Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

In one paragraph

This message was the closing installment of a long series through 1 Corinthians, landing on one of the most disputed passages in the letter. Pastor Ray worked through 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, giving particular attention to the verses commanding women to be silent in church. He was candid about the difficulty of the text and walked the congregation through two serious ways of reading it before...

Read together

1. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 Read as the opening of the inclusio covering the spiritual gifts section from chapter 12 through 14
2. 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 The main passage preached, covering orderly worship, tongues, prophecy, and women speaking in church
3. Acts 18 Read to ground the Corinthians in their real historical context, covering Paul's arrival, ministry, and departure from Corinth
4. Acts 16:16 Read to identify the demon-possessed slave girl as having a spirit of python, connecting to the Oracle of Delphi background
5. 1 Corinthians 1:1 Referenced to identify Sosthenes as co-sender of the letter and connect him to the man beaten in Acts 18
6. 1 Corinthians 11 Cited to show Paul already assumed women pray and prophesy, undermining an absolute silencing interpretation
7. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Read in King James Version as the disputed command for women to keep silence in churches

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray shared how visiting his home church brought back memories of Glenda Wattenberger being asked to step down from the platform so a visiting preacher would come. How did that story land with you, and what does it tell us about how churches handle disagreement over this passage?
2. Pastor Ray walked us through the Oracle of Delphi and the spirit of Python to show what the Corinthians already had in their cultural background before they ever walked into a church. Why do you think that background matters for how we read Paul's instructions about order in worship?
3. Pastor Ray pointed out that throughout chapters 12 through 14 Paul keeps saying the gifts are given to each one for the common good, and then we hit the instruction about silence. How do you hold those two things together, and does the tension bother you?
4. Two possible readings came up for the silence passage: that Paul is correcting disorderly speech from specific women in Corinth, or that verses 34 and 35 are actually a quote from the Corinthians' letter that Paul then pushes back on with 'What?' Which reading made more sense to you, and what would change in how you apply the passage depending on which one is right?
5. Pastor Ray said that if you claim to be spiritual you will recognize that everything Paul has written is a command from the Lord, and that if you do not recognize it you may not be recognized by God. What does it look like in practice to sit under a hard or confusing passage of Scripture and stay open to having your mind changed rather than just defending what you already believe?