Guarding Unity Through Love

Discussion Questions Week of: April 28, 2024 // Sermon Text: Ephesians 4:1-6 Sermon Overview Guard the unity God has given through love.1. We have unity in and from God (vv. 4-6)2. We are responsible to guard our unity through love (vv. 1-3)Digging Deeper:    1. What is the “therefore” in Ephesians 4:1 there for? How is Paul now transitioning to a new section in this letter? 2. As you look at your own attitudes and actions towards your church, how are you encouraged to see humility, gentleness and patience (vs. 2)? How could you grow in these areas?3. If someone experienced our Gospel Community, what kinds of observations do you think they’d make positively? Would they sense humility, gentleness, and patience? 4. If we’re being honest, what observations could someone make critically? Would they pick up on traits like being:a. Exclusive: it’s hard to meet and make friends hereb. Religious Show: people seem to have their lives figured out.c. Snobbery: people here thinks they’re better than me.d. Other: ___________________5. What is the difference between seeking to “create” unity, and seeking to maintain the unity (4:3) that already exists among us? 6. What are some reasons division could occur among individual believers within a church?  What are some reasons whole groups within a church could divide from other groups within a church?  What do such divisions communicate to a watching world? 7. How can you, individually, contribute to “maintaining the unity” in our church? How can we do that as a Gospel Community?8. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.  How should these realities breed unity among God’s people?  9. Have you experienced the goodness of dwelling in unity with God’s people (see Psalm 133)? How so? Please share.  What observations can you make from what God was up to in the midst of that situation?  Prayer