Unity is good and pleasant and can only come from God. Psalm 133 is an exploration of why unity within the community is essential to the journey of faith. This unity described in Psalm 133 descends from God to us. Unity is not something that can be manufactured, rather it is God’s gift to His community. Let’s do it well!
SERMON OUTLINE
Pleasure of Unity (vs 1)
- Unity is not just good, but also is pleasant
- Pleasure of unity counters our tendency to run from it, thinking that unity is elsewhere
Where Unity Comes From (vss 2-3)
- Oil signifying appearance of Holy Spirit
- Unity is like the descending dew of Mount Hermon
- Theme of descending, oil descending from Aaron’s beard, descending dew from the mountains
Blessing of Unity (vs 3)
- True Unity is in Christ
- Ephesians 2:11-12: We have been reconciled with Christ
- John 17: Jesus is one with the Father
- Philippians 2:1-4: We can follow Christ’s humble example in unity
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- The Psalmist in verse 2 came up with metaphor’s describing what unity is like. Can you come up with your own metaphor to describe unity?
- When thinking of Unity what are your thoughts? Do you feel like unity is something you can achieve? Or is an impossible goal?
- In verse one the psalmist talks about the goodness and the pleasant atmosphere when God’s people dwell in unity. What would you say is the difference between “how good it is” and “how pleasant it is”?
- How do you think the Church is doing with Unity? If you think the church is unified what are ways you have seen the church do so? If you answered no, what are ways that the church can move towards unity?
- We have looked at a good number of the Psalm of Ascents these past couple of weeks. Out of the ones we have looked at what has been the most impactful for you?