
CDC — When and How to Wash Your Hands
EPA COVID-19 Disinfectant List
The Risks: Know Them, Avoid Them (from blogger Erin Bromage)

Related to churches re-opening/resuming embodied corporate worship

CDC FAQ for Administrators/Leaders at Community- and Faith-Based Organizations
Considerations for Reopening the Church Building (from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board)
The Way Back to In-Person Worship: When to return? And under what conditions? (From the PCA's ByFaith magazine)
Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Releases Guidance on Reopening Houses of Worship (TN Governor Lee)
Guidelines for Places of Worship (Alabama Public Health)
24 Questions Your Church Should Answer before People Return (from LifeWay staffer Ken Braddy)
10 Easy-to-Overlook Aspects of Church Reopening (from LifeWay staffer Ken Braddy)
4 Phases for an Orderly Return to Church (from LifeWay staffer Ken Braddy)

On singing in public spaces

Singing, The Church, and COVID-19: A Caution for Moving Forward in Our Current Pandemic
Is Congregational Singing Dangerous? (from the Gospel Coalition)
Before You Panic: Thoughts on Congregational Singing and Choirs in Light of the Pandemic (from Renewing Worship)

On the opportunities that churches have to minister

Leading Beyond the Blizzard: Why Every Organization Is Now a Startup (from Andy Crouch/Praxis Journal)

Strategies for Winter: Redemptive Leadership in Survival Times (from Andy Crouch/Praxis Journal)
Ed Stetzer on the Crisis and Opportunity Facing the Church (from the Billy Graham Center)

Trinity Questions #8: When will we resume embodied corporate worship?

The looming question for most of us is: when will Trinity resume having worship in-person again? What will it take to make that happen? What will it look like when it does? What things do participants need to know?

This week's video focuses on exactly those questions. Shane and I have been working hard to get those questions answered, and we've made a lot of progress. In the video below, I'll talk you through what we've been discussing and what is left to figure out. I'll also offer some direct thoughts on what you will need to know to participate.

Also, please note: at the end of the video I mentioned that we will have a brief meeting for questions and answers following worship on Sunday. If you are able to stay online for that, we would really appreciate it.

TRC Questions #7: Application

As we consider the reasons and rationale for gathering together for worship, and for using the Zoom platform for virtual worship, here are some reflections on application.

• When you are unable to attend worship (because of illness, travel, or some other providential hindrance), do you have a strong sense that you are missing it? Do you consider that the rest of the congregation feels your absence as well? 
• How does your presence contribute to the service of worship being offered by the congregation? What ways do you pick up on the contributions of others to the worship service? How is that different in "virtual" worship—is it amplified? Suppressed? 
• What do you do in preparation for corporate worship ordinarily? Do you do those same things to prepare for "virtual" worship?
• How does the reason of "covenant renewal" shift your own expectations for corporate worship? How does it change the importance. you place on your own participation in corporate worship? Does covenant renewal represent a new paradigm for you for how and why corporate worship is vital to the life of a Christian?

Zoom Thoughts

Also as we reflect on worshiping via "virtual" space, I thought it would be helpful for you to consider the following "best practices" and other suggestions for worshiping via the Zoom platform.

• Zoom has two main viewing modes: Gallery view and Presenter view. We recommend that you use Gallery view for most/all of the worship service, in order to best sense the presence of your fellow worshipers. You may prefer to switch to Presenter view during the sermon.
• It may be difficult to see and participate in the virtual worship service on a device with a smaller screen. We encourage you to use the largest screen that you can, so that you might see everyone else clearly. Many devices are able to broadcast video up to a full-size TV using certain connections or additional devices, which may be optimal for your experience of virtual worship.
• Because your participation is just as important as everyone else's, ideally you would keep both audio and video "on" throughout the whole worship service. This way others can see and hear you, just as you can them, and the feeling of one another's presence will emphasize the gathering aspect of worship, even if virtually. If you are unable (for various reasons) to enable both audio and video, we strongly recommend that you engage at least one—let us see or hear you, if not both.
• In the same way that it is important that you see everyone else clearly, it is important that they can see you clearly too! Device cameras placed at low angles (such as in your lap or on a coffee table, etc.) can make it difficult for the rest of us to see your face. We suggest that you find a convenient way to prop your device up at eye level or slightly below.
• As with normal face-to-face worship, your participation in the various elements of the worship service is edifying and encouraging to the others who are also participating. Singing with full voice, reading aloud and in a consistent meter/rhythm for congregational elements of the liturgy, and standing/kneeling as you are physically able all serve to build up the body and strengthen everyone's worship, not just your own.
• Just as when worshiping "in person" then most of us are actively mindful of how our actions may be a hindrance to worship for those around us, so it is with virtual worship too. While it may be tempting to multi-task or keep your hands from being idle, please be considerate of how your choices and actions may be a distraction and hindrance to others' worship.
• Whereas in a regular gathering for worship then seating arrangements and other factors allow us to shift our focus toward the worship leader, in virtual worship we are more vulnerable to distractions, both visual and audible. What makes for a distraction? It is something that is unexpected—which can be a sound or something happening on the screen. Someone standing and walking out of view is not a distraction, because that happens regularly; someone standing up and starting to do jumping jacks IS a distraction, because we would never expect that during a corporate worship service. Please be conscious of how what you are doing on your end of the camera/microphone may distract others, and thus hinder them from worship.
• One benefit that Zoom offers as our virtual sanctuary for worship is that we can socialize with one another, more like we might in a more normal setting. Please plan to log into the Zoom meeting early before the service, and/or to stay on afterward, if you want to socialize. Also, we would encourage you to account for the limitations of the platform for socializing; try not to dominate the conversation, or exclude others by focusing on one person or topic too narrowly.

TRC Questions #7: Why Zoom? Continued...

Following up on last week's discussion, I return this week to the question, "Why did Trinity choose Zoom for our virtual worship?"

To answer that question, I dig deeper into the bigger question, "Why do we gather for public, corporate worship in the first place?"

These questions are at the heart of what we do at Trinity, and who we are as Christians and worshipers. Here's this week's video:

Look for questions and application coming over the days to come.

TRC Questions #6: Why Zoom?

Why did we choose to use the Zoom platform for our worship services during the pandemic? Why not just use a streaming media service as so many other churches have opted to do?

To understand this, we have to first ask and answer the question, "Why do we worship corporately in the first place?" Why do we gather for worship as Christians?

In this week's video, I begin to answer the questions above. This will be the first of a multi-part answer that will be broken down over the next few weeks. Here's this week's video:

Over the next few days I'll provide further reflection on application and prayer, as I have been doing.

TRC Questions #5: Application and Prayer

In light of the discussion about trusting God versus testing God, and the brief synopsis the I gave about the decision-making process that Shane and I are employing, I wanted to offer the following reflections about application and prayer on this topic.

Application Questions

• What are some ways where you have seen God's providence in common, everyday ways? Can you make a short list of ways that God provides for you through ordinary means?
• Who are some of the wisest people that you know? What makes you think of them as "wise"? How do you see trusting in God's providence linked to wisdom in them?
• What are some ways that you are tempted to test God instead of trust him? 
• How are the wise people in your life responding to the pandemic? What responses do you consider to be foolish? Do you see others testing God in their words and actions, in response to the pandemic?
• What questions do YOU feel need to be answered satisfactorily, before you will feel comfortable with Trinity Church resuming regular corporate worship? Where will you turn for answers to those questions?
• What questions do you believe the elders need to ask and answer before we should call for resuming regular corporate worship? (Would you list them in the comments to this blog please?)

Prayer

• O Lord, give me patience and wisdom at all times, and help me to trust in you and your divine providence. Protect me from the temptations to doubt, act foolishly, or test you in any way.
• Father, during this season of isolation during the pandemic, grant me a particular wisdom to act in trust of your providence, and guide me away from testing you by my words, actions, or thoughts.
• Dear God, give me wisdom about how much I should expose myself—and through so doing, also expose others—even after civic leaders have lifted restrictions about "social distancing." Let my trust in you, and in the advice of those who know and understand how pandemics function, guide me in my actions. 
• Lord, grant wisdom and insight to the elders of the church as they seek answers to the questions they are asking regarding resuming ordinary worship services. Help them, that the decision to resume would be neither too soon nor too long, but when it is good, right, and fitting to do so.
• God, sustain all of us with patience and perseverance during this strange season of isolation, and help us to endure well through the remainder of the time when we must isolate. May it be all that much sweeter to gather once the isolation is lifted.

TRC Questions #5: Trusting God vs. Testing God

In this week's discussion, I talk about the difference between trusting God and his providence, versus testing God, during times of crisis or need. I also explain some of the practical considerations that the TRC session is taking in thinking toward resuming weekly public worship in a face-to-face, in-person way.

At the end of the video, I invite your feedback: if you have any thoughts about the kinds of questions we need to ask and answer in considering resuming worship in-person, we want to hear them. Please give your input in comments below.

Here's this week's video:

TRC Questions #4: Application and Prayer

Yesterday we looked at Luke 10, the parable of the "Good Samaritan"—and how that passage emphasizes for us some of the principles of loving our neighbors that are instructive during a pandemic crisis.

Today let's consider some possible points of application, and some ways we can pray, in light of this.

Application

• Who is YOUR neighbor? Make a list of everyone who you can think of that, according to the parameters in Luke 10, would qualify as your neighbor. NOTE: there may be people whose names you don't even know, but should be included (i.e., "the clerk at the store I visit weekly" or "that new employee I haven't met yet").
• Reflect carefully: if you found out one of these neighbors was in distress, how would you respond? What would you do, say, and/or pray for them? Be as honest with yourself as you can about what your instincts would lead you to do.
• How does neighbor-love shape the way that you have reacted to the pandemic isolation? Does it motivate you to act (or to opt not to act) in some way that you normally wouldn't? Does it give you patience and endurance for things that otherwise would make you frustrated?
• Consider what 1 Corinthians 13 says about what love is. Most often we consider that "love chapter" with regards to romantic love, but take a few minutes to apply it to the idea of neighbor love. How does that re-shape your picture of what loving our neighbors looks like?
• How can Trinity Church love our neighbors better as a congregation? Do you agree that, as an expression of neighbor-love, ceasing to meet in person for worship is a good decision? 
• What hopes do you have for Trinity to extend greater love to neighbor in the future? Can you think of something that we could do, which we haven't? (Reply or leave a comment if so, telling us what it is!)

Prayer

• Father, I pray that you would teach me more every day of how I am to love my neighbor and what that requires of me. Increase my willingness to do so, and give me motivation to expend myself for the sake of others.
• God, please reveal to me the ways that I have not loved my neighbors well, especially during this pandemic, and grant me a contrite heart for where I have fallen short of what you've commanded me to do. Turn my focus from myself and my own comfort and ease to the service and care of others.
• Lord, please use the many acts of loving neighbor—my own, those of my friends and family, and from Christians across the world—to bring hope and grace to those in need of it, and draw our neighbors closer to you through acts of love.
• God, also use the acts of social distancing (whether it is motivated by love for neighbor or not) to effectively reduce the spread of this virus, and bring us back soon to a point where we can make contact with one another again.
• Father, reveal to your congregation of Trinity Church, and especially to the elders, ways in which we might love our neighbors better, more fully, more completely. Help us to have the willingness and selflessness to carry out these acts as we are able.