Eye Drops Off Shelves!
July 26, 2026
No, it wasn’t a rolling eyeball–it was the title of an article on tainted eye drops :) We’ve all seen headlines that lead us astray. In this week’s episode of ‘Real Mess, Real Hope’ we study a passage that often gets the wrong headline.
1. The sermon opened with headlines that missed the mark (“Eye Drops Off Shelves,” “Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim”). What’s a Bible verse or passage about which many people get the headline wrong? How about you? What did you assume it meant before, and what do you think now?
2. In the sermon we stated that “If Scripture never collides with your way of living, thinking, or being in the world, you’re probably not reading it honestly.” When was the last time Scripture actually collided with something you believed or wanted? What did you do with it?
3. READ 1 Corinthians 11:3-6 This is one of the most debated passages in the New Testament—even top scholars disagree about what Paul was addressing. How do you typically respond when Scripture is unclear—dig deeper, dismiss it, speculate, ignore it, land on the first answer you hear? What does your default reveal?
4. The sermon offered a different way to read “the head of the woman is man” —understanding “head” as “source” (like the headwaters of a river) rather than “chief” or “leader.” How does that shift the passage for you? What feels different?
5. In this passage, women are praying and prophesying (proclaiming God’s truth) in the worship gathering—a radical break from Jewish synagogue practice. Does this surprise you? How is it different from what you’ve experienced?
6. READ 1 Corinthians 11:7-10 What seems to be the issue in the Corinthian church? Paul isn’t upset that women are teaching; he’s addressing something specific —possibly a leftover from pagan worship they’d carried into Christian worship. What “carryovers” or assumptions might we bring into worship or Christian community from the surrounding culture that we don’t even notice?
7. READ 1 Corinthians 11:11-13 How do these verses add clarity to the whole passage? How does this interdependence show up—or fail to show up—in our church, your marriage, friendships, or workplace? Where would you say Paul’s vision of interdependence is most needed right now?
8. Where have you needed to “cover your head” in the past—laid down a right, a preference, or a way of doing things—for the sake of someone else’s ability to worship, grow, or belong? Where do you need to do it now?
9. In our comment on “because the angels are watching” in v10, we mentioned that “we’re pretty much in the dark” about what that means. How does it sit with you when a teacher, leader, or pastor says “I don’t know”? What do we lose when we pretend certainty we don’t actually have?
10. On Sunday we said, “This letter was not written to us, but it was written for us.” How does that distinction change the way you read passages that feel foreign or confusing? What does it protect you from—and what does it invite you into?
11. What next step does this passage or our discussion lead you toward?