The Art of Community 
Season 4, Session 2 
Why Community? - 1st Corinthians, Part 1

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3, 10
Podcast Episode: Why Community? - 1st Corinthians Part 1
Song: Make Us One 
Meditation: A Meditation for Connection 
Art: The Best Supper
Book Suggestion: Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk 

Curriculum

Theme 

God communicates with us yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Bible is a living document that can guide how we think about the Creator and what the Creator is trying to communicate to us through time and space. 

Reminder – God’s mission is full and whole love, as God is love. How would God use this text to communicate love and wholeness (fullness)?

Welcome and Opening Prayer

We gather in the name of love.  We gather to share food and fellowship. We gather to listen, to learn, to struggle and to wrestle with the hard questions of living together in connection and community. We pray that God’s Holy Spirit will move among us, and that God will open our hearts, our minds, and our ears that we might receive and live the Word God gives us. Amen. 

“In a world like ours, which even the new science calls a web of relationship, there is no place to stand apart from and above the rest of creation. We live in covenant with every living creature of all flesh, and our survival depends on our responsiveness to that fact.” ~ Barbara Brown Taylor, The Luminous Web

Gathering Exercise

Without explanation, share one word/phrase you would use to describe what it means to be in an authentic community.  

Feasting on the Word/Group Discussion

1 Corinthians 1: 1-3, 10

This session is an introduction to First Corinthians.  The author is Paul. It is among the earliest New Testament writings. Paul moved from being a persecutor of Christians and the Christianity faith to being one of its most passionate witnesses. His work helped move the early Church beyond its Jewish roots to include Gentiles (non-Jews) and pagans. He was a devout Jew who was transformed in an encounter with Jesus. Paul established the community at Corinth. He stayed in communication with them and sent letters offering guidance and pastoral advice to their emerging community. Corinth was a seaport city and was noted for its diversity. Dealing with those differences was one of Paul’s main themes. 

  1. What new idea did you hear in the conversation between Dana and Chelsea? What challenged your thinking?

  2. What kind of community would you like to be part of? What characteristics would you want it to have?

  3. Dana and Chelsea discuss the need to look at others (especially those with whom we may disagree) as “children of God”. What makes it possible for you to relate to those who believe/act differently than you? What are some of your obstacles to being in relationship?

  4. Chelsea and Dana call this “the art of community”? What does this mean to you? How is being in community “an art”?

  5. Where do you see “brokenness” in the communities where you live/in the world/in the church? What are some ways to bring healing/wholeness to those places?

Closing Exercise

Choose the “covenant understandings” that will guide your group over the next sessions. List 6-10 expectations that group members agree to abide by in their discussions.

Closing Prayer

Give the group an opportunity to share joys or concerns.

Thank you, O God, for this time together. Help us to grow in our understanding of what it means to be in relationship with you and one another. Give us the courage and compassion to celebrate and find blessing in the differences between us. Help us to recognize your image in each of us. Amen.