25 October 2020 - 11am Service

United We Stand: A House Divided

This Sunday we continue our preaching series United We Stand with a message from Nigel Savage on ‘A House Divided’.

As a Church, unity is one of our defining values. Without unity, we are unlikely to see our city transformed. In practice, there can be a ‘drag’ away from unity into parochial mindsets and divisions. As a body of believers, we want to actively seek to be unified, and in doing so, see positive transformation.

Remember, our 7pm service is also looking at this topic, and Jon Wilcox will be sharing with us. Check it out!

You will find discussion notes below to help you go deeper with this topic during the week.

DISCUSSION NOTES

INTRODUCTION | Read Luke 11:17

Jesus taught that division weakens and destroys a ‘household’ or organisation, and that it will lose power through division. Has todays Church lost power through its divisions? Historically the Church has divided over apparently trivial things, and theological niceties (e.g. Do we baptise in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, or in the name of Jesus?). Churches divide most over passionately held beliefs- which is a challenge to zealous Christians!

STUDY QUESTIONS

How can Church celebrate diversity and mutual respect of others, especially when people believe passionately on a particular issue?

What things do Churches divide on? Which of these are vulnerabilities for us? (Check out 3 John 1:9, 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Cor 11:22, James 2, Galatians 2:11, Acts 6:1)
Why do you think it is said ‘the biggest enemy of revival is the revival that preceded it’? How open are we to the new and fresh?
What are the particular problems that Churches face as they grow large around divisions?
What does Luke 9:48/Luke 22:24 tell us about division and how to avoid it?
How much was the power of the early Church in Acts 4 onwards linked to their unity?