When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.
Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset
HEAD
In this chapter, Paul continues to write to the church in Corinth to give them directions and guides them to continue to follow Jesus. Timothy is helping him complete this letter.
At the beginning of this chapter, Paul explains why he decided not to visit the church in Corinth again. He tells them that he wrote the first letter to them out of his deep love and not to grieve them. Do you understand what this means? He did not want to hurt them but wanted to teach them to make the right choices. This is like how parents correct their children because they love them.
He explains to the people of this church that if one person has made wrong choices it hurts all the members of the church. However, the church decided to punish this individual - that is enough punishment. Paul tells them to forgive and comfort this individual. That reminds us of how a parent may punish a child, but then there is forgiveness and a lesson learned.
HEART
Do you ever apologize to someone after you have disagreed? Or have you needed to forgive someone and not keep a grudge? Satan schemes to keep us from forgiving others, but we do not let Him confuse us about doing what is right in God’s eyes.
Paul continues to tell the Corinthians how God has led them to share their belief in God and in Jesus. For those who are saved and come to know Jesus and His Father, there is an aroma that brings life. Do you think Paul meant that those who are saved smell different or is it how they act that changes when Jesus is invited into their hearts?
HANDS
Paul tells them that he and Timothy are not sharing the word of God for profit (that means to make money). Instead, they speak with sincerity as those who are sent by God. They are ministers of the New Covenant. As a family, talk about opportunities to share with others the Word of God and how you invited Jesus into your heart.
Prayer: God, thank you for giving us the Bible to read and learn more about what Christians should be like. Thank you for Paul and Timothy and the letters they wrote to help guide us. Help us to take these words about forgiveness and learn from them. Thank you for our family. Thank you for loving us. In Jesus name, Amen.