Behold How Good and Pleasant It Is

In one paragraph

This sermon worked through 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 alongside Jesus's prayer in John 17, centering on unity in the church body and how forgiveness is the means of protecting that unity. The pastor opened with a youth trip illustration and closed by playing a video on division in the church. The thread running through everything was a simple claim: Christ's design is unity through forgiveness, and...

Read together

1. Psalm 133:1 quoted to describe the unity experienced on the youth trip and as a lead-in to the sermon's theme
2. John 17 read nearly in full as Jesus's garden prayer for unity among believers, used as the theological backdrop for the 2 Corinthians passage
3. 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 the main preaching text, on restoring a repentant sinner and forgiving so that Satan would not outwit the church
4. 1 John 1 referenced briefly in prayer: 'if we confess our sin, You're faithful and just to cleanse us from all wickedness'
5. Romans 8:31 cited as good news: 'If God is for us, who can be against us?'
6. Psalm 7:13 read from a shirt Renzy wore at Lagoon, about God preparing deadly weapons and fiery arrows
7. Psalm 71:1 read aloud as the correct reference that should have been on the shirt: 'In you, oh Lord, do I take refuge'
8. Psalm 71:3 quoted as the intended verse: 'Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may continually come'

Talk about it

1. The pastor read Jesus's prayer in John 17 several times, where Jesus asks that his followers 'may be one even as we are one.' What does it mean to you personally that Jesus was praying for unity among believers on the night he was betrayed?
2. The pastor pointed out that Paul leaves the identity of the sinning person and the specific sin deliberately vague in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11. As you read that passage, did anyone come to mind that you have pulled back from or withheld fellowship from because of their choices?
3. Paul writes that forgiveness is given 'so that we would not be outwitted by Satan,' and the pastor described unforgiveness as one of Satan's primary tools for creating division. Where have you seen unforgiveness do that kind of damage, either in a church or in a relationship?
4. The pastor contrasted Christ's designs, unity through forgiveness, love, truth and understanding, with Satan's designs of division, unforgiveness, hatred, lies and misunderstanding. Which side of that contrast do you find hardest to live out, and why?
5. The pastor mentioned that the congregation has people from around 30 different denominational backgrounds, and said 'if we center ourselves around God's word, he'll bring us together.' What does that kind of unity actually look like in practice, and what gets in the way of it?