That All of Them May Be One

In one paragraph

Pastor Joseph Kamau Kabui of Tigoni Baptist Church in Kenya brought the message on Sunday, June 29. He preached from John 17:20-26, the section of Jesus's high priestly prayer that looks beyond the disciples to all future believers. His focus was the unity Jesus asked the Father to give his people, and what that unity is meant to show the world. Pastor Kamau opened by noting something distinctive...

Read together

1. John 17:20-26 the main passage read and preached from, Jesus's high priestly prayer for the unity of believers
2. Acts 4 Peter and John arrested by the Sanhedrin, who marveled that unlearned men had been with Jesus
3. Revelation John's vision of all nations, tribes, and languages gathered before God in heaven, used to illustrate the believer's eternal dwelling

Talk about it

1. Pastor Kamau described Jesus praying John 17 while his disciples were listening, and compared it to the weight a person's last words carry in African culture. What does it mean to you that Jesus used some of his final hours before the cross to pray specifically for the unity of future believers?
2. Pastor Kamau said that when believers are divided it can show that some may not be fully aware of who called them. Do you agree with that? Why or why not?
3. Pastor Kamau used the image of friends gathering around a mutual friend, saying the shared friend is what draws them together. How does that picture shape the way you think about what unity among believers is actually based on?
4. Pastor Kamau said our lifestyle at times speaks more about Christ than our words do, and that when we are united people around us will desire to come to Jesus. Where have you seen that play out, or where have you seen the opposite?
5. Pastor Kamau said believers can face their differences because they know where they are going, and he joked that in eternity your neighbor might be someone you struggled to love here. How does keeping that eternal perspective in view change the way you approach conflict or division with other believers right now?