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Unity Is More Than Me
"It is probably one of the most difficult things we can do. It can be so difficult sometimes that we will try to find a number of other things we can do to avoid it. But one of the consequential blessings of Jesus and His gospel is that He will always lead us to do it. He will never lead us to avoid it. What is "it" you ask?"
That's how Pastor Jon introduced this week's sermon in the weekly newsletter. What it is that he invites us to think about . . . that "thing" that God tells us is at the core of who we become together as we become a part of God's Kingdom? Unity. A word that sounds simple enough to understand, but one that is challenging for us to experience. Our consumer driven, self-oriented society can skew our perceptions in such a way that unity can become very challenging. Pastor Jon unpacks this for us this week as he reflects on the passage in Ephesians 2:11-22.
Ephesians 2:11-22
NIV
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Take a few moments to sit with the passage from Ephesians, and allow what you hear there as you read it to sink in.
Listen to what it is that God is calling us to, not just as individuals, but as a community of believers who follow Him.
If you would like to listen to Pastor Jon's comments on this again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.
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