Aug 26 - Sept 1

1 Corinthians 8:13

Chapter 8 - Idolatry
Chapter 9 -
Chapter 10 - Temptation, Sacrament
Chapter 11 - Customs, Sacrament
Chapter 12 - Gifts of the Spirit, unity
Chapter 13 - Charity

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I'm going to start with a reality drop, Rachel & I have had a horrendous last few weeks. All 3 kids are or have been sick to varying levels of severity, Rachel has had extra work to complete, I got a speeding ticket while we were on our washout holiday and then last week someone accidentally damaged some of our property which could leave us substantially out of pocket so have been dealing with insurance companies all week. And thats on top of the already stressful circumstances that we were already in.

You know that feeling, when you feel like you just can't take anymore, and you you are given more, we are definitely feeling it right now.

I hope you all have had a better August than we have.

Anyway...

I spent a moment pondering where we are in the New Testament.

We have a new leader, instructing new members of a new church? Does this sound familiar? I never considered this before but the New Testament (post the 4 gospels) are kinda like the ancient worlds doctrine & covenants). Am I being silly or are you inclined to agree that there are similarities?

This week contains one of my favourite verses. Can you guess which one?

1 Corinthians 10:13

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If so, how did you guess right?Do I have a sign on my head suggesting I really need a verse about deliverance from temptation and God's faithfulness in my life? Is it a scripture mastery (for those familiar with seminary)? Or is it because you also appreciate it in some way.

The ideas for personal study section has some great questions about this verse which I hope we will look as shortly.

But 1st, I want to try something that I tried a couple of weeks ago. I want to ask you what topics you noticed come up in this weeks reading and what you learned?

Temptation
Talents (Spiritual Gifts)
Unity
Charity
Sacrament
Race

Unity

Somewhere this week I came across the quote that said something like 'being unified is not the same as being the same'.

Give every class member a cutout of some eyes, ask them to put them on the board and create a body with them. 1 Cor 12:17

Ask every class member to think, if they were a body part of the church, what body part would you be? Then list those body parts on the board. Note the use of the word 'member'. We are members of the body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:27.

What do we notice? This might resemble a body a bit more than the previous example. But why is this still not working?

Answers might include
-More humility required
-Listening to the spirit
-Inspired leaders

What would the result be if we applied these principles?

Talents

Maybe I speak for myself here but sometimes we are not very good at seeing the good in ourselves. I've been in many a lesson about talents and found it difficult to identify my own. I see talents in other better.

Elder Marvin J Ashton in 1987 said the following

One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself as someone who has no talents or gifts.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1987/10/there-are-many-gifts

So I pondered this for a bit and thought of another activity. I don't think I've ever had such an interactive lesson.

I don't need to give you a piece of paper, just use your phone or something. I want everyone to look around the room and write down at least one, preferably about 3, talents you see. Then we list them on the board. I'm not expecting any name dropping, the idea here is to get us thinking about whether any of these shoes fit.

Here is a list Marvin J Ashton

the gift of asking
the gift of listening
the gift of hearing and using a still, small voice
the gift of being able to weep
the gift of avoiding contention
the gift of being agreeable
the gift of avoiding vain repetition
the gift of seeking that which is righteous
the gift of not passing judgment
the gift of looking to God for guidance
the gift of being a disciple
the gift of caring for others
the gift of being able to ponder
the gift of offering prayer
the gift of bearing a mighty testimony
the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost.



Temptation 10:1-13

So if I was reword 10:13 it might read

Temptations are a part of life, we are all subject to them. But God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to resist, therefore making it possible for you to overcome all temptations.

What kind of escape from temptation has heavenly father provided for you?

We all have agency. We might feel like at times agency is diminished, but we will never be forced to do something we should not.

Daniel (old testament) was tempted to compromise his religion by a decree. Expecting maybe to be eaten by Lions, he is unharmed.

Maybe there were times when you could not see the light at the end of the exit tunnel, but you knew this was the right path to take.

Like paying tithing. I've heard many stories of people paying tithing but not knowing to pay some bills.

Or these last few weeks for my family. The light at the end of the tunnel seems awfully dim at times. We can still see many obstacles in our way. but we persevere.

What can we do to help each other “escape” and “bear” the temptations we might face?

How does unity help us resist temptation?

Race 9:24-27

Have any of you taken part in a race? Did you expect to come 1st? To obtain a shiny metallic prize?So why did you do it? To beat a friend, to encourage a friend, to beat yourself? Or maybe for an incorruptible crown?

Charity

I'd get the impression the Relief Society quote this many parts of chapter 13 a fair bit.

1 Cor 13:2 Paul says without Charity he is nothing. Does that mean we too are nothing if we do not have charity? What does he mean by 'I am nothing'?

1 Cor 13:3 Paul says if I give, without charity, it profits him nothing. What does he mean by 'profiteth me nothing'?

Have we ever been guilty of this? What could we give, without charity?

1 Cor 13:13 Why would Paul consider charity greater than faith & hope?

Something to do with Matt 22:37-40.

Faith & Hope only lead you to become a person with Charity. It is the obtaining of charity that will save us. You could say, Charity is the byproduct of faith. Charity is the works of faith. faith without works is dead.