This week we have tried something new.  We used ChatGTP to create both discussion and study questions based on the text and the sermon notes.  You won't want to use all of the questions, but hopefully, some will prove beneficial.  You may access them by clicking on this PDF link.  Please feel free to let the pastor know what you think, either positive or negative._Small_Group_Study_Discussion_Questions_for_1_Cor_6_12-20.pdf

• Read the passage.
• Have you ever watched a "courtroom" television show?  List all that you can think of.  Do you have a favorite?
• What attitude does Paul appear to have as he addresses the Corinthians about this matter?  Give examples from the text.
• What does the passage reveal about the Christians' future in verses 1-6?
• How does Paul apply his end-time hope to the present circumstance?
• Does this passage mean that it is always wrong for a Christian to go to court?  Can you give a real-life example?
• Why would Paul say that they are "already defeated"?  How are they defeated?
• In the list of sins mentioned in verses 9-10, which sin most closely aligns with the present courtroom drama in the church?
• Paul describes how Jesus has saved them in verse 11.  Define each word he uses: washed, sanctified, and justified.
• Discuss:  Some Christians propose that churches, denominations, and even independent entities establish "Christian arbitration" to keep believers out of the courtroom.  Is this practical?  What are the pros and cons of this suggestion?

Warm Up:  Did you ever get in trouble as a child?

Study:  What is the particular sin that this passage is addressing?

Discuss Gently:  What sins does the contemporary church quickly overlook?

Study:  In regard to this sin, how is the Corinthian church responding, and how does Paul want them to respond?

Discuss:  How have you seen a church enact discipline?

Study:  In verses 6-8, Paul makes an analogy to leaven.  Why is this an appropriate analogy?

Study:  How does discipline in the church relate to sinful people outside the church, according to verse 9?

Discuss:  Paul instructs the Corinthians to remove the sinful person from their fellowship?  Would you only apply this to church membership, or also to onging social interactions with a person living in sin?

Discuss:  Is severing felllowship the only form of church discipline, or are there other appropriate forms?

Apply:  How does this passage challenge your relationship to the church?

• Warm Up:  Name some of the leaders in your church.  Name some of the leaders in the broader Christian world from radio, books, podcasts, YouTube, etc.
• Study:  Take a sheet of paper and make two columns.  Title one column "Corinthian leaders," and title the other column "True Apostles."  Read all of chapter 4 and note the different descriptions for each in your columns.  Note the verse number next to each description.  Share your observations.
• Discuss:  How are your local church leaders chosen?  What qualities are being examined in the person?
• Discuss:   Does popularity, power, or performance play a role in who serves in church leadership?  Should it play some role?
• Study:  Choose one word for each paragraph to describe the tone/mood/emotion of Paul's address to the Corinthians.
• Study:  In one word, describe the difference between the Corinthian leaders and the true apostles.
• Discuss:  How do you know if the national Christian leaders that you follow are worthy of your attention?
• Discuss:  What right and wrong expectations do you have of your own church leadership?

• Warm up:  How has church been a part of your life?
• Observe:  Make two lists based on what can be discered from verses 1-4.  The first list should be how the Corinthians thought about themselves.  The second list should be how the Apostle Paul perceived them.  What does this teach you about spiritual maturity?
• Discuss:  What does Paul want us to learn from the analogy of the farm field in verses 5-9?
• Discuss:  Do you think that the church is too caught up in personalities these days?  Do we put leaders on too high of a pedestal?
• Discuss:  What does the analogy of a building in verses 10-15 teach us?
• Discuss:  How do we know if we are building the church with gold, silver, or costly stones rather than wood, hay, or straw?
• Discuss:  The final analogy in verses 16-17 is of the temple?  What does this teach us?
• Discuss?  Which analogy stands out to you the most?  Why?
• Apply:  Is there anything in your life that is undermining the unity of the church?  Is there any way that you can better pray, live or work for the unity of the church?
• For Prayer:  Is there a place in your church that is experiencing division right now that needs God's help?

Warm Up:  Have you ever had a 'eureka' moment?

Define:  What does this passage mean by 'God's wisdom '?

Study:  How in the passage is God's wisdom different than the world's wisdom?

Discuss:  What do non-Christians care about in life?

Study:  In this passage, why are non-Christians unable to accept God's wisdom?

Share:  How did the Holy Spirit bring you to faith in Jesus?

Discuss:  Is it encouraging or discouraging to know that the Holy Spirit is necessary for someone to come to faith in Jesus?  Why?

Apply:  Spend some time praying for those friends and family who need to come to faith in Jesus.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes to see, their ears to hear, their minds to understand, and their hearts to receive Jesus.

Warm Up:  What fads have you seen come and go through the years (fashion, music, words/slang, etc.)?

Study:  Choose five key terms from this passage and explain each one.

Discuss:  How are the Corinthians wrapping Jesus in a "fad" for their own personal gain?  (Note: You may need to go back and read 1 Cor. 1:1-17 for context.)

Discuss:  Do Christians try to make Jesus cool or attractive to the world today?  How?

Summarize:  What is the main point/idea of verses 18-25?

Summarize:  What is the main point/idea of verses 26-31?

Summarize:  What is the main point/idea of 2:1-5?

Share:  What verse is the hardest for you to understand?  Please help each other.

Discuss:  The cross is countercultural.  How should that countercultural reality be displayed in the daily life of a believer?

Discuss:  How does the church need to be more countercultural?  How does this apply to those who are invited and welcome to attend based on 1:26-31?

Discuss:  What makes great preaching based on 2:1-5?

• Warm Up: Make a list of multiple "divisions" that exist in our culture, both serious and popular.
• Discuss:  What is Paul's main command in this passage?
• Observation:  What in this passage makes it appear that the divisions are between individuals versus the divisions being between groups?  Could both be true?
• Discuss:  What are all the different ways that divisions appear in the church today?
• Discuss:  How does each question in verse 13 emphasize the ludicrous nature of their divisions?
• Discuss:  Where does verse 17 place the focus of Paul and, by extension, the focus of the church?
• Apply:  Are you a part of a division, faction, clique, or power struggle in your church?  Besides your own opinion, what would others say about you in regard to this question?