On 8-3-14, 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 will be our Adult Sunday School/Uniform Series/International Sunday School Lesson herein is my commentary. This lesson is known by some as Consolation Granted Through Prayer or Comfort in Times of Trouble

Consolation Granted Through Prayer or Comfort in Times of Trouble

 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

International Sunday School Lesson

August 3, 2014

                                                                                 

Commentary

By

Jed Greenough

You need me, or at least you need someone like me, and I need you or someone like you.  We need each other as fellow Christians and that is what is most important about this that you are preparing for—Sunday School.

I know that name is a bit old fashioned and fallen out of favor but it doesn’t matter what you call the group that studies these same scriptures week after week.  We many can pray for each other and that is great but it is those who make up these individual groups that matter most in our churches today.

Within our worship services we can be taught well but we can have very little interaction and by that the Biblical fellowship of the Spirit known as Koinonia compared with the church as we read about last week in 1 Corinthians 14:13-26 which for most was called Seek the Good of Others.  But in our Sunday School groups we can take a time every week to learn of the joys, worries and hardships of our fellow members.

It is here as opposed to our worship services that we must now come together as they did then when these letters were written by Paul to the Corinthians, especially in our larger services.

Here “we can comfort those in any trouble” as Paul mentions in verse 4.  Here we can recognize that someone is missing, is anxious, is hurting, or is joyful.  Within the confines of this class people can be encouraged to share their needs for prayer and then on another day return the same.

I firmly believe that those of us who are left, who are in these groups who take these words to heart are themselves the remaining heart of the church.  Do you?

For Discussion:

1.      Read James 5:13-16.

2.      Make a list of scripture that comforts.

3.      Discuss when you have received comfort from prayer.

4.      Discuss God as “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”.

5.      Discuss how you have comforted others due to comfort you received yourself.

6.      Discuss patient endurance.

7.      Discuss how like Paul, Christians learn not to rely on themselves but on God as Paul mentions in verse 9.

8.      If you are not doing so discuss how your group will integrate more prayer for each other.

9.      Discuss how you might develop more Koinonia within your group.

Upcoming Lessons

August 10 A Community Forgives or Forgiveness and Restoration, 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved