Week 3: Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, discuss the following: “Name a time you experienced division or disunity.” (It could be at work, at church, on a sports team, within a family, etc.)

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-18.

Paul is honest about his purpose for writing the letter (v. 10). The ways in which the people are divided will become more apparent as the letter goes on. What might it look like to experience a church where there are “no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose”? What might that feel like? What might that smell like?
Why do you think it is human nature to be drawn into certain allegiances, much as the Corinthians did? (Today, this can be seen in allegiances such as Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, southerners, northerners, Americans, etc.) [Labels and markers give us a group to belong to. It becomes easy to know who we are with and therefore with whom we are not.]
Does it seem realistic that we are of the “same mind and the same purpose” (verse 10)? With so many denominations, what does this look like today?
What does Paul put forward as a solution to the divisions (verses 17-18)? [The cross is a symbol of disgrace and humility. Nothing is lower, more shameful, more dishonorable than being crucified.] How is the cross unifying? [At the cross, we are all equal. We are all identified with the Messiah who was willing take on shame and dishonor. More binding than nationalism or gender or race or class or any other marker is that we as the body of Christ are being remade into the image of the Christ who willingly went to the cross for the redemption of the world.]
If you were to draw the body of Christ, what and who might be included in this drawing? Who is present? Who is excluded? What voices and languages are present?
How might your church begin to live into that vision?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End by praying the following or a similar prayer:

God of redemption, we thank you that we are part of the wonderfully diverse body of Christ that transcends nationalities, ethnicities, and even time. Give us the eyes to see others within the body of Christ who are in need and how we as the body of Christ might extend your care and love to them and those who are not yet part of your family. Amen.