When Pastor Matt shared about Dick and Doreen Corley — missionaries who embodied vibrant, affectionate love well into their eighties — it was a beautiful reminder that strong relationships, including marriages and churches, require clearly communicated expectations and constant grace. Before marriage, we might think we’ve voiced everything important, but reality quickly shows us otherwise. Similarly, in the church, we all arrive with unspoken expectations about how things “should” be. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians addresses this tension head-on: rather than letting personal preferences divide, the church must first root itself in the free and abundant grace of Christ.

Pastor Matt drew a powerful contrast between unity and uniformity. Paul reminds the Corinthians—and us—that the Church is a body made up of many parts. Diversity is not a flaw to be fixed; it’s a feature that displays God’s creativity and grace. Teachers, prophets, encouragers, servants—all are needed. True unity doesn’t erase differences; it binds wildly different people together around a singular focus: Christ. In a world that prizes sameness for the sake of control, the Church is called to be a colorful, living mosaic, unified not by preference or background, but by the Spirit.

The world says, “Be strong, show no weakness,” but the Church flips that script. Paul confesses to coming in weakness and fear, relying not on human eloquence but on the Spirit’s power. Pastor Matt reminded us that humility, not dominance, is the pathway to true strength. Immaturity demands to have its own way; maturity lays down pride for the sake of unity. We grow not by winning arguments about church preferences, but by continually admitting our need for Christ and each other.

Grace isn’t just the way we enter the Church—it’s how we build the Church. Pastor Matt’s story about Midtown Fellowship being kicked out of a host church for “messiness” highlights the danger when grace dries up. If we forget the grace that welcomed us, we will withhold grace from others. Paul warns that how we build matters: straw work burns, but building with love and grace will endure. True temple builders labor for others’ good, not their own comfort. We are called to be the kind of church where “messy” people are met with patient, generous love.

Finally, Pastor Matt closed by lifting our eyes to the breathtaking vision of the Church as God’s temple—a radiant, multi-faceted display of His glory. Each unique gift, each distinctive calling, contributes to a fuller, truer picture of Christ to the world. When we choose to be temple builders rather than temple tourists, we step into something bigger than ourselves: a living, unified testimony of grace, diversity, humility, and love. As Pastor Matt put it, when the Church walks in true unity, we unleash a power unknown to this mortal world and display a future reality that draws people to Christ Himself.

---

Discussion Questions

1. Personal Expectations: What are some expectations (spoken or unspoken) you brought into marriage or into church life? How have those expectations shaped your experience?
2. Grace and Growth: Can you share a time when someone extended grace to you in a way that helped you grow spiritually? How might you extend that same grace to others now?
3. Diversity in Unity: What is one unique gift, background, or passion you bring to the Church? How can we better celebrate the diversity of gifts among us?
4. Weakness as Strength: Why is it so hard to admit weakness in the Church? What are some practical ways we can cultivate a culture where weakness is embraced, not hidden?
5. Temple Builders vs. Temple Tourists: In your own walk with Christ, are you more of a “temple tourist” or a “temple builder” right now? What steps can you take this week to invest more deeply in building God’s Church?