5: All to the Glory of God-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared for Sabbath School Class on August 1.

Photograph by William Earnhardt

Key Text: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NKJV).

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 8:-13.

Study: Why does Paul contrast knowledge with love, and what is the context here? What point is he making?

Apply: Paul argues that, without love, knowledge may become a bad thing (1 Corinthians 8). In what situations can knowledge without love indeed be bad?

Share: Your friend asks if Paul says we were not to make an issue of eating food sacrificed to idols, then why is it condemned in Revelation 2:20 in the message to Thyatira? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 9:1-6.

Study: How does this passage provide a practical example of what it means to practice self-denial motivated by love?

Apply: What are things that, though they perhaps are due you, you might still be better off relinquishing in order to be a more effective witness for the Lord?

Share: Your friend says it is not fair for the pastor to expect her husband, who is a local elder, to preach for no charge, while the pastor gets paid to preach. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 10:5-22

Study: What sins did Israel commit in the wilderness, and why do the privileges granted to them make their sins even worse? Why must we flee from idolatry?

Apply: An idol doesn’t have to be a stone statue. We can make an idol out of just about anything. What idols, if any, do you need to flee from in your own life?

Share: Your friend says it’s hard to believe 1 Corinthians 10:13 when he keeps trying and trying to overcome his addiction and always failing. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 1-:17-22, Mark 12:38-31, and 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Study: How can 1 Corinthians 10:31 help us have the proper motivation in keeping the Spirit of the law? How can it also help us guard against legalism?

Apply: As you examine your actions and activities over the last week, how many of those actions and activities glorified God? How can we make sure we are glorifying God in all we do?

Share: Your friend says that when we break the commandments, we put ourselves first rather than God and others and thus making idols of ourselves. What do you tell your friend?

Mission: How can you show and encourage your friends and family to glorify God in their weekly activities?

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5: All to the Glory of God-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan — 3 Comments

John Herscher on July 27, 2026 at 10:36 am said:

Your friend asks if Paul says we were not to make an issue of eating food sacrificed to idols, then why is it condemned in Revelation 2:20 in the message to Thyatira? What do you tell your friend?

This is a difficult question? There may be other text to help, maybe someone has more insight. I did read all of 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, my thoughts are that Paul was looking at idols fed food, a tendency to fall for worship of idols by eating the food if weak(especially coming out of idolatry to Christianity. Paul was strong, and was pointing out that it was not the food rather the worship of idols, breaking of the first couple of ten commandments. Yet he understood some are weak. I gather he would himself not be seen in a temple where idol worship took place, even to just eat the food, as it would be a stumbling block to many in Corinth. That still does not answer the question of eat food offered to idols, yes or no, in context of Revelation 2:20. I’ll let someone else tackle that. Please, before this Sabbath morning. And feel free to correct and / or give your thoughts on 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.

Reply ↓
- Inge Anderson on July 27, 2026 at 1:00 pm said:
  
  There is also this: As I understand it, likely all meat was offered to idols before being offered for sale in the market place. That’s why some didn’t give the idea a thought, and others ate only vegetables.
  
  Reply ↓
- Christina Waller on July 27, 2026 at 8:39 pm said:
  
  I think when we look at all of I Corinthians, we see Paul saw some meat offered to idols as very negative and some less so. He definitely did not support being part of temple rituals (see I Corinthians 10:14-22). However, eating meat from the market place or in someone’s home that might have been offered to idols was not as much of a concern (unless, of course, it bothered another believer). There was no connection to idolatry in these situations. It was pretty harmless.
  
  My guess is that John’s references in Revelation referred more to meat offered to idols in actual worship. The Bible doesn’t contradict itself, so this makes the most sense to me.
  
  We don’t have meat offered to idols today, but there are many things that parallel. For me, one of them is music. I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music. (Just for a disclaimer, I mean music genres and styles – I don’t mean anything goes in terms of lyrics) Some have dubious histories. I feel that I can enjoy this music in my home. But I wouldn’t go out to a club and listen to that music there because the environment is not wholesome. Maybe there’s drinking and partying. But for me in my personal life, the music doesn’t have that power. That being said, if I knew that another Christian was uncomfortable with that music, I wouldn’t play it around them. It might have associations for them that were negative. We can probably think of other things that are similar.
  
  Reply ↓

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5: All to the Glory of God-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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5: All to the Glory of God-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan — 3 Comments

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