You have your friend group, and you're comfortable with it. But what if God's calling you to be a bit uncomfortable?
Talking Points:
- We have a clique. We have the people we like and the people we don’t like. It was the same in Paul’s day. There were Jews-the descendants of God’s people and the Gentiles-people who didn’t grow up learning about God. Ephesians 2:11
- We focus on the differences. The Jews and Gentiles grew up with different beliefs and lived their lives very differently. Even after becoming Christians, they kept focusing on their differences. Ephesians 2:13
- We need to get rid of cliques. Living separated from others is not why God died for us on the cross. He did that so that we can have peace with God and peace with those around us, and not just those who are like us. Ephesians 2:14-18
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Share a time when you became friends with someone different than you and how it’s impacted your life.
- Why is it hard to get along with people who are different than us, or come from a different background than we do?
- How have you seen cliques hurt people at your school or in your youth group?
- Read Ephesians 2:11-12. What is a Gentile in this verse? Make a list of all the disadvantages that the Gentiles had according to these verses.
- Read Ephesians 2:13. What do you think it means that Christians are “united with Christ”? How does this reverse the situation that Gentiles were in from verses 11-12?
- Read Ephesians 2:14-18. What are these verses saying? How do these verses challenge you?
- What is one thing you can do today or tomorrow to break down cliques around you?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
