We are continuing in our SEEK FIRST series with the next message on seeking unity not sameness. In this sermon, Mark shares the difference between the two and how putting Jesus at the center changes everything.

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1. What has your experience been with the journal this week? What is staying with you?
2. What are some ways you think a kingdom of sameness and a kingdom of unity are different? 
3. What are the reasons we or others might be drawn to a kingdom of sameness over unity?  What is lost in kingdoms of sameness? 
4. In John 17, Jesus shared his prayer for the future church. Read John 17:20-23. What do you notice in these verses about the meaning and importance of unity? 
5. Mark talked about three kinds of church: bounded-set, boundless-set, and center-set. How do you describe the differences in these groups? What are some of the advantages or disadvantages some might perceive in each of them?
6. Read Romans 15:5-7. What would it look like to have the same attitude of mind and Jesus-centered acceptance of others in your life this week?

SEEK FIRST: Unity And Not Sameness

Mark continues in our Third Way series by exploring the difference between wells and fences, the power of a shared center, and why Jesus is enough to hold us together.

Colossians 1:15-20

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How would you describe the difference between center-set (wells) groups and bounded-set (fences) groups? What are their key characteristics?

2. In your recounting of the Gospels, how does Jesus challenge the religious/ethnic fences of his day?

3. What stayed with you from the sermon- either as confusion, curious or encouraging?

4. Paul wrote the poem in the middle of the first chapter of Colossians to stretch the spiritual imagination of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. Read Colossians 1:15-20. What inspires adoration and worship? What inspires a sense of mystery and wonder?

5. Read Jesus’ prayer for the Church in John 17:20-23. Why do you think unity is so important to Jesus?

6. From our Third Way document, we find these words- “The Third Way is formed and shaped by Jesus — his posture, his priorities, his teaching, and his pattern of love. Rather than prioritizing doctrines or debates, we seek to organize and focus our lives around Christ.” With this in mind, what does it practically mean to have Jesus in the center of our individual lives? What does it mean to have Jesus at center of our church? 

End in prayer for one another. Perhaps, have your prayers be in response to the conversation from question #6, and pray that we would center Jesus in our lives more and more. 


New tracks tagged #center-set