Fight fair.
Serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13
Theme: Resolving Conflict
Scripture:
OPEN UP (10-15 minutes)
1. Imagine the United Nations has declared that all future conflicts between nations will be resolved by a sporting contest. What sport do you think best lends itself to that type of purpose? Why?
OPEN BOOK (15-25 minutes)
2. What strategies do you find to be most effective for resolving conflict when it occurs in your family? Have group members read Acts 15:1-35.
3. What conflict resolution strategies do you see being demonstrated in this account of the early church?
4. Apparently the disagreement at the center of Acts 15 was an angry one, with heated opinions delivered forcefully by both sides (v. 2). How does it make you feel to discover that early church leaders sometimes couldn’t get along? Explain.
5. Based on what you see in Acts 15, what would you say is the ultimate goal of conflict resolution? How does that play out at home? At church? At work?
Backseat Bible: Acts 15
The enduring, irrevocable impact of the Council of Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15 simply can’t be underestimated. It was here, finally, that the question of whether Christianity would be simply a sect of Judaism was answered once and for all.
The evangelistic success Paul and Barnabas experienced among non-Jews forced the church fathers to decide this basic question: Must a person become a Jew in order to become a Christian? After much discussion and practical interpretation of what they saw God doing in the lives of Gentiles, the answer that came back was a definitive “No.”
Have group members read Galatians 5:13-15.
6. How does Galatians 5:13-15 describe—or not describe—the way you experienced conflict last week? Explain.
7. Is conflict between Christians sinful? Defend your answer.
8. How do we know when to fight for something and when to walk away from the fight? And how does that play out in daily life, right here where we live?
OPEN LIFE (5-10 minutes)
9. If we were the only people in the world praying for the healthy resolution of conflicts in our families, our community and our nation, what would be the best use of our prayer time?
10. How will you pursue that kind of prayer time this week?
Small Group Tip
Encourage group members to be specific in the way they answer Open Life questions. Also, instruct people to wait a minute or two in silence before answering. This will give them an opportunity to think through their responses a bit before having to talk.
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