Dillon Community Church

Intro Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing us together today. As we open Your Word and discuss what it means to live as Your people in this world, we ask that You soften our hearts and open our minds. Remove any pride or defensiveness that might keep us from hearing what You want to say to us. Help us to be honest with one another and with You. May this time together draw us closer to You and to each other. In Jesus' name, amen.

Ice Breaker

What is one thing about your family, whether growing up or now, that you are genuinely proud of?

Key Verses

• 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
• 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Questions

• Paul tells the Corinthians not to isolate themselves from the world, but to live distinctly within it. What does it look like practically to be 'in the world but not of it' in your everyday life?
• The sermon described Jesus as having a 'contagious holiness,' where His gracious presence left a mark on everyone He met without requiring repentance in advance. How does that picture of Jesus challenge or encourage the way you interact with people who hold different values?
• Paul uses the phrase 'do you not know' six times in chapter 6, implying the Corinthians should have known better. Are there areas in your own life where you know the right thing to do but struggle to actually do it? What gets in the way?
• Pastor Ryan distinguished between toxic shame and constructive shame. How do you personally respond when someone points out that your actions contradict your values? What makes that kind of correction helpful rather than harmful?
• Paul argues that taking a fellow believer to court, even if you win, means the church loses. Can youthink of a time when being 'right' cost you something more important? What did you learn from tha  texperience?
• The sermon highlighted how Christians publicly attacking other Christians online is a modern version of dragging a brother to court in front of unbelievers. How do you think the church's witness is affected by the way believers treat each other publicly, whether online or in the community?
• Paul calls the church to absorb the wrong and lay down the need to be vindicated, following the example of Jesus. Where in your life right now is God asking you to absorb a loss or let go of the need to be right for the sake of a relationship or community?
• The closing passage reminds us that some of the Corinthians were once defined by the very sins Paul lists, but they have been washed, sanctified, and justified. How does remembering your own story of grace change the way you see and treat people who are still living in patterns you have been freed from?

Life Application

This week, identify one relationship or situation where you have been holding onto the need to be right, to win, or to have your grievance publicly acknowledged. Take one concrete step toward grace in that situation. That might mean reaching out to have a face-to-face conversation, choosing to absorb the wrong rather than escalate it, or simply praying for the other person each day this week. Let the story of what Christ has done for you shape how you respond to others.

Key Takeaways

• The church is called to engage the world with contagious holiness, not to isolate from it or to judge those outside of it. Our primary responsibility is to reflect the grace and wisdom of the cross in how we live among our neighbors.
• Christians have a responsibility to handle disputes within the church family with wisdom and grace, rather than outsourcing those conflicts to outside systems or airing them publicly in ways that damage the church's witness.
• The impulse to be vindicated and to prove we are right is a deeply human one, but the gospel calls us to lay down that impulse and absorb the wrong when necessary, just as Jesus did for us.
• The kingdom of God transforms people. The Christian life is not marked by perfection but by ongoing repentance and a willingness to let God confront the areas of our lives that are out of step with His character.
• Remembering our own story of grace, that we were washed, sanctified, and justified not because we earned it but because Jesus freely gave it, is what fuels our ability to extend that same grace to others.

Ending Prayer

Lord, thank You for the grace You have so freely given each of us. We confess that we are often more committed to being right than to being reconciled, more focused on the faults of others than on the work You still need to do in us. Help us to remember our own story, that we were once defined by things we are not proud of, and that You washed us clean anyway. Let that truth change the questions we ask and the way we treat the people around us. May our community be marked by the kind of grace that turns enemies into family and shows a watching world the power of the gospel. In Jesus' name, amen.

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*Discussion guide comes from sermon given by Pastor Ryan Leeds and material created with Sermon Shots.