That All of Them May Be One

In one paragraph

Pastor Kamau preached from John 17:20-26, the portion of Jesus' high priestly prayer where He prays specifically for future believers. He focused on what Christian unity is meant to demonstrate to the watching world, drawing four reasons from the text. Pastor Kamau opened by noting that John 17 is different from the Garden of Gethsemane prayer recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Here, Jesus prays...

Read together

1. Luke 12:7 read before opening worship to welcome the congregation
2. Hebrews 4:16 read as a call to prayer before the offering time
3. John 17:20-26 the main passage for Pastor Kamau's sermon on unity
4. Acts 4 cited to illustrate how Peter and John's time with Jesus was visible in their bearing and speech
5. Revelation referenced to picture all nations and languages gathered before God in heaven as an image of ultimate unity

Talk about it

1. Pastor Kamau said that in Africa, a person's last words are highly valued, and that Jesus prayed John 17 while his disciples were listening. What does it mean to you that Jesus used some of his final hours to pray specifically for the unity of future believers, including us?
2. Pastor Kamau pointed to the African saying 'I am because we are' and applied it to life in the body of Christ. How have you experienced that idea in your own faith, and where do you think it breaks down in practice?
3. Pastor Kamau noted that when the Sanhedrin looked at Peter and John, they recognized that these men had been with Jesus. What do you think that kind of recognizable presence looks like in a local church today, and what gets in the way of it?
4. Pastor Kamau said that our unity is a call to evangelism, and that our lifestyle often speaks louder than our words about Christ. Where have you seen that to be true, and where have you seen disunity among believers quietly undermine a witness?
5. Pastor Kamau closed by connecting our unity now to our eternal dwelling together, joking that 'your bed may be next to mine, and that would be forever.' How does the reality of eternity together change the way you think about the divisions and differences that feel significant right now?