Grow Guide | August 30, 2026
Text Study for Sunday, August 30, 2026
Series Theme: Live in Community
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
CONNECTING QUESTIONS
Why do you donate to organizations?
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Loving God,
Thank You for calling us into Your beloved community. Though we are many, You make us one body in Christ, each with unique gifts and a shared purpose. Teach us to love You and love one another in all we do. Help us to value connection, conversation, and companionship.
Equip us to build intentional relationships both within our church and beyond our walls. Fill us with grace to seek reconciliation, generosity to care for others, and humility to serve faithfully. May Your love overflow through our lives, forming a community that reflects Christ and proclaims peace to the world. In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
CONTEXT
Live in Community For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. – Romans 12:4-5 As part of God’s beloved community, we will love God and love others in all we do. We will value connection, conversation, and companionship. We will develop intentional relationships with all God’s people within and outside our walls. We will use 2 Corinthians as a lens because this letter reveals Paul’s understanding of Christian leadership, ministry, and community. Paul deals with these themes while addressing some very practical tasks, such as defending his ministry while seeking reconciliation, raising funds for the poor, and countering competitors who are challenging his ministry and, in his view, abusing the Corinthians and leading them astray. Throughout Paul depicts how his own life experience, with all its vicissitudes, becomes the location where Christ’s overflowing sufferings and consolation render the gospel to others in such a way that authentic community might be formed. We learn how God’s mercy and consolation actually helps us bear suffering, sin, and death, overflowing within and through our relationships with others into expanding communities that embody and proclaim God’s reconciliation of the entire world. Let’s live in community!
About our guest preacher for August 30th:
Pastor Natalia Terfa is a Lutheran pastor and author who lives in Minneapolis with her hubby, kiddo, and kitty babies. She loves to bake, read, practice yoga, and find nature adventures. She is passionate about the church of the future, one with no boundaries and filled to the brim with love and grace and laughter and snark and a lot of fellow “not that kind of Christians.”
Natalia co-hosts Cafeteria Christian, a podcast for people who love Jesus but aren’t so sure about his followers with Nora McInerny.
From Dr Lois Malcolm at EntertheBible.org:
As ambassadors of this Messiah, we appeal to those around us—through God’s speaking through us—to be reconciled with God (5:20). At the heart of all that we say and do is the reality that in the Messiah God has taken on the structures of destruction that continually keep us hooked in the dysfunction of idolatry and injustice. And, God has done this so that we might, indeed, become God’s righteousness in the world, that is, those through whom God’s mercy and grace in the Messiah might be enacted (5:21). It is in this way that we announced to all that God has heard our cries and that the day of salvation is, indeed, taking place right now (6:1-2).
But for this ministry and message of God’s reconciliation to be sincere, it can only take place as the Spirit works within and among us—bringing us from death to life, and from sin to righteousness—creating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives even amid suffering and death (6:3-7). Thus, it can only be enacted amid the personal and communal paradoxes of our sharing in one another’s joy in lament, wealth in poverty, and power in weakness (6:10).
LOOK AT THE BOOK
How is it with your spirit this week?
What was one take-away from listening to the Carry On Cast podcast that connects with this Grow Guide?
Our theme is connected to our church’s vision statement “Live in Community.” Tell about a time when you helped bring together two people who were angry at each other. What happened?
Jump to 2 Corinthians 5:14. What animates everything for us as the church? What did Jesus do that supports or shows God’s love?
Read verse 17. What do you think “in Christ” means?
In the Lutheran tradition, we are “in Christ” as a result of our baptism. How many sacraments are in the Lutheran church?
"New creation” is a powerful promise for being “in Christ.” How is this good news for you and others?
Verse 18 is key: from whom does this power come from? In this tradition, we are very suspicious of anyone who tries to put more commands on us—even religious ones.
What has been given us in verse 18? What do you think that means?
Do you know someone who likes to spar with others just for fun? If reconciliation is the goal, what does that look like in our world?
"Baptism is not a one-time past event, but a lifelong garment of reconciliation.” Pastor Sinclair offers a great image that our ministry of reconciliation belongs to every single Christian and is rooted in our baptism. We wear it daily!
In what ways can Easter Lutheran Church live into a ministry of reconciliation? Where are we called to be “ambassadors for Christ?” What is the key message we are sharing at the end of verse 20?
How is Jesus good news for us this week?
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?
TAKING IT HOME
Please pray for the safety of Pastor Erik, John, Abbie, Ken, and Steve travelling in Tanzania this week.
Sending Prayer
O God, you made us in your image and send us into the world you so love by your Spirit’s power. As you have called all people to you, make us one in your name. Through your grace, let us live in community to the glory of your Son, for we pray in Christ’s holy name. Amen.