Glue for Living

This past Sunday, May 10th, at Highpoint Assembly of God, we celebrated Mother's Day with a powerful, multi-generational service. Beyond honoring the incredible women in our lives, we advanced our foundational series, "Building Strong Houses." Pastor David Barnes brought a critical message titled "Glue for Living," highlighting how scriptural unity acts as the essential structural adhesive holding our personal lives, our homes, and our church family together under pressure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QboFE10kiUU

Glue for Living

Series: Building Strong Houses (Part 3)

Speaker: Pastor David Barnes

Date: May 10, 2026

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 1:10

Honoring Our Human "Glue"

Pastor David opened the message by reflecting on the profound legacy of maternal figures—including grandmothers, expectant mothers, and spiritual mentors. He noted a beautiful scriptural truth: God often describes His own protective nature using maternal imagery, comparing Himself to a "mother hen" who covers, protects, and gathers her family safely under her wings.

In a practical sense, mothers are often the everyday "glue" in the home. While fathers are frequently pulled away by various external tasks, mothers routinely pull double duty to keep family relationships, schedules, and spiritual foundations bound together. To show our church’s appreciation, our children distributed gift cards to all the mothers standing in the sanctuary.

The Cautionary Tale: A House Divided

Shifting to 1 Corinthians 1:10, Pastor David contrasted our high calling as the Body of Christ against the structural fragmentation of the ancient church at Corinth. Despite being highly gifted, the Corinthian church was suffering from three systemic structural failures:

1. Defiled: Compromised by internal cultural assimilation and moral decay.

2. Divided: Fractured by relational tribalism and competing factions.

3. Disgraced: Diminished in its authority and public witness due to open internal dysfunction.

This division stood in direct opposition to who God called them to be: a people set apart, enriched by grace, expecting Christ's return, and dependent on God’s absolute faithfulness (1 Corinthians 1:1-9).

The Three-Fold Formula for Relational Unity

To fix the structural cracks in the Corinthian church—and in our modern homes—the Apostle Paul issued a precise engineering standard for relational health. Pastor David broke down these three commands:

1. All Agree

The Bible explicitly categorizes internal quarrels, bickering, and corporate strife as works of the "flesh" or our old carnal nature. Quarrels rarely stem from noble theological stances; instead, they usually boil down to a simple, selfish root: me wanting things done my way. True scriptural agreement is hard work—it requires a supernatural willingness to search for common ground and intentionally deny our personal rights to preserve the structural bond of peace.

2. No Divisions

Pastor David defined a "schism" as a severe split between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused entirely by stubborn differences of personal opinion. As builders of strong houses, we must make unification a non-negotiable life filter. Every word we speak to a spouse, every text we send, and every comment we post on social media must pass a single diagnostic test: Is this action designed to unify, or is it designed to divide?

3. Be Made Complete in the Same Mind and Same Judgment

To be "made complete" mechanically means to be structurally restored, mended, or perfected for a specific task. God does not demand uniform, robotic clones; rather, He calls for like-minded purpose. When we align our personal processing (Same Mind) and our physical execution (Same Judgment) around the Great Commission, our homes and our church become completely unbreakable.

Small Group Discussion Questions

1. Identifying the Adhesive: Pastor David spoke about mothers acting as the practical "glue" of the household, bridging this into how unity functions as the spiritual glue of the church. When navigating a stressful family or work season, what specific behaviors act as "glue" to keep relationships from fraying?

2. Confronting the "My Way" Root: Quarrels and strife are expressions of our old carnal nature, usually stemming from us demanding things be done our way. Why is it so difficult for our human pride to find common ground, and what does "denying your rights" look like in a real disagreement?

3. Early Warning Signs: The church at Corinth drifted into being defiled, divided, and disgraced despite their spiritual gifts. What are some subtle warning signs that an individual or a family house is starting to drift toward relational division?

4. Filtering Our Output: A "schism" is a split caused by differences of opinion. What practical boundaries can you put in place over your daily conversations and digital communications to ensure you are actively unifying rather than dividing?

5. The Meaning of Completeness: To be "made complete" means to be structurally restored or perfected for what we are called to do. Why is it impossible for a Christian to achieve their full spiritual maturity or calling if they choose to live in isolation, separate from the local church body?

6. Same Mind vs. Uniformity: Paul instructs the church to be of the "same mind and same judgment" (1 Cor 1:10). How do we maintain healthy individual personalities and diverse perspectives while remaining perfectly unified in corporate purpose?

7. The Mirror of Grace: When dealing with human flaws and divisions inside a church, Paul reminds believers that they are still "enriched by God's grace" and "dependent on God's faithfulness" (1 Cor 1:4-9). How does focusing on God’s faithfulness help heal your heart when you feel let down by people?

8. The Mother Hen Metaphor: Discuss the imagery of God as a "mother hen" gathering Her family for protection. In what areas of your life right now do you need to stop running and allow the Lord to cover and protect you?

9. Altar De-escalation: At the start of Sunday's service, we were challenged to lay down internal baggage like bitterness, stress, and anxiety. How does refusing to deal with personal stress or anxiety at the altar eventually lead to unintended conflict with the people we love?

10. Application Step: Reviewing the blueprint from 1 Corinthians 1:10 (All Agree, No Divisions, Same Mind), what is one intentional step you can take today to apply this "spiritual glue" to a relationship in your life that currently feels strained?

Missed Sunday's Service? You can stream the entire Mother's Day service, including the special children's presentation and corporate prayer time, on our media page.

Looking Ahead:

Make plans to join us on Sunday, June 7th at 6pm for our area-wide, multi-church combined Pentecost service at Lavon First Assembly! Come expecting a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.