Phase 1 – Week 3

 

No Longer Strangers

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1. Take a few minutes to introduce any new participants.
    

2. Commit the group time to prayer. Specifically pray for a space in this group to have honest reflection and critique that is rooted in humility and love for one another. 
    

3. Watch the video.
    

4. Read Ephesians 2:11-22.
    

5. Nurturing our Head, Heart, and Hands Questions (Outcome #1):
   
   a.What are the various ways in which Paul describes the peace that Christ brings?
   
   b.Paul states in verse 14 that Christ has made “us both one,” and then inverse 15 that Christ has “one new man in place of the two.” This means that in Christ, there is a new race (Jesus is the second Adam). The primary identity of this new race is faith in Christ, not ethnicity. As a Christian, how can you find your primary identity in Christ, without denying or rejecting your biological identity (ex: in Christ someone is still is a man or woman with a particular ethnic heritage)?
   
   c.What are ways we can be tempted to oscillate in unhealthy directions (ex: denying any significance to our gender/ethnic heritage or elevating our gender/ethnic heritage above identity in Christ)?
    

6. Hearing the Voices of Members Questions (Outcome #2): Paul is clear in this passage that Christ brings unity where there is division through his redemptive work. One of the ways he did this with Jews and Gentiles is by abolishing the ceremonial elements of the Mosaic Law that maintained their division by serving as a “dividing wall of hostility” (vs. 14-15). The New Testament has many examples of Jewish Christians seeking to rebuild this wall that was broken down by Christ. Functional unity that reflects theologicalunity is difficult to achieve. Sometimes in the body of Christ we seek to rebuild walls Jesus has torn down.  
   
   a.What walls exist in the life of City Church (think non-biblical barriers that would unintentionally exclude others)?
   
   b.What are things City Church can practically do to visibly show we are “fellow citizens,” “no longer strangers,” and together “members of the household of God” regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic status, or any other difference that may normally separate us? a few minutes to allow each person to introduce themselves. 
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7. Take a few moments to individually submit your answers to the Members’ Voice questions.
    

8. Close in prayer.