Community = A people with a shared idenity and mutual responsibility The Bible helps us think about community well: God is, as the Triune God, a community in Himself, existing perfectly, eternally. Humans have been made in His likeness and created in community with Him and each other. Sin has affected human community so that we are naturally set against God and each other. Israel was formed by God as His set apart community, but they failed to live faithfully as His people and demonstrated their need for salvation. The Gospel announces who Jesus Christ is and what He has done in order to save people from their sins, and anyone who believes in Him is brought into community with God and His people. The Church is the special community of Jesus Christ made up of everyone who believes in Him and lived out in local gatherings of believers, committed to helping each other grow in Him. Unity and Diversity What is Unity? 1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Peter 3:8 I’m in because of , and for . What does it mean that the church is (or has) unity? Unity John 10:16, 30; John 17:6-23 Unity or Doctrine? Ephesians 4:1-6 Unity De Jure or Unity De Facto? Diversity Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-27 What is your responsibility in relation to our church community’s unity and diversity?