A new Bible class quarter begins soon here at MoSt Church (Sun., Mar. 7). Most of our adult classes will plunge into 1 Corinthians. However, the class I teach (20/20) will begin this study one week early (Sun., Feb. 28). With 1 Cor. 13:11 in view, I’ve entitled our study Christ in a Mirror, Dimly (or in shorthand, simply “CMD“).

First Corinthians is close to the longest letter we still have from Paul’s hand today. An outline would be helpful. The following outline – very slightly adapted from one produced by Wendell Willis years ago in a wonderful study entitled A Place to Belong – will be our guide in the 20/20 class. If you’re a part of the 20/20 class, let me urge you to read and reflect on the text for each coming Sunday at least twice the week before each session.

• Feb. 28 – 1:1-9 (cf. Acts 18:1-18) – Christianity Comes to Town
• Mar. 7 – 1:18-2:16 – Belonging to Whose Thinking?
• Mar. 14 – 1:10-17; 3:1-23 – Belonging Together
• Mar. 21 – 4:1-21 – Judging Our Judging
• Mar. 28 – 5:1-6:20 – World in the Church: Church in the World
• Mar. 28 – 7:1-40 – Grow Where You Are Planted
• Apr. 4 – 8:1-13; 10:23-11:1 – Love and Freedom
• Apr. 11 – 9:1-27; 10:1-13 – Making Every Effort
• Apr. 18 – 10:14-22; 11:17-33 – Whose Supper Is This Anyway?
• Apr. 25 – 12:1-31 – Belonging Through Diversity
• May 2 – 13:1-13 – Love Builds Belonging
• May 9 – 14:1-40; 16:1-4,19-20 – Building Belonging When We Meet
• May 16 – 15:1-58 – Belonging Forever
• May 23 – 16:5-18,21-24 – Belonging With Purpose

As you read and study through 1 Corinthians, keep the context of the early Christian gatherings firmly in mind, that is, small gatherings of Christians in various homes throughout a city. To aid you in your study, take a look at the following two links to find more information on, and see some diagrams of, the layout of a typical, well-to-do Corinthian/Roman house in the time of Paul.

• Roman Houses & Corinthians House Churches - http://bit.ly/9BpuLT
• Sample Plan of a Roman House - http://bit.ly/c101kN

It would also be helpful to just have a very simple familiarity in mind of some of the problems Paul addresses in the letter we know today as 1 Corinthians. The following link will do just that for you:

• The Problems at Corinth - http://bit.ly/9TBnRY

And if you’re “the average Joe in the pew” looking for suggestions toward helpful books to aid you in your study, consider the following:

• The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians by Carl Holladay
• 1 Corinthians by Richard E. Oster, Jr.
• The Transforming Word [1 Cor. by Christopher Hutson; pp.917-936]
• First Corinthians by Bruce N. Fisk.
• The study notes in the TNIV Study Bible are also helpful.

Check back here regularly to find more good stuff connected with this study in the coming weeks. Enjoy the Lord for he is good!