BIG PICTURE: Christians can believe and do some strange things…we can be kind of weird. Jesus calls us to a life that is counter-cultural; a life of unity that causes those on the outside to take notice. That’s the right kind of “weird.”
TEXT: John 17:20-23
KEY VERSE: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – John 17:21
CAN WE FACE THE TRUTH?
The truth is - people are
Religion sometimes
We tend to be weird about the wrong stuff and miss the “
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. —Romans 12:2 MSG
CALLED TO UNITY (John 17:20-23)
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. —John 17:20-23
Christians can
Likeminded vs.
Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. —Philippians 2:2
Different by
Differences are opportunities for us to
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another —Proverbs 27:17
NEXT STEP: What bridge can I build? What divide can I cross? Who can I reach out to this week and be a part of Jesus’ prayer for unity?