Week 4: February 9 – With a Demonstration
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Note to the Teacher

This lesson invites youth to think about God’s wisdom and the power that preaching can have. Youth will be invited to share their wisdom with one another through shared questions, writing, and delivering mini sermons.

Time Description of Activity

10 Min. 1. Ice Breaker - Our Own Wisdom

In today’s scripture text Paul speaks a lot about wisdom. For this ice breaker the group will get

to reflect on and share their own wisdom. Give each student an index card and invite them to write a question they would like to know the answer to. Collect all the cards and read a few questions aloud and invite the group to respond and share their wisdom with one another about their shared questions.

5 Min. 2. Read scripture

In this scripture passage Paul speaks about God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom far surpasses any human wisdom, and through God’s wisdom we receive the Spirit to live as mature Christians.

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

15 Min. 3. Discussion

• We often think of Paul as a pillar of the faith who is confident, strong and bold. Yet, in this passage Paul admits to some insecure feelings that we all have at times: “I stood in front of you with weakness, fear and a lot of shaking.” Have any of you ever felt this way before speaking (perhaps doing a class presentation or during a Youth Sunday at church)? Why do you think Paul felt this way?
• Paul was cautious and weary about his sermons. He wanted to make sure that the power of his sermons came from God and not from his own crafty way with words. How would you do this? How would you write a sermon to make sure God is the focus and not you? Have you ever heard a sermon where the preacher made it about them and perhaps how great they were instead of how great God is?
• Paul writes that we no longer receive the world’s spirit for we have received God’s Spirit. What does it look like to live everyday as people who have received God’s Spirit?
• Some say that our lives are the sermons we preach to the world. How might this be true?
• Paul makes a bold claim when he says, “spiritual people comprehend everything, but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone.” What does this mean to you?
• Paul writes that we have the mind of Christ? What do you think that means?

20 Min. 4. Preaching Battle

In these passages from 1 Corinthians Paul has been speaking a lot about the work of preaching. He focuses on the power that preaching can have in our lives and that preaching is about the work God does and not what we do. This activity gives youth a chance to preach like Paul.

Give youth five minutes with this passage from 1 Corinthians and tell them they will be given a chance to give a two-minute sermon. Tell them to come up with one sentence that explains how this passage applies to their life as the basis for the sermon. Depending on the size of your group and how comfortable everyone may or may not be with this, students can do this in small groups or you as the leader can pick a select few to give a sermon in front of the whole group.

Be sure to leave time for a group reflection afterwards about giving a sermon where we struggle with trusting in our wisdom verses seeking God’s wisdom. Which wisdom is easier to rely on when we only have five minutes? This exercise can also help show that many different sermons, teachings and lessons can be learned from the same text.

Sometimes we may not know powerful preaching can be until we are the ones crafting and delivering the sermon.

50 Min.

Needed Supplies: Paper and pens/pencils