1. Jim Marshall is famous for his 66 yard run to the wrong end zone. Have you ever had a ‘Jim Marshall moment,’ where you realized your terrible mistake after the fact? How did it make you feel?

2. Read 1 Cor 9:19-23. What is Paul’s AIM in these verses? What does it mean here to ‘win’?

3. What is Paul’s STRATEGY for achieving his aim? In discussing strategy today, Robb mentioned Incarnational Ministry and People Groups. What do these terms mean, and how do they relate to Paul’s strategy?

4. How are you or your Community Group custom built for ministry? What unique skills, knowledge, access, position, etc. do you have? And how can you help remove barriers to gospel movement among a particular people?

5. Read 1 Cor 9:24-27. Paul uses imagery from the Isthmian Games to communicate a sense of URGENCY and focus. What ‘perishable wreaths’ - or temporal rewards - are believers in our culture tempted to pursue? What does it look like for us to ‘run to win’?

1. Dr John M Perkins said, “Whoever controls your values controls you.” Who controls values in our society? In the Christian community? In your family or personal life? Share an example of how values affect actions.

2. Read 1 Cor 9:1-12. What ‘rights’ does Paul assert he has? What justifications does he cite?

3. What reason does he offer for foregoing these rights in vv12, 15?

4. Read 1 Cor 9:18-19. In your own words, explain Paul’s motive for preaching “free of charge.” How does Paul’s motivation and use of Christian freedom compare with those with ‘knowledge’ in 1 Cor 8?

5. Paul’s excursus in chpt 9 is meant to be an example to the church. How can his example, and the example of Dr Perkins, be followed in our context? Answer the question, “Where is God leading me to freely make myself a servant for the sake of the Gospel?”

• Join the Hampton Roads City Collective to pray at noon tomorrow

• Learn more about Dr John M Perkins

1. When you hear people talk about ‘liberty’ or ‘rights’, what do you think of? What are our most basic liberties? What rights are most often threatened, and how?

2. Read 1 Cor 8:1-7. In your own words, explain the controversy involving food sacrificed to idols. If you have children in your group, ask them to explain it back to you. Why do you think idol food was such a controversial subject for the new believers in Corinth?

3. Robb defined Christian liberty as, “Freedom from the slavery of earning acceptance with God.” What are some common ways people in our culture try to earn acceptance, either with God or with others? What is one way you are tempted to earn, rather than receive the free gift of sonship and acceptance in Christ (Gal 4:7)?

4. How is liberty in Christ abused in 1 Cor 8? What are some common ways modern Christians might use the freedom we have in Christ to ‘puff up’ ourselves rather than build up others?

5. How has Jesus used his freedom to serve in love? Spend time recounting Jesus’ free acts of love toward us out loud (read verses, or say recount in your own words). Worshipping Jesus is transformative, helping to conform us to his image, fueling our devotion and obedience.

6. What specific ways can you exercise your freedom in Christ to serve in love this week? Share your ideas with one another and pray for each other.

Discussion Questions

• As you think about the different evaluation question about what you actually value and what is actually your purpose in life, what are your answers?

  • Where did you experience loss in 2020?  What does that tell you?

  • What priorities stayed priorities in 2020?  What does that tell you?

• When you catch yourself daydreaming about 2021, what are your daydreams?  What does that tell you?

• Does it feel too dramatic to paint a picture of the world that is cosmic in scale and dire in consequence?  To say (and believe) that Satan and the world are trying to woo us into throwing our lives away and abandoning our faith?

  • What would change for you if you truly believed that?

  • How would you interact with the four items Peter lays out (prayer, love, hospitality, and serving)?

• Share a time when you experienced the joyful worship of having been saved.

• Share a time when you experienced the struggle of being in the process of being saved.

• In looking ahead to 2021, where do you think God’s purpose of his glorying through the saving death of Jesus is leading you to be giving help in the “holding on” of being saved, and where do you think he’s leading you to be getting help in staying the course of faith?

Look at the Bible

• 4:11b is the end of a number of Peter’s sections in 1 Peter.  In those sections, we see themes of judgement, suffering for good (which, I think, is Peter’s way of saying, “hold on”), evangelism, and rejoicing in salvation.  Discuss how you see those themes happening today.

• You can’t be in 1 Peter and not look at 2:19-25.  How do you see that happening for yourself today as you say, “no” to creating your own purpose, and say, “yes” to God’s purpose of glorifying himself through saving you?

1. Take a moment to recall some of your past ‘resolutions.’ These may be new year’s resolutions or just important life goals you set for yourself at some other point in time. Did you accomplish the goals you set? If you did, what impact did that accomplishment have on your life? What do these particular resolutions say about you, your strengths and weaknesses, and your notion of ‘the good life’?

2. Read Matthew 28:18-20. What activities come to mind when you think about ‘making disciples’? How do those activities compare or contrast with the three participles (Going, Baptizing, and Teaching) Jesus uses in the passage?

3. Think of concrete examples from your own experience that illustrate going, baptizing, and teaching. Where have you seen these commands obeyed faithfully? What was the result?

4. Read Matthew 1:23 and Matthew 28:20 together. These two verses form an inclusio, a literary bracket in Matthew’s gospel that frames his message. In your own words, what is the message being conveyed? Why is it significant that Jesus finishes with this message, rather than with the commands? What does it say about Jesus’ notion of ‘the good life’?

5. Take time to share with one another how God may be leading you to obey the great commission in 2021. Where might you go, who might you baptize/enfold, and how can you teach? Pray together for the Lord’s leading, empowerment, and joy for the year ahead.

1. Take a moment to silently recall one of your most joyful memories, and also one of the most painful. Which came to mind more quickly? Which memory is more vivid? Why might that be?

2. Read Hebrews 1:7-9. In your own words, explain the comparison being made between angels and the Son. Who is speaking in v8? Who is being addressed? What part does the dialog play in the comparison being made?

3. In v9, what are we told about this special anointing? How is the oil described? Why is the ceremony being performed? Compare this verse with Hebrews 12:2. What similarities can you find?

4. The ‘companions’ of v9 are believers who participate in Christ’s saving work by faith (Heb 3:1). In what way do believers participate in the joy of Jesus?

5. When hard times come, what practical steps can we take to resist the temptation to despair and instead press into the joy of God?

6. Sing a Christmas carol together to celebrate God’s joy (Joy To The World, etc.).

1. Recall your favorite Christmas memory. Which of the 4 Advent themes does your memory most reflect - Hope, Peace, Love, Joy? What else makes the memory special?

2. Read Colossians 1:15-17. What is Jesus’ relationship to creation in these verses? Recall this morning’s sermon; what does Paul mean by employing the language of ‘firstborn’? (See Psalm 89:27 for help)

3. Read Colossians 1:18. What does it mean that Jesus is preeminent? What is the connection between Jesus’ lordship over creation and his headship of the new creation, the church?

4. Read vv19-20. Paul shifts in these verses from speaking about Jesus as creator to speaking of him as reconciler and peacemaker. How is Jesus’ death and resurrection connected to this ministry of reconciliation?

5. How does Jesus’ Lordship affect our sense of peace? Spend time worshipping him together as Lord of both the creation and the new creation.

1. How has this year been for you and your family? Where do you go for strength when exhaustion and despair take over? Where’s your focus right now in making the most of your circumstances?

2. Read Philippians 2:1-5. What are Paul’s four appeals of motivation to the Philippians? What is the relationship between unity and humility in these verses?

3. Read Philippians 2:6-8. We focused in this sermon on the emptying of the incarnation. What are the starting and ending identity of Christ in these verses? Why do you think Paul nearly repeats himself: “being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form…”?

4. Compare Philippians 2:9-11 with Isaiah 45:14-25. What similarities do you see between these two passages of Scripture? In his commentary on Philippians, Moises Silva writes, “Whether or not Paul composed the Christ-hymn, it patently expresses his own conviction that the worship of Jesus Christ does not compromise Israel’s monotheistic faith. ON the contrary, Jesus Christ the righteous Savior bears the name of the one Lord, Yahweh, ‘to the glory of God the Father.’ (p. 112) Discuss as a group this idea that the name bestowed by God the Father on Jesus is the name LORD.

5. In this sermon, we looked at the effect of hope on our openness to suffering and on our gratitude. What grace upon grace will you need to imitate and worship Christ this week?

Discussion Questions

• Read through the whole passage.

• Some of the Corinthian teachers are trying to lead the church into celibacy which is allowable (and celebrated) by Scripture, but not prescribed. What are some times in your life that you’ve seen teachers or others lead people astray by defining their faith by the things they don’t do instead of what Christ did?

• What call (or calls) to remain in your circumstances stand out most to you? It may help to first discuss some different categories of circumstances; the way the can be defined is not neat, but worth discussing. For example: ethnicity, vocation, family of origin, socio-economic status, sexual desire, personality, personal sin struggles, marital status, and more.

• This is an in-depth question, but discuss the different ways that living in the circumstances of the different examples (married, single, married to non-Christian, embracing ethnicity, societal snobbery due to vocation, betrothed and choose to marry, betrothed and stay bethrothed) display the Gospel.

o For example, if you are single, have you ever felt like you would be more valuable to God or the church if you were married? Or vice versa, if married, have you ever thought that you would be more impactful for the kingdom if you were single? How does Paul encourage us in those circumstances?

• In this section, Paul is in majority discussing a sexual ethic instead of a marital manifesto. Have you ever viewed sexuality and what we do with it as a stewardship from God that is entrusted to you? Or have you always simply viewed it as something to stop doing?

• Do you find yourself more often considering Jesus as Savior or as Lord? How can we be encouraged and refreshed by considering him as both?

• What are circumstances that you face today that you want to hit eject on, but recognize that God has called you to remain in and steward for His glory?

• Paul gives an allowance for changing circumstances, but still pushed remaining in circumstances as the norm for Christians. Is that the way we view changing circumstances? Is this a corrective for us today when our society is so mobile and more able to change our circumstances than any generation before us?

Deeper Dive for Discussion

• We see in Paul encouraging the bondservant to get his freedom and telling us not to become slaves to men (in the bondservant sense) the Christian expectation of bondservant-ness (or slavery) being eradicated in a Christian sense. How can that help inform our current national conversation around race? Especially when paired with the expectation that people will embrace their ethnicity? If you are a part of ethnic majority culture, how can you help those in minority culture not believe that they need to be ethnically different than what they are? If you are part of the ethnic minority culture, have you ever felt pressured to conform to majority culture expectations of expression of faith? How can you help majority culture Christians see that and change?

• When Paul says that he has or does not have a command from the Lord, does that mean some things are Scripture and some things are not? No, he is simply saying that on some of these matters he had words directly from Jesus himself while on other matters Paul is giving his judgement as an apostle (and as Holy Spirit inspired Scripture).

• Paul seems to land inconclusively on the pros and cons of marriage and singleness. Why do you think he does this? How should we evaluate those things? IS one more worthy and valuable than another?

1. Can you recall a time when you suffered from feelings of shame or guilt? You don’t need to share the particulars of the situation with the group, but share with each other how shame and guilt affected your relationships with God and other people in your life.

2. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. What contrasts does Paul draw between our works (vv9-10) and God’s works (v11)? What is the effect of each?

3. In his sermon today, Robb called this ‘theology of identity’ the foundation of a Christian sexual ethic. What are the primary identity-shaping factors recognized in our broader culture? How do they compare or contrast with Paul’s claims in 1 Cor?

4. In his sermon today, Robb read several quotes from Laurence Koo, a Navigator who struggles with same sex attraction. What peculiar challenges might be faced by believers who struggle with SSA or gender dysphoria (‘feeling’ like one belongs to a gender other than their biological sex)? How might their experiences challenge and enrich the church at large?
   
   You can read more about Laurence in his study Homosexuality and Following Jesus.

5. Worship God together for the identity-shaping truths of the Gospel. Pray together for God’s healing and deliverance in the lives of one another and others in your lives, in light of 1 Cor 6:9-11.

For Further Study

1. Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. If verses 9-11 are a ‘theology of identity’, then verses 12-20 constitute a ‘theology of the body.’ What truths claims does Paul make about the body in these verses? What are the implications of those truth claims?

2. “All things are lawful for me” (v12) is understood by most scholars as a slogan in the Corinthian church, celebrating freedom in Christ. It may have even been a phrase that originated with Paul himself, only to be twisted and abused to justify licentiousness. What principles does Paul use here to temper the doctrine of Christian liberty?

3. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food” (v13) is another Corinthian slogan, used to minimize the significance of the body and its appetites (thereby justifying indulgence). Paul corrects the church by saying that the body is not for indulging appetites like sexual immorality, but “For the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” In what way is the body for the Lord? In what way is the Lord for the body? (For help, see the companion verse, Romans 6:13)

4. Read 1 Corinthians 6:18. In many NT passages, we are told to ‘stand’ against temptation (Eph 6:11, 14), but regarding sexual immorality we are told to flee. Jesus likewise has hyperbolic warnings about avoiding sexual sin (Matt 5:29). Why do you think this extra attention is given to sexual sin?

5. In verses 19, Paul relates the Christian’s body to a temple. How is this theological reality related to his statement in v18 about sinning against one’s own body? See 1 Cor 3:16-17 for help.

6. Verse 20 serves as a summarizing statement for all of 6:12-20. How does God’s purchase of us through the blood of Christ affect the way that we relate to our bodies and sexuality?

1. Even though the ‘sexual revolution’ began in the middle of the last century, most people still prefer to keep any discussion about sexuality at arm’s length. Why do you think we find it difficult to have frank, honest discussion about our own sexual experiences and brokenness?

2. In the sermon today, Robb spoke about the two pitfalls of Affirmation (1 Corinthians 5:1-5) and Condemnation (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). Can you think of concrete examples of the people erring in each of these ways in the name of Christ? Why are these pitfalls so dangerous?

3. Read 1 Cor 5:6-8. Instead of affirmation and condemnation, Paul leads the church through Gospel Proclamation. Here Paul uses the imagery of the Passover to remind the church of the Gospel. Take a moment to review these gospel truths out loud. What does the festival of Passover commemorate? What is the significance of the leaven, the bread, and the sacrificial lamb?

4. Why is the Gospel a better way to deal with our shame and guilt than Affirmation & Condemnation? What does the Gospel require of us?

5. Read 1 Cor 5:2-5. Most scholars understand the language of vv3-4 as an invocation of Paul’s apostolic authority, and v5 as an idiomatic way to describe excommunication. If it is true that ‘deliver this man to Satan’ means ‘put him out of fellowship’, what does it tell us about the importance of regular fellowship for our spiritual vitality?

6. In his sermon, Robb quoted an Andrew Peterson song called I’ve Got News. You can listen to the song here. Take time together to worship Christ for the good news of the Gospel and its transforming power in our lives.

For our final week on Cruciform Unity, Pastor Ed Haywood (Tabernacle Church of Norfolk) was our guest preacher, speaking to us from Luke 10, the parable of the Good Samaritan.

1. Read Luke 10:25-37, and compare it with 1 Corinthians chapters 1-4. How do the actions of the Samaritan illustrate the teaching we’ve covered over the last month?

2. Pastor Haywood said, “Encountering Jesus changes who my neighbor is.” In your own life, who would have been considered an enemy before Christ called you (think about your family upbringing, etc.)? How has your calling changed who your neighbor is?

3. Pastor Haywood told the story of saying to a police officer, “Blue lives matter to me.” Why might that be difficult for an African American leader to say publicly? What kind of cultural baggage might be tied to a statement like that in the black community?

4. Pastor Haywood also challenged white evangelicals to be willing to say to their black brothers and sisters, “Black lives matter to me.” Similar to the previous question, what kind of cultural baggage might be tied to a statement like that makes it hard for some people to say? When is it worth being misunderstood/mislabeled in order to cross cultural boundary lines in Jesus’ name? When is it not?

5. This is the last week before the elections. Download the sample ballot and pray by name for each of the candidates. Pray also for the humility, repentance, righteousness and courageous faith of the church. End with a time of worship and thanksgiving to our sovereign, faithful Servant King Jesus.

1. Recall a time when you witnessed someone serving in a truly sacrificial way. What motivated that behavior? What was the result?

2. Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-2. Paul says stewards must be found faithful. What does faithfulness to the gospel look like in concrete terms? Where in your life is that faithfulness most tried?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 4:3-5. The social sciences have largely divided cultures into two cultural camps: Honor cultures place importance on socially conferred worth, reputation, and a positive social image, all of which can be granted or taken away by others. In contrast, dignity cultures place importance on context independent, individual, and inherent worth, which is less affected by the social regard of others. Where would you plot our current culture on this cultural continuum? How do these verses inform our cultural judgments?

4. Read 1 Corinthians 4:4-16. What contrasts does Paul make in this passage? What is the significance in the contrasts he makes?

5. In the sermon today, Robb referenced Jimmy Davis’ book, Cruciform: Living the Cross Shaped Life. There, Pastor Davis includes the diagram and instructions below. Take some time to work through the diagram and share with one another in your group.

1. Think about the places or relational networks you visit on at least a weekly basis: for example, Home, Church, Work, School, Extended Family, Community (includes stores, restaurants, the gym, etc.), Online Communities, Clubs, Teams, and so on.  Write the names of these places/networks on the “tables” in the diagram.  (I’ve found it best to use pencil, especially as you begin to add names later on.)

2. Think of at least three people with whom you regularly interact in each of those places, people who “sit” at each of those “tables.”  Write their names around or beside the tables.  (For the Home table you must include all the people with whom you live, even it’s more than three.  You can’t just choose your favorite three!)  Be sure to write small enough to leave room to add names to these tables.

3. Begin to serve the people in your section of tables by praying for them.  Pray for a different table each day if you wish.  Perhaps you could make a 3x5 prayer request card for each table, keeping a record of specific items to pray for each person at that table.  You’ll find that as you pray for them, you’ll begin to look at them with fresh eyes and a you‐first heart when you see them during the week.

1. Take a moment as a group to flesh out the ‘codes of conduct’ for two common tribes: the political left & right. Tribalism says. “Earn your place. Be the right kind of person, do and say the right things, avoid the wrong people, and you can be part of our tribe.” What are the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ things on each side? How do the two sides compare?

2. Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and 1:26-31. How would you describe the criteria given for entering into the ‘fellowship of his Son’ (v9)? How is this gospel community different from the tribal economies described in question 1?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Why does Paul call the Corinthians ‘infants’? What would it look like for them to become mature?

4. Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. What word pictures does Paul use to describe the relationship between God, the church, and church leaders? What do these word pictures tell us about God and how we are to relate to him?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and reflect on this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
   
   Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial. God hates this wish-dream because it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. Those who dream of this idealized community demand that it be fulfilled by God, by others, and by themselves. They enter the community of Christians with their demands, set up their own law, and judge one another and even God accordingly.
   
   What destructive ‘wish dreams’ do you carry with you into the Christian community? How could they impede the fellowship Christ intends to build among us?

6. Read 1 Corinthians 3:21-23. What does Paul mean when he says, “All things are yours”? What does this have to do with boasting and factionalism? Spend some time in worship and thanksgiving for the truth of these verses, and for the community Christ has purchased and created through his blood.
   
   

1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? What do our childhood aspirations tell us about what we count look to for significance? How have you seen those aspirations play out in real life?

2. Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Make a list of the truths Paul celebrates in himself and the church. Which of these truths is most meaningful to you right now? Why?

3. Paul talks about calling a number of times in 1 Corinthians 1 (vv 1, 2, 9, 24, 26). From these verses, what can you deduce about the meaning of ‘calling’ for Paul? If you heard this week’s sermon, review the difference between modern and biblical notions of ‘calling’.

4. Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. What is Paul after when he tells the church to ‘consider your calling’? How does this concept of calling push against a self-promoting, strengths-based culture?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 1:9. How does our calling affect our unity?

6. Take some time to “consider your calling” together. Have a few people share with the group about how they were called to Christ. Spend time giving thanks and worshiping God for his great mercy in calling you into the fellowship of his Son.

1. Take a moment to do a short survey of cultural patterns together as a group. What patterns are well-established in our culture? Which patterns are changing or challenged? Which cultural patterns do you think are healthy, and why?

2. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Based on these verses, what is the gospel? How would you tell the story of the past, present, and future work of the gospel in the life of the believer? In other words, what is the significance of referring to the gospel as that “which you received, in which you stand, by which you are being saved”?

3. Robb spoke this morning about the cruciform life, or a life conformed to the pattern of the cross. What would you say are the main characteristics of a cross-shaped life? Of a cross-shaped community?

4. Review the 4 elements of the Fall Focus. Which one[s] will be easy for you? Which one[s] will be hard? Commit together to these 4 elements now through November:

   1. Sunday mornings: Commit to regular attendance, and bring a friend who isn’t connected to a local church.

   2. Daily Word & Prayer: Use the Scripture Journal to read & journal through one page of scripture per day. Or create your own rhythm to daily meet with the Lord.

   3. Community: Take Initiative to connect with a community group, women’s bible study, or men’s growth group.

   4. Fast & Pray: Starting Sept 24, devote yourself to prayer & fasting for 40 days till election day. Follow along with Jack Countryman’s If My People 40 Day Prayer Guide for Our Nation. Hard copies will be in the office soon!

1. Read Exodus 28:15-21 to get a sense of the detail and quality of a priestly garb. Compare that with the “clothing” we are to wear as royal priests in 2020 (see 1 Peter 5:5 and Colossians 3:12-14).

2. The priest should have appropriate talk becoming of his/her status. Discuss some scriptures that highlight how we are to use our words.

3. Has the church allowed the use of social media to undermine the unity of the church? How can VBCC be an example of health in this area?

4. Lastly, the priest is to exhibit appropriate behavior. How can we live as royal priests with such behavior? 1 Peter 2:1-3 and James 1:22-25 give wonderful insights.

5. How can we as a church repent (turn away from evil and toward Christ) from our failure to look, sound, and live like the priests that we are?

1. Where do you go to find rest from the war? Where do you search for flourishing?

2. Why does integrity take such a prominent place in the prayer of David? Of Israel? Of Christ?

3. What is the connection between language, money, and sacrifice? Do you see these ideas present in other passages of Scripture?

4. How does grace tie these things together? Why doesn’t grace undo the need for moral excellence? How might grace amplify our integrity and personal sacrifice?

1. Slowly read Psalm 62 aloud, pausing when you reach each Selah. After the reading, discuss your experience of the psalm as a reader/listener. As a work of art, how does this psalm affect your focus, emotions, desires, etc?

2. Verse 1 begins “For God alone my soul waits in silence.” What does it mean to wait for God? What is the importance of the word ‘alone’?

3. What disorienting circumstances does the psalmist recognize in vv3-4, 9-10? Where/when have you encountered these phenomena in your own life? Or, what other circumstances have brought about a sense of disorientation in your life? What does it look like to hope in God during a season of spiritual disorientation?

4. Verses 11-12 speak of the power, love, and justice of God. How are each of these evidenced in the cross of Jesus?

5. Chiasmus (or chiasm) is a poetic structure defined as a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses.” Some scholars recognize a chiastic structure (ABCCBA) in Psalm 62 as shown below. In this case, the central C section is the ‘punchline’ of the psalm. Why might the psalmist structure the psalm this way.

   • A - Testimony of Trust (vv1-2)

     • B - Complaint (vv3-4)

       • C - Testimony of Trust (vv5-6)

       • C - Testimony of Trust (vv7-8)

     • B - Complaint (vv9-10)

   • A - Testimony of Trust (vv11-12)

6. Verse 8 offers us two instructions. The first is to ‘Trust in him at all times.’ What times are you experiencing in your group right now? Discuss what it looks like to trust in him. Secondly, the verse says, “Pour out your heart before him.” Take some time as a group to pour out your hearts together in prayer before God.

1. Read Psalm 133 aloud. Read slowly and pause between phrases to take it in. After the reading, have each person share a single word to describe the feeling they had while the psalm was being read. Where does David lead us emotionally?

2. Before Aaron was anointed with the holy anointing oil, he was dressed in the holy attire of the high priest. Part of that attire is a breastplate containing 12 gems representing the 12 tribes of Israel. “Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.” (Exo 28:29) 
   
   What was the high priest’s role in establishing unity for Israel? What is Jesus’ role in establishing unity for the church? (See Eph 2:11-22 for help.)

3. David repeatedly describes the downward motion of the oil (v2) and the dew (v3). What is the significance of that motion (see James 1:17 for help)? Why is it important that our unity be founded on shared grace received, rather than shared history, opinion or action?

4. In Israel, Mt Hermon is the most significant mountain in the north, and Zion is the most significant mountain in the south. These two reference points convey a sense of totality (ie, “from New York to LA”), but also evoke the memory of a 7 1/2 year-long civil war between north and south that began with David’s inauguration as king. In light of that conflict, how does the tone of the poem change?

5. Create art in response to Psalm 133. Write your own psalm for unity, using imagery from our context. Or, draw/paint unity-themed pictures. If you are brave, share your artwork on our facebook page with the hashtags #Psalm133 #Unity