Invite Sharing
In 1 Corinthians 8–13, Paul taught gospel truths using metaphors such as a runner in a race, the human body, and “a tinkling cymbal” (see 1 Corinthians 9:24–25; 12:13–26; 13:1). You might ask class members what they learned from these comparisons. How do the comparisons help us understand gospel truths?
If you had a wind chime, it would be great to bring it.
Teach the Doctrine
God provides a way to escape temptation.
How can you help class members discover powerful truths in 1 Corinthians 10:13? One idea is to divide the verse into brief phrases, give each one to a different class member, and ask the class members to restate the phrases in their own words. For example, what is another way to say “God is faithful” or “tempted above that ye are able”? You could then reread the verse, using some of the class members’ statements. Class members may be able to share experiences in which they found the promises in this verse to be true. What additional insights can we gain into these verses from Alma 13:27–28?
Rather than dwelling on anyone’s specific temptations, you might want to focus the discussion of 1 Corinthians 10:13 on temptations that are, in Paul’s words, “common to man.” Class members could start by identifying temptations Paul warns against in verses 1–12. They might also suggest modern examples of common temptations, such as temptations to be dishonest, gossip, or judge others. How might a person, with God’s help, “escape” these temptations?
Invite two students to have a tug of war. I don't have a rope, but I do have this scarf that would probably rip with the youth pulling on it(:
After have the youth read these scriptures, asking how that tug of war compares to temptation? If one person really lost the war, ask if he/she's soul would be lost forever? What do the scriptures say about that?
The sacrament unifies us as members of Christ’s Church.
These verses could inspire a discussion about how the sacrament can unify your ward in your efforts to become more like the Savior. You might begin by reading 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 and exploring what the word communion could mean in this context (someone could look for possible definitions in a dictionary). How can partaking of the sacrament together help us feel more united? How does Paul’s counsel to “let a man examine himself” relate to this goal? (1 Corinthians 11:28).
Pass around a box of Mac and Cheese, or something else you have on hand (It is fast sunday, but hey you are also learning about temptation, right? (: It's all part of the object lessons)
Tell the students to look really close at it, because you are going to give them a quiz. After everyone has gotten a good look at it. Put it away. Ask them how many oz it had? How many noodles were on the spoon? What were all the colors used? Have fun with this(:
Then have them read the scripture about examining themselves 1 Corinthians 11:28. Tell them that when we take the sacrament, is a good time to examine ourselves like we just examined that box.
Spiritual gifts are given to benefit all of Heavenly Father’s children.
To help class members see examples of how developing their spiritual gifts helps edify the Church, consider inviting them to think of spiritual gifts people in the scriptures had. For ideas, you could assign them to search one of the scripture references in “Additional Resources” and name the spiritual gifts they think that person had. They could also talk about spiritual gifts they see in each other. How are these people’s spiritual gifts a blessing to all of us? How can we use our spiritual gifts to bless others and edify the body of Christ, or the Church? (see 1 Corinthians 12:12–31; see also 1 Corinthians 14:12).
It would be ideal if you had your own real Mr. Potato Head, then you could just tape the scriptures to his body parts. For those that don't I've got you covered(:
Pass out the body parts to the students and they can build the Mr. Potato Head any way they would like as they move through the scriptures. Point out that if we had a Mr. Potato Head with just eyes, or just hands, that would be interesting, but not very fun to play with.(: Point out that we all need each other. Even those that are behind the scene's are serving God in a wonderful way.
Here are some blank one, in case you wanted to write the scriptures on the back of the pieces. The scriptures do correlate with the body parts, so make sure you get the right scripture with the right body part(:
To help class members understand how to develop spiritual gifts, invite them to read 1 Corinthians 12:27–31; Moroni 7:48; 10:23, 30; Doctrine and Covenants 46:8.
If you would like, you can have your students write down all the gifts found in All these scriptures, or you can just pick a few for them to focus on. You can print more of these pages and Marvin J. Aston talk in my senior primary section (at the bottom of the page) HERE
What do these scriptures teach us about how to obtain spiritual gifts? How does developing spiritual gifts make us more like Christ? Invite class members to select a gift they would like to obtain and to seek the Lord’s help in acquiring that gift.
You can write each students name on the top and pass it around for everyone to write in a gift that person has.
This is from my team teacher, she texted all the parents and got one spiritual gift from each of them. Lined up the names of each student and had the students match up who's gift belongs to who. Love it!
I plan on doing this with my family this week, have them guess what gifts I see in them.
Click on the image be taken to Etsy.
Charity is the greatest spiritual gift.
You might ask class members to silently ponder 1 Corinthians 13 and think of someone they know who is a good example of one or more aspects of charity that Paul mentions. Some class members could describe the person they thought of and an experience in which this person exemplified charity. You might even list parts of Paul’s description on the board and invite class members to share ideas about what it means that a person with charity “suffereth long” or “is not easily provoked” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). How did the Savior exemplify these attributes of charity? What additional truths does Moroni 7:46–48 teach about charity?
Thank you David Butler, you inspired this idea.(:
Choose a student that you know you can have fun with. Tell them you got them a gift! A new pair of sunglasses! You can let them put them on, show everyone how good they look. Maybe even make up a story about how you know they are sensitive to the sun, so you decided to give them this awesome gift(: (BTW they sell cheap sunglasses at Dollar Tree)
Have a discussion on how this gift is worthless without the lens. Just like the gifts Heavenly Father gives us are worthless without love, or serving others. It is up to us to make these gift valuable.