Week 5: Unity in the Gospel
- Humble Dependence, Not impressiveness
- 1 Corinthians 2:1
- Where are you most tempted to rely on eloquences or image rather than dependence on God?
- Identify one situation (work, home, ministry) where you can intentionally depend on prayer rather than performance.
- What are you choosing to know?
- How does focusing on Christ crucified confront your expectations of what following Jesus should look like?
- Weakness as the stage for God’s Power
- Do you tend to hide weakness, overcompensate for it, or surrender it?
- Is there a safe believer you can be honest with about your trembling?
- Where have you seen the Spirit work in a way that clearly wasn’t human effort?
- What is your Faith resting on? (1 Corinthians 2:5)
- Name one false foundation you need to loosen your grip on.
- Spend time thanking God specifically for His power — not your own strength — sustaining you.
- What fears might be preventing us from stepping into what God is asking?
- Personal Contemplation:
- If my faith were examined this week, would it appear to rest on human wisdom…or on God’s power?
Week 4: Unity in the Gospel
- Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
- When you hear the phrase “the word of the cross,” what emotions or thoughts immediately come to mind?
- The Greek word mōria implies something absurd or embarrassing.
- In today’s culture, what about Christianity seems “embarrassing” to people?
- How have you personally experienced the cross as the power of God in your life?
- The sermon emphasized that “perishing” is a present trajectory, not just a future destination.
- How does that change the way we think about evangelism?
- Where do you see our culture elevating human wisdom above God’s wisdom?
- The sermon warned against trusting what “looks impressive.”
- What are some things Christians today may subtly boast in?
- How can we use intellect and reasoning without placing ultimate trust in them?
- Is your first instinct in difficulty to strategize or to pray? Why?
- The “upside-down Kingdom” challenges our instincts.
- Which Beatitude challenges you most?
- Look carefully at 1 Corinthians 1:30.
- What four things does Paul say Christ becomes for us, and how does each one address our deepest need?
Week 3: Unity in the Gospel
- BIG IDEA
- When preference replaces the gospel as our center, unity fractures and the power of the cross gets shrunk.
- Paul confronts division in Corinth by exposing how loyalty to people, style, or preference distorts the picture of Christ—and then he recenters the church on the cross, not the messenger.
- OPENING
- Icebreaker:
- Tell about a time you were part of a team, group, or organization that slowly became divided—not because of a crisis, but because of opinions, preferences, or sides being taken. What did that feel like?
- Transition question:
- Why do preferences feel harmless at first, but become destructive when they turn into identity?
- READ THE TEXT
- Read 1 Corinthians 1:10–17 out loud (have two or three people split the passage).
- Question: What words, phrases, or repeated ideas stand out to you as you hear this read?
- OBSERVE
- Key ideas Paul emphasizes in this passage:
- Appeal, not command – Paul urges them “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” grounding unity in theology, not preference.
- No divisions (schisma) – a slow tear, not a clean break.
- Same mind and same judgment – unity of direction, not uniformity of opinion.
- Quarreling – loud, ongoing conflict that becomes a pattern.
- Loyalty to leaders – “I follow Paul… Apollos… Cephas… Christ.”
- Rhetorical questions – “Is Christ divided?” exposing how absurd the division has become.
- The cross – the ultimate reference point that relativizes every leader and preference.
- Message over messenger – Paul refuses to let his role compete with Christ’s work.
- Discussion prompts:
- What problem does Paul address first in Corinth, and why do you think he starts here?
- How does Paul describe division AND Why does this matter?
- DISCUSS
- Why do you think Paul treats division as a gospel issue, not just a relational issue?
- The sermon said: “Division doesn’t just hurt relationships—it distorts the picture of Christ.”
- How does division inside the church weaken our witness outside the church?
- Paul says unity is not uniformity.
- What’s the difference between healthy diversity and destructive division?
- The sermon emphasized: “The enemy of unity isn’t conflict. It’s preference dressed up as conviction.”
- How can you tell the difference between true conviction and personal preference?
- Why do preferences become especially dangerous when they attach themselves to leaders, styles, or personalities?
- Paul names Chloe’s household as the source of the report.
- What does this teach us about the difference between loving confrontation and quiet complaining?
- The sermon said: “It’s easier to complain to friends than to speak honestly to the people involved.”
- Where do you see that temptation show up in your own life?
- When you disagree with something in the church, what usually comes out of you first—prayer, conversation with the person involved, or conversation with others? What does that reveal about what’s shaping your heart in those moments?
- Paul says he was sent to preach the gospel, not to build a following.
- How does a church drift from being gospel-centered to consumer-centered?
- The sermon warned that when we “dress up the cross,” we risk emptying it of its power.
- What are subtle ways churches—or individuals—try to make the gospel more impressive, palatable, or aligned with preference?
Week 2: Unity in the Gospel
- BIG IDEA
- When we forget our identity, we drift into behaviors that don’t fit the “uniform.”
Paul begins 1 Corinthians by grounding a messy church in what is already true: God called you, set you apart, gifted you, and will sustain you—so live from who you are.
- OPENING
- Icebreaker:
- Tell about a time you were in a role (job, team, family responsibility) but forgot what the role required. What happened?
- Transition question: Why is it easier to try to change behavior than to remember and live from identity?
- READ THE TEXT
- Read 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 out loud (have two people split it).
- Then ask: What words or phrases stand out immediately?
- OBSERVE
- Key identity words Paul uses:
- Called (Paul is “called…by the will of God”; believers are “called to be holy”)
- Sanctified (set apart in Christ)
- Saints (not earned—given)
- Grace and peace (grace first, peace flows from it)
- Enriched / not lacking (God has already supplied what’s needed)
- God will keep you firm (God sustains what God starts)
- God is faithful (the foundation of security)
- Discussion prompts:
- What is Paul trying to accomplish before he confronts any problems in Corinth?
- What’s the difference between “identity” and “behavior” in this passage?
- DISCUSS
- Why do you think Paul starts with who they are instead of what they’re doing wrong?
- Where do you see Christians (or churches) trying to fix behavior without returning to identity?
- What does it mean to be sanctified if you’re still struggling with sin?
- Paul calls them “saints” even though they’re messy. How does that reframe the way you see your own spiritual growth?
- Paul says they “do not lack any spiritual gift.” If they have everything they need, why are they still struggling?
- The sermon emphasized: “The issue wasn’t provision. It was alignment.”
- What are common ways we become misaligned—even while still active in church?
- Verse 8 says God will “keep you firm to the end.” How does that encourage you?
- How can someone misunderstand this and use it as an excuse to drift?
- The sermon said: “The problem wasn’t that they didn’t have enough of God. The problem was that God didn’t have enough of them.”
- What does “God having enough of me” look like practically this week?
- Kevin said, “When pressure comes, what identity do I live from—my old self or Christ in me?” Take a second and think about that.
- Where have you been drifting lately? (thought patterns, reactions, speech, priorities)
- What’s one “identity truth” from 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 you need to rehearse If discussion gets heavy, keep bringing the group back to the passage:
- Paul isn’t denying sin—he’s anchoring identity first so repentance becomes a return to what’s already true in Christ.
Week 1: Unity in the Gospel
- Primary Texts: 1 Corinthians (overview), Acts 18, 2 Timothy 3:16–17
- Warm-Up Question:
- Have you ever jumped into the middle of a movie or series and felt completely lost? How did missing the beginning affect your understanding?
- BIG IDEA
- First Corinthians reminds us that the church is called to be formed by Scripture, not shaped by culture. When the church drifts, God lovingly calls His people to wake up, pursue unity over preference, holiness over hype, and love as the more excellent way.
- DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Understanding Context
- Why does it matter that the Bible was written for us, but not directly to us?
- How can knowing the background of Corinth help us better understand Paul’s tone and urgency in this letter?
- Flip through 1 Corinthians, taking note of the chapter and paragraph headers. Which topics are you most excited to learn about? Which ones do you think will be most controversial? Why?
- The Man Behind the Letter
- How does Paul’s story—from persecutor to pastor—shape the way you hear his words to Corinth?
- Why is it significant that Paul writes this letter not from comfort, but from suffering and faithfulness?
- A Church Influenced by Its City
- Corinth was wealthy, influential, and morally confused. Where do you see similarities between Corinth and our culture today?
- In what ways can a church today subtly begin to look more like the culture than like Christ?
- Unity, Preference, and Drift
- Why do preferences (style, personalities, methods) so easily become sources of division in the church?
- Paul confronts factions built around leaders instead of Christ. What modern equivalents of “I follow Paul” or “I follow Apollos” do we see today?
- Looking in the Mirror
- The sermon said that reading 1 Corinthians is like looking in a mirror. What areas of church life—or personal faith—might God want to lovingly correct in you?
- How does being “sanctified in Christ” give both confidence and responsibility in how we live?
- LIVING IT OUT
- Personal Reflection:
- This week, ask God to show you one area where culture may be shaping your thinking more than Scripture.
- Prayer Prompt:
- Pray for unity in your church—specifically that love would outweigh preference and humility would guide conversations.