Now What?May 17, 2026

Come Together

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COME TOGETHER NOW WHAT? — Week 6 Psalm 133:1–3 / Acts 2:1 / 1 Corinthians 13 (ESV) | May 17, 2026

BIG IDEA — REPEAT THROUGHOUT

"The fire falls on unity. Division delays Pentecost."

OPENING HOOK [ Walk up slow. Let the room feel the weight. One week out. ]

We are one week away. Seven days. One Sunday. Between right now — and Pentecost Sunday. [ Pause. Let it breathe. ]

And before we get into the Word today — I want to ask you something. Is there anybody in your life right now that you have not forgiven? [ Don't ask them to answer out loud. Let it sit. ]

Because here's what I know. The disciples didn't go to Pentecost holding offense. They didn't receive the fire while carrying bitterness.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 2 They didn't experience the SUDDENLY while walking in unforgiveness. Acts 2:1 "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." ALL. Together. One place.

And I want to show you today what it cost them to get to ALL TOGETHER. And what it's costing YOU — to not be there yet.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 3 THE TEXT [ Read all three passages slowly. Each one builds on the last. ]

Psalm 133:1–3 (ESV) "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." Acts 2:1 (ESV) "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (ESV) "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." [ Look up. Long pause. Let it land. ]

Three texts. One message. And they all say the same thing. You cannot walk into Pentecost carrying what you're carrying. Psalm 133 says — THERE the LORD commanded the blessing.

WHERE? Where brothers dwell in unity. Acts 2 says — they were ALL together. 1 Corinthians 13 says — love believes the best.

Love hopes all things. Love never fails. Unity is the address where the fire falls. And love is the only way to get there.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 4 POINT 1 Unity Is Where God Commands the Blessing. [ Build fast. Direct. Set the foundation. ]

I want to break down Psalm 133 because it is one of the most loaded scriptures in the entire Bible. David says — Psalm 133:1 ""How good and pleasant it is when brothers DWELL in unity."" Not just visit unity. Not tolerate each other.

Not coexist without conflict. DWELL. To live there. To make your HOME there.

And then he compares unity to oil running down Aaron's head. Why oil? Because in the Old Testament — oil was the sign of the anointing. Oil was the sign of God's presence. Oil was the sign of consecration. David is saying — when you DWELL in unity — the anointing flows.

The presence flows. The blessing flows. Not in spite of community — THROUGH community. And then he says — Psalm 133:3 ""For THERE the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."" That word COMMANDED is massive.

God doesn't suggest the blessing. God doesn't hope you get blessed. He COMMANDS it. He decrees it. He orders it.

But only THERE. Only where there is unity. "Unity is not just a nice idea. It's the address where the blessing lives."

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 5 PREACHING MOMENT "Are you DWELLING in unity? Not just showing up. Not just coexisting.

Are you genuinely — wholeheartedly — fully invested in the people God put around you? Because the fire next Sunday falls on the people who are ALL THE WAY IN. Together. In one place."

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 6 POINT 2 Love Is What Makes Unity Possible. 1 Corinthians 13 — The Real Love Chapter [ Slow. Build it carefully. This is the heart of the message. ]

Now I want to address something. Because somebody in this room is thinking — "Pastor — unity sounds great. But you don't know what they did to me." And you're right. I don't know what they did. But God does.

And He still says — dwell in unity. And before you tell me that's impossible — I want to show you how. 1 Corinthians 13. The love chapter. Most people read it at weddings. But Paul didn't write it for weddings.

He wrote it for a CHURCH. A divided church. A church full of offense. A church that was fighting. A church that had real — legitimate — reasons to be hurt. And Paul says — 1 Corinthians 13:4 ""Love is patient and kind.""

Patient with the person who hurt you. Kind to the person who betrayed you. Not because they deserve it. Because love doesn't operate on what people deserve. 1 Corinthians 13:5 ""Love does not insist on its own way.""

Hear me. Unity requires someone to go first. Someone has to put down their right to be right. Someone has to say — the relationship matters more than the argument. Someone has to stop insisting on their own way.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 7 1 Corinthians 13:5 ""It is not irritable or resentful."" That word resentful in the original Greek — means to keep a record of wrongs. Like a ledger. Every offense written down. Every wrong catalogued.

Every hurt documented. And Paul says — love doesn't keep that ledger. Love tears it up. Love burns it. "I'm not holding that over you anymore."

1 Corinthians 13:7 ""Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."" Believes all things. Believes the BEST in people. Not the worst.

Not what the enemy whispers about them. Not what the offense tells you. The best.

Because love looks at a person the way GOD looks at them. Not as who they were when they hurt you. But as who God is making them to be. 1 Corinthians 13:8 ""Love never fails.""

Never. Not sometimes. Not usually. NEVER.

And here's what I want you to understand. Unity is not built on perfect people. Unity is built on people who choose love — even when love is hard. Even when love costs them something. Even when love means forgiving someone who hasn't apologized.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 8 "Unity is not built on perfect people. It's built on people who choose love even when it's hard."

PREACHING MOMENT "I want to ask you today — how are you loving the people around you? Not the ones who are easy to love. The ones who are hard. The ones who hurt you. Are you keeping a ledger on them?

Or are you choosing to believe the best? Because Pentecost is one week away. And you can't carry that ledger into the fire. It has to go."

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 9 POINT 3 Division Delays Pentecost. Bitterness Blocks the Fire. [ This is your hardest truth. Direct but full of grace. Don't rush it. ]

If unity is where the blessing lives — then division is where the blessing dies. And if love makes unity possible — then bitterness makes unity impossible. Let me tell you what bitterness does. Bitterness is not just a feeling. Bitterness is a ROOT. Hebrews 12:15 ""See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.""

A ROOT. Roots don't grow up. They grow DOWN. They go DEEP. They spread underground. And they defile everything they touch.

A bitter person doesn't just hurt themselves. They contaminate the room they're in. They bring the temperature down without saying a word. Because bitterness leaks. Into conversations.

Into tone. Into atmosphere. And here's the devastating truth. The person you're bitter toward — is probably not thinking about you. They may not even know you're hurt.

They may have moved on completely. While you are sitting in that root — letting it grow deeper every day — poisoning your own soil. Bitterness is a prison where you are both the prisoner and the guard. You hold the key. It's called forgiveness.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 10 Now I want to be careful here. Because forgiveness is one of the most misunderstood things in the church. So let me tell you what forgiveness IS — and what it is NOT. Forgiveness is NOT: — Saying what they did was okay. It wasn't. — Pretending it didn't happen.

It happened. — Trusting them immediately. Trust is rebuilt over time. — Reconciling the relationship instantly. Some relationships need seasons. Forgiveness IS: — Releasing them from your personal court of justice. — Handing the case to God. — Saying — God, I'm not going to be the judge of this anymore. You are. — Taking them off the hook in YOUR heart. Matthew 18:22 "Jesus said — forgive not seven times but seventy times seven."

Not because they deserve 490 chances. But because YOU need the freedom that comes with forgiving. Forgiveness doesn't set them free. Forgiveness sets YOU free. And when you walk in forgiveness — when you choose love over offense — when you believe the best instead of the worst — you are positioning yourself for the fire. You are clearing the path for the anointing to flow.

You are making room for Pentecost. [ Slow. Very personal. Look at the room. Speak to the deeply wounded. ]

I want to speak to somebody today who has been deeply hurt.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 11 Not just annoyed. Not just inconvenienced. Deeply hurt. By someone in the church. By a pastor.

By a leader. By a friend. By someone who used your trust against you. I'm not going to tell you that what happened was okay. It wasn't.

The wound is real. The betrayal was real. But I want to ask you today — How long are you going to let that moment determine your future? Holding onto that offense is not protecting you. It's delaying your Pentecost.

It's blocking your fire. It's keeping you out of the room. And God has too much for you — on the other side of that forgiveness — to let you stay stuck in the wound. [ Rise slowly. Build here. ]

Let it go today. Not for them. FOR YOU. Because YOU deserve the fire.

Because YOUR Pentecost is one week away.

"Division delays Pentecost. Unity releases it."

PREACHING MOMENT "I want to give you a moment right now. Close your eyes. Think of the person — or the people — you need to forgive. See their face. And say in your heart — I release you. I hand you to God.

I choose freedom today. You don't have to feel it yet. Just choose it. Because forgiveness is not a feeling first. It's a decision first. The feeling comes later."

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 12 POINT 4 The Power of ALL Together in One Place. [ Crescendo. Build to the fire. ]

Now I want to go back to Acts 2:1 one more time. Acts 2:1 ""When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place."" Three words. Three conditions. All required. ALL — means nobody was missing.

Nobody was too hurt to show up. Nobody was still holding the offense. Nobody decided it wasn't worth it. Nobody had something better to do. ALL.

TOGETHER — means they weren't just in proximity. They were UNIFIED. One heart. One mind. One mission.

They had chosen each other over their feelings. They had chosen the mission over the offense. They had walked in 1 Corinthians 13 love — bearing all things — believing all things — hoping all things — enduring all things. TOGETHER.

ONE PLACE — means they were physically present. In the same room. Breathing the same air. Praying the same prayers. Expecting the same promise. ONE PLACE.

And SUDDENLY — the room shook. The fire fell. Each one filled. Because ALL of them were TOGETHER in ONE PLACE.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 13 Not most of them. ALL.

And I'm believing God for that this Sunday. Not most of us. ALL of us. That means you bring your family. You bring your neighbors.

You bring the person who hasn't been to church in months. You forgive the person you've been avoiding. You call the person you haven't spoken to. You show up whole. Free.

Unified. Full of love. Because Pentecost is coming. And it falls on ALL together in one place. "The fire fell on ALL of them because ALL of them were there."

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 14 THE CLOSE — DECLARATION [ Full voice. One week to go. Everything builds here. ]

I want to bring it all together. Psalm 133 says — unity is where God commands the blessing. 1 Corinthians 13 says — love is the only way to get to unity. Acts 2 says — they were ALL together in one place.

And SUDDENLY — the fire fell. So here's what I'm asking you to do this week. Choose love. Even when it's hard.

Forgive somebody. Not for them — for YOU.

Come together. Bring everybody. Be ALL THE WAY IN.

Because the fire is coming. And it falls on ALL together in one place. It falls on the people who chose love over offense. It falls on the people who let go of the ledger.

It falls on the people who believed the best — hoped all things — endured all things. [ Rise. Full voice. ]

Love never fails. And neither does the fire of God. Next Sunday — the room is going to shake. And I need YOU in it. Whole.

Free. Together. The fire falls on unity. Division delays Pentecost.

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 15 [ Say the Big Idea three times. Ask the room to say it with you. Lock it in. ]

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 16 ALTAR CALL / RESPONSE MOMENT [ The most tender moment. Spirit-led unity altar. Don't rush. ]

I want to do something right now. I want to ask you to turn to the person next to you. Right now. And say three words — "I'm glad you're here."

[ Let it happen. Let the room feel it. ]

Because that's what unity looks like. It looks like being glad the person next to you is here. It looks like showing up for each other. It looks like staying in the room together. And if you've been carrying bitterness today — if there is someone you have not forgiven — I want to invite you to bring it to the altar right now.

Not to perform. To be free. Lift your hand right where you are. [ Pray over them. ]

Father — for every person in this room who has been hurt — betrayed — wounded — we ask for the grace to forgive. Not in our own strength. But with the love of 1 Corinthians 13. The love that bears all things. Believes all things.

Hopes all things. Endures all things. The love that never fails. Release them Lord.

Set them free today. In Jesus' name. Amen. For Salvation: And if you've never given your life to Jesus —

IMAGINE CHURCH USA | NOW WHAT? SERIES — WEEK 6 | MAY 17, 2026 | im.im Page 17 the greatest act of forgiveness in history was Jesus forgiving you from the cross. Before you asked. Before you deserved it. He chose love.

And He's asking you to receive it today. Lift your hand. "Jesus — I believe You died and rose again. I receive Your forgiveness today. I give You my life.

Forgive me. Lead me. Fill me. I'm Yours. Amen."

Father — make us ONE. Unify us. Break down every wall. Heal every wound. Release every offense. And next Sunday — let the fire fall on ALL of us.

Together. In one place. In Jesus' name. Amen. PRACTICAL APPLICATION — WHAT DO I DO THIS WEEK? 1.

FORGIVE SOMEBODY. Make the decision this week. Write their name down. Pray over it. Release it to God. You don't have to feel it — just choose it.

The feeling follows the decision. 2. CALL SOMEBODY. Is there someone you've been avoiding? Someone you need to reconcile with? Make the call this week.

Send the text. Take the first step. 3. BELIEVE THE BEST. Choose 1 Corinthians 13 love this week. When the negative thought comes — replace it.

I believe the best about this person. 4. INVITE EVERYBODY. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Bring your family. Bring your friends.

Bring the person who's been on the fence. Don't come alone. 5. COME READY. Show up next Sunday whole.