StoneBridge Community Church
Senior Pastor Jon Saur
In Cultivate, we will be turning to Paul's letter to the Philippians to see how God cultivates churches so that churches will produce a "harvest of righteousness."
Philippians 1:15-18 NRSV
Sermon Outline
To help you follow along, here is a rough outline of the sermon for this week, .
I. Paul's Situation
A. Paul is in prison
B. People are proclaiming Christ around him.
C. Some have good intentions, some have bad intentions.
II. Church Division
A. Part of history of the church.
B. Humans divide.
C. Stories of church division.
III. Paul's example
A. The division doesn't matter to Paul.
B. Christ being proclaimed matters to Paul.
C. Looks past the division and rejoices that Christ is proclaimed.
IV. No easy fixes.
A. Division is with us and won't just go away overnight.
B. Can't just tell the church to "stop dividing."
V. Three truths
A. Here are three truths that can help guide our practice
1. Not everything is a crisis.
a. Calvin's Essentials - Trinity, Jesus, God saves us.
b. Help us navigate the severity of a disagreement.
2. The Church's purpose is to proclaim Christ. This should guide every decision we make.
3. The Church is God's, not ours.
B. May the Holy Spirit bring us to the place Paul was in when he wrote this letter, so that we rejoice at Christ being proclaimed.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever witnessed or been a part of a church split? What was the aftermath of this split for those involved? Looking back, in what ways might you see that God was at work or able to use the situation, despite the many feelings involved.
2. What is the most ridiculous issue you've heard about a church splitting over?
3. What is your perspective on Paul's view of division in his day? How might you adapt Paul's perspective and apply it to your own life?
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