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May 07, 2023

John - The Unifier (click for resources)

Passage: John 17:20-26

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: John: Come and See

Category: Grace Brevard

Keywords: love, identity, calling, unity

Jesus' prayer in John 17 has proclaimed the infinite and glorious glory of our Triune God, followed by an invitation to and proclamation of the calling and role of believers to enjoy their identity as Image-Bearers while remaining "in the world" as agents of the Gospel. Now Jesus concludes his prayer (and is about to be arrested) with a plea for Unity. As we bask in God's glory and live in the world but not of the world, we are to be One with the Lord and One with one another, symbiotically pursuing His Kingdom through loving those around us.

Theme: Jesus' prayer in John 17 has proclaimed the infinite and glorious glory of our Triune God, followed by an invitation to and proclamation of the calling and role of believers to enjoy their identity as Image-Bearers while remaining "in the world" as agents of the Gospel. Now Jesus concludes his prayer (and is about to be arrested) with a plea for Unity. As we bask in God's glory and live in the world but not of the world, we are to be One with the Lord and One with one another, symbiotically pursuing His Kingdom through loving those around us.

Central Text: John 17
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Sermon Discussion Questions:

1) When have you been part of a "unified" group (team, band, group...). What was that like?

 

2) Talk about a time when you were part of a severely dis-unified group.

 

3) List out some characteristics of a group that is truly unified.

 

4) Talk through the 3 spheres of unity (each leads to the other).

a) God is Unified Within Himself - The Trinity - 3 in 1

b) Believers are Unified with God - We are the "Bride of Christ"

c) Believers are Unified with One Another

 

5) Why is it essential to understand (a) and (b) for (c) to be possible?

 

6) Why is Christian Unity SO HARD?

 

7) What is it that truly binds us all together into ONE?

 

8) What do you think about the quote:
"In Essentials Unity; In Non-Essentials Liberty; In All Things Charity"

 

9) What's "Essential"
What Non-Essentials do we often get hung up on?

10) What might Christian Unity actually look like, and how can we get there?

 

11) Why does Jesus say that UNITY would draw non-believers to Christ?