Passage for this week: 1 Corinthians 4:8-16
Resource: Pray The Word Podcast by David Platt
How to use this resource: The questions below should be read after you and your family have spent time listening to the resource, and after you have had time to read through the passage carefully and slowly. Following your family time discussion (using the questions below, or your own questions regarding this text), close in prayer and ask your kids how you can be praying for them and let them know how they can be praying for you as parents.
Family Devotional Question For This Week:
1. What stands out to you the most from reading this passage? What did you learn that is new to you from this passage? What did you learn that caused you to remember something you’ve known, or what has been reinforced from reading this passage?
2.Why is Paul listing all of these things that have happened to Himself and the other disciples in verses 9-13?
(Potential answers:Pauls aim in our passage today is to get these christians to think about their life’s witness and the impact of their imitation of (or lack thereof) Christ. this is why he lists off the many ways that he and other disciples of Christ have been made fools, broken, ashamed, dishonored and made homeless! looking back to verse 6 is also helpful, where Paul reiterates the importance of finding an example of how to live through not only his life, but also from the lives of those who have lived at Christ’s examples in the midst of the corinthians christians.)
3. Why is Paul asking these believers to imitate him?
(Potential answers: This isn’t a passage that shows how pretentious Paul is. He simply lists – after having described a great deal of the pain and toil following Christ has brought him and others – the very things that these people relish in. Paul simply wants these people to be kingdom-focused and to begin to live for the eternal glory and worth of Christ Jesus! Paul causes his audience here to seriously think and consider how our lives are either shaping and molding others into the image and likeness of Christ or if we are living a life that divides Christ or points people away from Him. sometimes, it is difficult to live up to the perfect standard of Christ (which is not what Paul is saying here). rather, Paul says living for Jesus, with the grace and power that He alone can give, in a world that is against Him, will look somewhat like the very things he has just listed.)
Prayer Prompts For This Week:
– Pray that God will begin showing us areas in our lives where we are divided in our devotion to Christ.
– Pray that with Gods help we can begin to change our devotions, or thoughts, our aims and pursuits to be subjected to Gods Word and how we would then live as imitators of Christ for others to see.
– Continue to pray for one another and write down or remember the requests of each person. Either have one person pray over each request, or delegate those prayer requests so that each person prays for something or someone specific.