Today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 16:1-11
Helpful thoughts:
- The final question from the church in Corinth which Paul addresses is about a financial gift the church wanted to send to the church in Jerusalem.
- The early church was already gathering on Sundays to worship. As part of their weekly giving, Paul tells them to set aside a portion each week to give for this special need.
- Pentecost (The “Feast of Weeks”) had been celebrated by the Jews by God’s design (Leviticus 23:15-22). The events of Acts 2 which we refer to as Pentecost simply happened during the Jewish event by that name.
Questions to consider:
- What specific things can we learn about the practices of the early church from reading this passage? (For example, they met for worship on Sundays.)
- What appears to have motivated Paul to spend time serving in these different churches? Did the presence of opposition push him away or motivate him to stay? Why do you think that was true? What can we learn from that?
- Does it look like churches operated or functioned entirely on their own in the 1st century? What ways did they help each other? How did they remain connected? How can fellowship between churches be a blessing to everyone involved?