1 Corinthians [chapter 11]

Happy Friday, Bethany Young Adult family!

Sincerest happy birthday to our dear sister Hannah Lee at Texas A&M today! Praying you are well At College Station, sister, and the Lord is growing your walk with Him daily through the empowering of the indwelling Spirit of God within you! May the joy of the Lord fall upon you, who created you, sustains you, and finishes this life with you to carry you to the eternal life to come! Thank you for being so faithful to your calling as a student and as a servant of the Lord.

Another end-of-week has arrived, College family... how are you? As studies pile-up, or part-time work, internships, and other needs fill our day, remember to go to the quiet place as Jesus did - to withdraw, take a step back, to spend time with His Spirit and hear Him through the sacred Scriptures. May the Lord lead your life in these days where it is so easy to lead ourselves.

Post-Grad family, another work week is ending and you made it! The days are long, at times mundane, but remember God is in the little things as much as the big things of life. I trust you'll walk faithfully again, as you sort through the complexities of transitioning through this young adult season. May the Lord guard your hearts and keep Him as first love at all times. May the Lord maximize your time, energy, strength, and resources to be a channel for His glory - of which only you can be in this stage of life. Keep being all-in for the Lord today.

Join us, if able, tonight again for a somewhat difficult chapter in 1 Corinthians! We'll navigate through this broadly through two questions and reflections. I look forward to the lively discussion and reflections with you, especially about godly gender roles. We are all co-equal servants, regardless of gender, in Christ, and called to lead God's people as well as submit ourselves before the feet of Jesus. Let us hold to the integrity of calling all to be imitators of us, because we are imitators of Christ, amen?

Lord-willing, see you! 
Prayerfully,

Brother Chester
​

Young Adult (College/Post-Grad) Life group
THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
Be Imitators of Me, as I am of Christ [chapter 11]
IMITATE GODLY HEADSHIP AND SUBMISSION (11:1-16)
(Question #1) At that time, covering the head with some sort of veil was a custom that both men and women did to symbolize their submission under the authority and protection of another. Head coverings were worn during times of prayer to show honor and acknowledge a higher authority that covered over them. It appears in the Corinthian church, some women refused to wear their head coverings, while some men kept theirs on. *More specifically, it appears that the apostle Paul is addressing the relationship between wives and husbands within marriage over the relationship between all women and all men in a general sense. According to the apostle Paul, how are husbands and wives to conduct themselves with their head coverings when they pray/prophesy and why (verse 1-16)? How does this act of obedience between a husband and a wife within marriage reflect their relationship to Jesus Christ and to the Father God (look back to verse 3)?
[*REFLECT #1] Today, head coverings are not used very often in church, but we could still honor the principle of this custom, especially if you are married, or possibly will be married in the future, or help bring order into a troubled marriage. In marriage, how is a godly man to conduct himself before his wife? How is a godly wife to conduct herself before her husband? In the church, how are all men and women to relate to each other, without shaming each other, before the authority of Christ and headship of Father God? **What are the key differences of gender roles between a husband and a wife within marriage versus all men and all women in Christ-centered community? Is spiritual leadership-headship the role for men alone? Is godly submission the role for women alone?
IMITATE A WORTHY MANNER AT THE LORDS TABLE (11:17-34)
(Question #2) In the last chapter 10, we saw how when the Corinthian church gathered, they had communion – blessing the cup and breaking the bread, participating in the blood and body of Jesus Christ, over just casually remembering it. There was no place for idolatry or division at the Lord’s table, the Corinthians were to put aside their false gods and internal conflicts (such as food offered to idols) and not become participants with demons (verse 14-22). Here, the apostle Paul brings up another issue surrounding the Lord’s table. What was happening as they were coming together to participate in the Lord’s supper and how did Paul react to it (verse 17-22)? As the Corinthians were desecrating this sacred supper, what does the apostle Paul remind them of what they were proclaiming as they ate the bread and drank the cup (verse 23-26)? So, what ought they be doing before they eat the bread and drink the cup (verse 27-34)?
[*REFLECT #2] Coming together at the Lord’s table does refer to primarily the sacrament of communion/Lord’s supper, but it can also generally apply to all times of fellowship – when the church gathers as brothers and sisters in Christ to love God and each other. How can we gather in a manner worthy of being the Lord’s church? Are we come together as the church, around the Lord’s table, sharing Christ and giving Christ to each other, how can we destroy a spirit of division or selfish appetites to fill our stomachs first before feeding hungry souls? By gathering, how are we proclaiming the Lord’s death until He returns? What ways can we practically self-examine ourselves before we gather as the church, breaking bread and sharing the cup of Jesus Christ? Are you waiting or going ahead of each other?
HOLY SPIRIT MOMENT
(APPLY #1) Spend two minutes inviting and listening to the Holy Spirit to show you how you can imitate godly headship/submission and a worthy manner of gathering at the Lord’s table with the Lord’s people.
(APPLY #2) Write those two ways you can imitate these truths, and call others to say, “Be imitators of me in this, as I am of Christ”:
(1) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(APPLY #3) Share one of them with the group, and a first practical step you can take to accomplish it.
(APPLY #4) Write a sentence-prayer for it: _________________________________________________________________________________________
(APPLY #5) Share spiritual life – How are you? What is one thing about Jesus that carried you through this week? What is one thing you prayed for today? How has God answered in prayer, or asked us to keep requesting in prayer?