1 & 2 Corinthians Sunday School 2026–2027
(High School)
General Notes
Lesson 1
Intro to 1 Corinthians: The Church is a Community of Christian Love
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1.1–2 & 13.4–7
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1.1–2 (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 13.4–7
(While frequently used at weddings this passage is not about romantic love; not that there aren’t implications in a marriage.)
Key Questions
- Who is St Paul?
- What’s the deal with Corinth? (Its importance.)
- What does St Paul have to do with Corinth?
- What’s the deal with Corinth (Its problems.)
Vocab
- Apostle — one sent
- Catholicity — St Vincent of Lérins quote: “Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” St Vincent of Lérins, Commonitory: Chapter 2
- Corinth — a city (show a map), give info on trade routes, the Isthmus of Corinth, the Δίολκος (Díolkos), and the Corinthian Canal
- Sanctified/Saints — set apart, holy
- Love (αγάπη) — selfless, sacrificial, unconditional
Opening Activity
Obscure Bible Characters:
- Bezaleel: do the kids remember him from the last lesson of last year? Also cross-reference with Consecration of a Church: Prayer on bended knees
Lesson
Part One
- Love Chapter
- St Paul’s relationship to Corinth
- Others from Corinth
- Ss Priscilla & Aquilla
- St Silas
- St Timothy
- Apostle
- Acts 1, while St Matthais replaces Judas the Betrayer, St Paul is remembered in the Church as God’s replacement for him. (See hymnography and iconography [even the icons of the Ascension and Pentecost].)
- Description of St Paul Acts of Ss Paul and Thecla
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And he [Onesiphorous] went along the road to Lystra, and stood waiting for him, and kept looking at the passers by according to the description of Titus. And he saw Paul coming, a man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, well-built [or healthy], with eyebrows meeting, rather long-nosed [Wilson/Schneemelcher’s translation has “nose somewhat hooked”], full of grace. For sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the countenance of an angel.
- HT: The Lord of Spirits: Let Me Acts You Something
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- Corinth: 200K pop. immoral
Part Two
- Comparison of Corinth and USA
- How to keep the faith?
- Read 1 Cor 1.1–2
Closing
- maps
- worksheet?
Lesson 2:
What is Real Wisdom? The Wisdom of This World is Not the Wisdom of God!
Tags: wisdom
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1.21, 2.13, 1.20–31, 2.13–16
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (Isaiah 29.14)
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1.18–31 (ESV)
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (Isaiah 64.4)
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2.6–16 (ESV)
Key Questions
- What’s the difference between the Wisdom of God and the wisdom of man?
- How do you balance the value of human wisdom against the saving power of God’s wisdom?
Vocab
- Wisdom: The Wisdom of God is ‘higher’ knowledge, but is only revealed by the Spirit.
- Folly: God’s wisdom is often considered folly by the world.
- Stumbling Block: The Jews did not recognize the Messiah (Christ) because they were looking for a worldly kingdom, and viewed liberation from the Romans as the goal.
- Greek: sometimes a stand-in for non-Jew.
Opening Activity
How long would it take for God to make a phone?
Lesson
Part One
Divisions rooted in pride (associating with various teachers).
St Paul says the wisdom of God is displayed in Cross. This makes no sense to Jew nor Greek.
Review of Lesson One.
Chapter 1
vv 3–9: St Paul reminds the faithful what they have received in Christ.
vv 10–18: Paul admonishes them for divisions. These divisons are based in pride of correct knowledge.
Yet the Wisdom of God is not the wisdom of this world/age. It is the Cross. Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life! This is the content of the faith.
Chapter 2
Reference icon “King of Glory”.
The wisdom of God is Spiritual, that is it is only known by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Part Two
Discussion
- What is the difference between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of man?
- How do you balance the value of the two?
Closing Activity
Diversity of Saints. John Chrysostom and Olga of Alaska
Lesson 3
Divisions in the Church
Scripture
Key Ideas
Christ is the foundation and the Church is the Body of Christ
Essential Questions
How does choosing a ‘clique’ limit our spiritual growth?
Opening Activity
Cliques in school.
Lesson
Climax: 1 Cor 3.16–17
Unity and the Temple of God
You cannot be holy while hating your brother or sister. (See 1 John 4.20)
Closing Activity
Identity
Lesson 4
Leaders in the Church
Key Ideas
Stewardship & Leadership
Essential Questions
Why do we call priests, “Father”? What does “fathfulness” mean?
Opening Activity
Reflecting on Mentors in life
Lesson
Part 1
1 Cor 4.1–5
Social media presentation of one’s self, vs real self.
1 Cor 4.6–8
What does it mean to lead?
Part 2
1 Cor 4.14–17
Paul as father.
The difference between guardians (guides, instructors, depending on translation) and fathers.
Discernment in own life on who to follow.
Closing Activity
Thank you cards
Lesson 5
Sin in the Church
Key Ideas
- Proper judgment for purity of the Church
- Excommunication
- Sexual Purity
Lesson
First Part
1 Cor 5.1–2
Wrong in church vs culture
1 Cor 5.6–8
Leaven and Passover
Sin and spread
1 Cor 6.9–11
Transformation in the Church
1 Cor 6.12–14, 18–20
Best for wellness
Body Temple of the Holy Spirit
Second part
1 Cor 5.3–5
What does present in the spirit mean?
Who plays the role of St Paul today?
What is excommunication? What is delivering to Satan?
1 Cor 5.9–12
Discussion of inside and outside the church
judgment and just decision
1 Cor 6.1–8
Judging the saints and human courts
Lesson 6
Marriage and Monasticism
1 Corinthians 7
Key Ideas
St Paul teaches about marriage, and proto-monasticism.
Opening
Compare/contrast monasticism and the married life.
Lesson
1 Cor 7.8–16
How is marriage defined in an Orthodox sense?
How does this differ from the world’s definition?
Why should a person get married?
Sexual desire like fire, good if in a fireplace, kiln etc. But terribly destructive if not bound.
1 Cor 7.29–35
What does St Paul mean by the time is short?
Fr John Behr on that the end for most of us is the end of our lives.
Discssion time
More on marriage and monasticism.
References/Links
Autochthonic
Allochthonic