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NOTE: These questions are not the focus of your Gospel Community. They are just tools to help you reflect on and apply the truth of God’s Word into your lives. Let the focus of your group be walking together in joyful worship of God, sharing your lives, ministering to each other week-to-week through encouragement and speaking the truth in love.

1.) In 1 Peter 3:9 we see that we are “called” to be a people who bless other people even when we are insulted, even when others do evil to us. Why do you think the modern church in our culture struggles to do this? Think about your own heart: When someone insults you or does evil to you, you are called to be a blessing to them. Where can we find the power to live like that?

2.) Here are 3 ways that the church can lose its way in community:
#1 – There is no sense of community because the church becomes entertainment-driven, consumeristic, and self-helpy.
#2 – The church does community just for the sake of community, belonging just for the sake of belonging, fitting in just for the sake of fitting in. There is no mission, so the church becomes ingrown and cliquish.
#3: The mission of the church is hijacked by worldly kingdoms. Instead of being on mission to love God before anything and everything else, the mission becomes supporting some pet cause or platform.

Talk about your own experiences. Have you seen these dysfunctions in church community before? How have you seen them in our own community? How can you be a part of protecting the church from these dysfunctions?

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