What has been your experience in the local church? Are you able to say you “believe” in the church, or do you have some hesitations due to past experiences?
What is the church? Use Matthew 18:17, Acts 5:11, and Acts 12:5 as reference points. Do you tend to view the church more as a building or as a community of Jesus followers?
Read Matthew 16:18. What difference does it make that there is one universal (or catholic) church, and all Christians are part of it? How ought that change the way Christians from different local church backgrounds or with different convictions about open handed issues view and treat one another?
Read Ephesians 4:1-6. What is unity? What are the foundations of the Christian faith that all followers of Jesus ought to be unified around?
Read Ephesians 5:25-32. How does a Biblical understanding of the “holy catholic Church” impact the way you view marriage? If you are married, what mindsets should you have toward your spouse in light of the reality that marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church?
