Monday, January 24, 2011

Week 9: 1st Corinthians Bible Study


1st Corinthians Bible Study: Chapters 8 & 9 from Heather Neese on Vimeo.

Hello friends!


This Vimeo thing has me slightly annoyed.  I can only upload one video per week, and all of a sudden I am having to wait until Mondays to upload these & it takes several hours.  I am sorry for the inconvenience! I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and subscribe to the paid membership.  I was so blessed by the reading and studying of 1 Corinthians chapters 8 & 9 - I hope you were too!  This week we're back to reading 1 chapter: Chapter 10.  After this week, we have 4 more weeks of study to go, so hang in there!  We've almost finished this race!


Reading Guide
Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 10:1-6
Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 10:7-12
Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 10:13-20
Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 10:21-26
Day 5 - 1 Corinthians 10:27-33


Additional Study Questions:
Day 1: Do I look to the Old Testament as a guide and example of what I should or should not do in certain situations? 
Day 2: Do I see myself as above reproach, incapable of stumbling?
Day 3: Do I rely on God for a way out while in the midst of temptation?
Day 4: In what areas is my surrender incomplete unto the Lord? 
Day 5: Am I doing all things to the glory of God? Or am I more concerned with my own agenda and 'rights'?


Blessings to you as you continue to study Scripture! 

Monday, January 17, 2011

Week 8: 1st Corinthians Bible Study




1 Corinthians 7 from Heather Neese on Vimeo.


Hi Sweet Friends,

This week we are going to read/study through 1 Corinthians 8 & 9. Here is our reading schedule: 


Reading Guide
Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 8: 1-6
Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 8: 7-12
Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 9: 1-7
Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 9: 8-18
Day 5 - 1 Corinthians 9: 19-27


And as a reminder: Here are the 3 steps again! Learn from the Word. Listen to the Word. Live out the Word.

Step One: Learn from the Word.
Simply list the facts from the Scripture you read. Do not paraphrase, using your own words. Simply list the important facts. 

Step Two: Listen to the Word.
What do you believe God is saying to His people through this Scripture? Is there a warning, a promise, a command, a challenge, an encouragement? Draw a spiritual truth out of this passage.

Step Three: Live out the Word.
Take the spiritual truth from Step Two and make it personal, by turning it into the form of a question -- a question directed at yourself, leaving time for personal reflection.


Additional Study Questions
Day 1: What idols are in my life?  Who/what do I idolize?
Day 2: Am I misusing my freedom in Christ?  Am I careful to not partake in certain activities that may be viewed as stumbling blocks to others?
Day 3: Are we listening to the leadership of other believers with humility, or are we on the defense believing always that our motives and ways are best?  Are we stubborn in our ways or open to the truth of the Word of God, which instructs us to be more like Christ?
Day 4: Are we void of selfish ambition, focused fully on directing others to Christ, or are we hung up on our own agenda?
Day 5: In what ways am I serving in order to win people to Christ? Am I running the race to win? Am I exhibiting self-control in my life - words, actions, and motivations?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Will we Remember?

I am having a bit of a reflective day today.  Just so humbled by the God that we serve.

A few verses from last week's study of 1 Corinthians 6 have been heavily on my mind:

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, not thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, not revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

I was this: _____ and ______.  And I was that: ______.

But now, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ ...

I am washed.  I am sanctified.  I am justified.

Because don't you think that at times we focus more upon the I was than the I am?

And so I believe that reflecting on Psalm 111 on January 11th is quite fitting for this very day.  I pray you'll take some time to reflect on His mercies today.  That you'll take some time to just praise Him for specifically saving your very life.

That we would take time to remember His wonders ...

Praise the Lord! 
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.


Great are the works of the Lord;
They are studied by all who delight in them. 


Splendid and majestic is His work; 
And His righteousness endures forever.  


He has made His wonders to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and compassionate.  


He has given food to those who fear Him; 
He will remember His covenant forever. 


He has made known to His people the power of His works, 
In giving them the heritage of the nations.


The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.  


They are upheld forever and ever; 
They are performed in truth and uprightness.  


He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.


The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; 
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.
(Psalm 111, NASB)

Will we Remember ... 
The wonders of God in our lives? 

Monday, January 10, 2011

1 Corinthians Bible Study: Chapter 6 Video


Untitled from Heather Neese on Vimeo.

1st Corinthians Bible Study: Week 7

Hi Fellow 1st Corinthian Studiers!

Video is on it's way. Check back later today.


I hope you had a filling study of 1 Corinthians 6.  Paul has a way of addressing serious issues that seem to be very point blank (immorality, lawsuits, etc.), but somehow they begin to penetrate deep inside my heart into other areas where I have issues.  I may not struggle with wanting to sue someone, but I may struggle with wanting to be right all the time.

Paul addresses marriage and singleness in our chapter for this week: Chapter 7.  A very interesting passage of Scripture.  There have been times when I have read this and felt very encouraged, and other times [mainly in my singleness] where it was a bit frustrating to me.  In studying this verse-by-verse currently, I have realized a few things that I seemed to dismiss before.  The reason I became so frustrated with this passage when I was single was because I totally overlooked the following verses:
  • "I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all of you were as I am. But each one of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." (1 Corinthians 7:6-7, emphasis mine) 
  • "I have no command from the Lord, but I give judgment as one who by the Lord's
    mercy is trustworthy." (1 Corinthians 7:25, emphasis mine)
What Paul is essentially saying is that portions of this text are his opinion. And we must trust that based most likely on much experience and observation, he has come to these passionate conclusions. And that is alright with us, because you and I have opinions based on experience and observation as well, right?


At the same time, you and I believe that the Bible is the ultimate Word of God, right?  That it is ultimate truth and there is nothing accidental about it's contents.  The Bible is the inerrant Word of God - This means that it is without error.  And the Bible reveals our God to us -- It is absolutely paramount and intrinsic that if want to know God, we must get to know our Bibles.

So let's not get hung up on whether or not it's better to be married or not married, but let's get hung up on verses like this one throughout our study of 1 Corinthians 7:


  • "You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human beings." (1 Corinthians 7:23) 
Because whether we're married or unmarried ..... We cannot deny that truth. We were bought with a price. And because of that, Jesus deserves our absolute life. Not another earthly person.

Amen??? Amen!

So, let's read this Scripture with an open heart. I think we're going to be able to pull out two or three truths by week's end that we deeply agree with.

Here is next week's reading and additional study questions:

Week 7 Reading Guide
Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 7: 1-7
Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 7: 8-16
Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 7: 17-24
Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 7: 25-31
Day 5 - 1 Corinthians 7: 32-40

Additional Study Question*:
If you're unmarried, is your attention undivided unto the Lord? If you're married, though your attention is divided amongst your husband and possibly children, where is the center of your attention? How can it become less about others and more about the Lord, without slighting your husband or family the attention they need? Both unmarried and married: If your attention upon the Lord? If so, how do you continue your focus? If not, how can you better organize your life to make time for focusing on the Lord?

*You will notice that we only have 1 study question this week. This week's text is a little lengthy and different, so I thought it would be best for all of us to be focused upon one common theme throughout the week: Making Him the center of our attention.

Love you girls!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Week 6: 1st Corinthians Bible Study

Hello ladies!

I have been thinking about you so much over the past two weeks. I so hope your Christmas was wonderful and that your time with your family and friends was precious. Ours was great -- We enjoyed some down time and special time with family.

The Christmas season just got me thinking all about Jesus, I must admit. We sat through a Christmas Eve service that encouraged us to sit at the feet of Jesus more. To be more about Him than about this world. Something that as believers we claim to live by often, but are we really portraying that type of dedication on a daily basis? Some heavy stuff, if you ask me.

I have to apologize in advance for the video not being posted. I am feeling terrible -- Have been all day and it's not getting better. I'm actually laying in the bed right now as I type this. Husband is in the other room playing his guitar -- some good tunes, if I might add -- and the dog is at my feet. It's been a long day and with not feeling well, I am thankful for some solitude to just sit here and type to you with my ginger ale in hand. To type about all the many interesting things Paul reveals to us in his letter to the Corinthians in the fifth chapter. And I sure do hope you can forgive me for not posting a video this week -- Believe me, if you saw me right now you would thank me that I spared you (wink).

So with that being said, I'm going to do my absolute best to try to condense my video notes into a post:

"Getting Serious"
I. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5
II. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
III. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

I. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - We must take sin seriously.
Paul begins this passage by addressing an issue of sexual immorality in the church. Side note that I will share: The Greek word for "immorality" here is the root of the English word "pornography." Paul indicated his astonishment here in the first verse or so. He was appalled to hear that the church tolerated sexual immorality - this type which even pagans found morally repulsive. The Corinthians had rationalized or minimized the sin of this particular man.

And you can guess what my first personal application question to myself was as I studied just this first verse: What sin am I rationalizing or minimizing in my life, or those around me?

The problem here was that the Corinthians took pride in their willingness to accept the unrepentant, immoral man. And do you think we do that today? We take pride in our own acceptance or tolerance to the point that we are completely overlooking the root issue of sin. Tolerance becomes too much of our focus. Here is the deal: The Corinthians should have been grieving this sinful behavior, not accepting or tolerating the action. Why? Because this type of immoral behavior was proving destructive to both the individual and to the church corporately.

What happens next is that Paul encourages the church to remove the man from Christian community. This sounded a bit harsh to me at first, but let's see the motivation for this particular rebuke: In verse 4, Paul states that action against unrepentant sinning in the church is serious business. The purpose of "giving the person over to Satan" (v. 5) is destruction of the sinful nature. In other words, this person needs to deal with their sin. One cannot deal with their sin if the church makes them feel as if their sin is tolerated and acceptable.

And it's the same way for you and today. You and I must first come to grips with our sin. Once we do that, we need to allow God to destroy that particular sin nature. The end result has to be destruction of our sinful nature and freedom in Christ. Does anyone get that? And furthermore, when we are given the authority to bring to the attention of someone else the blatant sin in their lives, allow us to be filled with grace, making sure the end result is also to see them come to repentance. Not just to declare ourselves "right," or " more holy," or [forgive us, Lord] "better."

Is our tolerance level too lenient? Are we declaring particular actions as acceptable, that we should be sorrowful over? Are we taking our sin seriously? Do we understand that our sin weighs us down as individuals and the church corporately? Will we repent?

II. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 - We must take separation seriously.
In verses 6-8, Paul expresses his jealousy to protect the church from corruption. The church did not realize that their tolerance was coming in the way of their holy calling. Do you and I realize that today? By dumbing down our Gospel and allowing sin to creep in disguised as tolerance, you and I are undermining the holy calling set upon us by our God Himself.

The church was being challenged by Paul here to remove everything sinful in order to be separate from the old life. This included the influence of sinful church members. As Jews celebrate Passover do so with unleavened bread, so believers celebrate their continual Passover with unleavened lives.

Paul is reaching out to the Corinthians here to remind them that they are supposed to be living lives free of the influence of sin. That was their old life!

Are you and I intentionally separating ourselves from sin? Are we free from the influence of our old lives? Are we taking separation from sin seriously?

III. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 - We must take salvation seriously.
What Paul addresses here is a possible misunderstanding. The church had misunderstood one of his points in a previous letter. Their misunderstanding had caused them to stop having contact with unbelievers - with the unsaved world. They had no contact with the unsaved worlds, but they continued to tolerate the sin of those in the church. Weird? Weird. And yes, we still do this today.

What Paul had indeed instructed them to do was to disassociate themselves from all who said they were believers, but had a consistent pattern of sin.

When you and I came to know Jesus - at the point of salvation - you and I inherited a calling to evangelize to a lost world. But what you and I also inherited was a very serious calling to adhere to the lifestyle outlined by God in His Word.

Here's the thing: Does anyone else read this Scripture and think, "Wow, we are held to a high standard"? As believers, you and I are held to a higher standard than the world. Do we get that? Are we aware of that? It is serious business when you and I fall into a trap of sin, y'all.

Do we long to be intimately acquainted with our Savior? If so, repentance must be at the forefront of our mind. If so, we must be serious about our salvation. Are we taking salvation seriously?

Whew ... What a lesson!

More than anything in the world, this has been the common theme for me throughout my personal study of 1 Corinthians: We are supposed to look different than the world. I don't know about you, but I am especially thankful for Paul's message. Because I, like the Corinthians, believe I needed a reminder that my life is to exemplify my Savior. Holy cow, that's a lot to take in on. [Especially with a throbbing headache.]

Oh Jesus, make us more like You. Give us the ability to discern what is of You and what is just plain not. Teach us through Your Word -- through Your blueprint -- what it looks like to be a child of Yours. And allow us to throw everything else to the wayside and to run hard and fast after You. That we truly would sit at your feet more ... and love you more than this world. That we would say it ... And mean it. With all of our hearts.

Here is next week's reading and additional study questions:

Week 6 Reading Guide
Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 6:1-6
Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 6:7-11
Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 6:12-15
Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 6:16-17
Day 5 - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Additional Study Questions:
Day 1: What is my motivation for justice? Do I believe that my vindication will come from God or from man?
Day 2: Have I been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus? Am I living like it? Have I thanked Him for that fresh start recently?
Day 3: Do I understand that not everything is beneficial to me, and that I must make decisions that are pleasing and honoring to God? Do I understand that there will be things I must abstain from for the glory of God?
Day 4: Do I believe that my body is God-given and that I should honor Him with my body, not allowing my body to become the subject of sin?
Day 5: Do I fully grasp that I have been bought with a price? That because I have committed to live for Jesus, I cannot live however I want to? Am I surrendered to living for Christ ... and not for myself?


Love to you!