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

• The passage for this Sunday will continue 1 Corinthians 7 and deal with issues of marriage. Read 1 Corinthians 6-7 and re-read 7:17-24 to prepare for this Sunday's sermon.
• What was the transitional theme from chapter 6 to chapter 7? Do you see any transitions between verse 16 and 17? What would be the context of verses 17-24.
• In verse 17, what is Paul inferring by the word "life"? What is the difference between the "Lord has assigned" and "God has called"?
• What does it mean to be a rule for Paul and why the emphasis on "all the churches?" Does that give it more value than other Scripture? More power?
• In verses 18 and 19, Paul refers to circumcision in relation to what a person was before and at the time of the "calling." How does this tie back to verse 17 and all of chapter 7? What condition are you to remain in verse 20?
• In verses 21 through 23, the imagery shifts to being a slave. Does the image of a slave illustrate the same idea being expressed in verses 18 through 20? How could you become a bond-servant of men rather than the Lord if you were bought with a price?
• Verse 24 starts with a so, like therefore, summarizing what was above. In what conditions is Paul referring to stay? Has Paul stated this before in these verses?
• 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

• In what context have you typically read these verses? Did that change in studying these verses?
• Do you see Paul's arguments expanding beyond the immediate context of marriage and Corinth? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Why would we want to change our situations after being called by God? What is the desire? Is that a healthy pursuit? Why or why not?
• How have you viewed yourself before and after you came to Christ? Are there items you have struggled with that would relate to the passage and its implications?
• How can you encourage those in difficult life situations with this passage?