Dinner Dialogue Questions: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

First “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” Dinner Dialogue at Pastor Stephen’s house in Watertown

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2018 Dinner Dialogues

Christians all over the world are taking time this week to pray for Christian unity during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We want to encourage you to pray for Christian unity this week in your congregation, small group, or family, so we’ve posted our dinner and prayer template below for you to use.

The theme, chosen by the Caribbean churches, is from Exodus 15:6 – “Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power,” from the song of Moses and Miriam after they had seen the miraculous power of God parting the Red Sea and destroying Pharaoh’s army. This guaranteed that God’s people were now free from bondage and able to take up their call to worship God and live as God’s people in the land God has promised to their ancestors. The hymn is Israel’s song of praise to God for God’s victorious work and triumph over oppression.

Here is one suggestion of how to facilitate the dinner:

Have each person briefly introduce themselves
Eat dinner together
Read the song of Moses & Miriam from Exodus 15
Have a discussion, using the questions below or your own questions
Pray and sing together, using the prayer model below or your own

Exodus 15:1-6, 12-13

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.

You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”

Sample Discussion Questions

What were the Israelites feeling in this moment?

Which part of this passage stands out to you?

What does this story teach us about who God is and how God works?

Our theme this year calls us to acknowledge the God whom we know intimately in our lives and in our covenanted relationship with Him has acted, is acting and will act for us. Where have you seen God’s victorious work in your own life? Share a story that comes to mind.

Where do you see God at work in your church or neighborhood? Where is there evidence of the healing, redeeming power of God? Share a story that comes to mind.

In this passage, God acted on behalf for justice for God’s people. The Bible has continually been a source of inspiration for the Christian community to address conditions that currently undermine human dignity. Where do you see an opportunity for the Church to come together for the cause of justice?

“Your right hand” is an Old Testament metaphor for power, but also relationship, hospitality, and fellowship. We like to think that fellowship happens naturally but it takes effort to bond with people different than us. Where do you see the greatest division among the Christian community in Boston? What might be done to reconcile this division?

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2018: PRAYER

This time of prayer has been modified from the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity prayer template that is being used worldwide this week.

Person 1: The scripture for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is Exodus 15:6 – “Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power.” This passage is the song of Moses and Miriam after they had seen the miraculous power of God parting the Red Sea and destroying Pharaoh’s army. The hymn is Israel’s song of praise to God for God’s victorious work and triumph over oppression. With thanks for our liberation from slavery to sin, let us place our needs before the Lord, asking God to shatter the chains that enslave us and to join us instead with bonds of love and communion.

Person 2: God of the Exodus, you led your people through the waters of the Red Sea and redeemed them. Be with us now and free us from all forms of slavery and from everything that obscures human dignity.