29/1/12  Epiphany  IV

Bible Reading

I Corinthians Chp 8 vss 1-13

Theme: Don't lead others astray

Preparation

The bulk of this reading is about leading others astray by making them to believe it is acceptable to eat food that is offered to idols - a concept which needs some translation in modern society!

Collect some photographs of misleading signs - often ones from abroad where the English is not quite accurate can be fun - or perhaps signs with incomprehensible images on them. You also need images of different facial expressions (SEAL materials could be useful here - or Google again) or you can use volunteers to pull appropriate faces for sad, angry, etc.

Introduction

Have some fun together looking at the signs together and working out why they are misleading.

The Message

Talk about how we give out signals too and interpret the faces you have available.

We give out signals not just by what we say or how our faces look, but by actions. Sometimes we can be doing something which is quite innocent and somebody copies it and things go wrong - for example you might dive into the deep end of a swimming pool because you are a strong swimmer, but then your little brother who is just learning to swim copies you and is soon in danger.

Paul had a problem like this in the church at Corinth where some people were leading others astray by accident - by using the wrong butcher! These Christians were buying their meat from the temple butcher - all his meat had been given to the temple for the use of the pagan gods, but after the service in the temple it was sold off cheaply in his shop! Now these Christians believed in Jesus and din't believe in the pagan gods at all - they knew that the meat wasn't special in any way, except that it was good quality and cheap! But some new Christians were confused by this - they thought it meant that it was alright to be a Christian and still go on following the pagan gods at the same time!

Paul was horrified when he found out what was happening - of course he agreed that the meat wasn't special or blessed by the pagan gods, but, all the same, he asked the Corinthians to stop buying it, so that the new Christians didn't get confused and led astray.

I wonder if we always think about how our actions might affect other people? Are there things we do that might be setting a bad example to others who are younger than us, or look up to us?

Prayer

Pray that we may be aware of how our actions can affect other people and that we may always be good examples to those we come into contact with.

Stories which relate to what might be called "peer group pressure" include: Samson & Delilah - Judges chp 16 vss 4-30; Parable of the Sower - Matthew chp 13 vss 3-8;