Unity in the Body of Christ!

Good Bye 2022...

— I’m not sure what I expected in 2022...

— I got a whole lot more than I expected in 2022.

— Remember the “pandemic” the thought was with the pandemic under control we would be able to start our lives up again

— Well… As we all did this together, in some instances we faced insurmountable difficulties and roadblocks.

— Instead, economic times and the cycles of government spending and collecting have left us wanting something different… QUICKLY!!!

--- Wait up just a second… believe it or not… God is still on the throne, His Son Jesus is at His right hand praying for us… His saints. AND the Holy Spirit… 100% of him, delivered to you when you accepted Christ, is constantly in the soul of the believer, leading guiding, and directing…

— As Hebrews 11 encourages us to NOT forsake the assembly with other believers.

— In 2022 there were ZERO “Lone Ranger” Christians. I anticipate that 2023 will be the same.

— We have to do this thing called life… Together!

— PLUS, PLUS I kinda like all of you… all of you that are part of my tribe.

— Here are some of my plans for us… The church this year.

January-February 2023

— In 2023 I’ll be preaching through the Book of John.

— All adult Bible Study, 630-800PM beginning January 17th. Were are going Old Testament.

— Ladies Bible Study will be starting up again in the New Year

— Annual Meeting and Potluck, Sunday January 15th.

— Men’s Breakfast 3rd Saturday of the Month, February 18th, 900AM in the Fellowship Hall. Host this month is Pastor Jeff.

AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

UNITY- A state of oneness or togetherness

— Here is what some of the great thinkers in Christianity say...

Unity must not he sought at the expense of the gospel.

Walter J. Chantry

— Unity is primal to the sensitivities of bringing the Gospel to a diverse community.

— BUT… The Gospel is what we are made for. The Gospel is what drives me to get up every morning.

— The Gospel is ALWAYS in order to be talked about. For goodness sakes we don’t talk about it enough!

— and one more

Unity is not uniformity. Unity comes from within and is a spiritual grace, while uniformity is the result of pressure from without.

Warren W. Wiersbe

— We are NOT robots for Christ… We live and breath and have the freedoms that He gave us.

— It is in that freedom that we have committed our lives to Christ, We have received His Holy Spirit, We have a continuing relationship with God, With Christ, and With the Spirit.

— Notice that I did NOT say that we have a relationship with the Baptist Jesus, or the Baptist God.

We are united with ALL others who call on the name of Jesus!

— Catholics, Lutherans, Christian Reformed, Pentecostals and all of the other groups that claim the name of Jesus.

— Those are the people, the groups that we have the Gospel in common with. There are more...

— I will suggest to you that none of the groups mentioned would argue with the necessity and universal nature of the simple Gospel.

Which is...

THE 4 POINT GOSPEL MESSAGE

GOD LOVES YOU AND HAS A PLAN FOR YOU

SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD, BUT NOT GOD’S LOVE FOR US.

JESUS CHRIST’S LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION REDEEMED US FROM SIN AND RESTORES GOD’S PLAN.

TURN AWAY FROM SIN, TURN TO JESUS CHRIST.

— There are NO CHARGES that can be brought against these elements… In fact the list that I just read came from a Roman Catholic Diocese.

— Same God, Same Jesus, Same Spirit

— Yes there are many differences that make unalike. These also give satan a foothold… Diving a wedge into the Body of Christ.

— Please don’t try to parse these statements… Understand that this is THE GOSPEL!

Please turn to the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 1 (Page 977 in the pew bibles)

Ephesians 4:1–8 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

— V1. Some pretty strong language is being used… Paul, a PRISONER, not slave but a prisoner for Christ.

— Asks us to walk in a “worthy manor.” How do you walk in a “worthy manor?”

— I’ll refer you back to the 4 simple steps of the Gospel.

— V2. Something comes to mind in verse 2. Do we treat those who don’t identify with the Gospel as enemies of the Gospel..? OR do we treat EVERYONE, including Jew, Greek, Gentile as someone who desperately needs the Love of God and has put you in a space to show that to them… even if we disagree on form and expression.

— V3. Don’t go into a discussion loaded for bear on what is wrong with this denomination or group… Understanding of their place will go a long way. Criticism closes that communication off.

— V4. Before we all broke into a million different denominations we all held to the Simple Gospel. Believe, Believe, Believe and you will be called The children of God.

— How much different would it be if we were not tethered to our denomination and all just loved Jesus?

— V5. And what are we bound to this… ONE LORD, ONE BAPTISM!

— V6. Unity is viewed by a definitive statement, one God, one Father of All, who is in all, who is overall… Acknowledgement of that is the crux of the issues that have torn our world apart for centuries.

— V7. Ah finally something I can sink my teeth into… GRACE! Grace is a gift from Christ. It was given to each of us… every single one of us!

— V8. Paul turns to Psalms as he frequently does to prove his point to the Jew and gentile alike. He quotes Psalm 68 here and in the first century mind this would have been clear… it’s not so clear to us. The first part proves that the fulfillment is in Christ; the second part confirms the theme which Paul is asserting: “He gave gifts to men.”

You and I have a future with God and His Son Jesus. We can either be with him or against him… It’s our choice.

— The New Testament does not give a great future for those who are not following Christ and not making use of The Gospel.

— The Book of Revelation makes it VERY CLEAR that those who are with “The Christ” have a future, are forgiven and we will reign with Him for at least 10,000 years. And then into eternity...

— Unfortunately, those who don’t have Christ, those too will have an eternity… but it will be without Christ… It will be very dark, it will smell like sulfur and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

SO WHAT???

— This passage is VERY appropriate today… 2Timothy tells us as we get closer to the end-times “many will fall away.”

— It’s just too difficult for us to wrap our heads around that there will be those who do not EVER taste the sweetness of the a relationship with God… through Jesus.

— And destruction awaits those who do not

— Here is my “so what” moment… Faith

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

SEEK, KNOCK, ENTER

— These are all steps to peace with God.

— These all remind me of my own confession of Faith.

— In my deepest despair, I had no where to turn but to SEEK after God and His son Jesus.

— I got to the SEEK part next I need to reach out… to simply KNOCK at the door. I know that Jesus resides in that house… I need to decide...

— Guaranteed Jesus is there to welcome us, to save us, to give us spiritual gifts and other gifts that show us how to treat one another.

— I was that person looking from the outside in… It was cold, dark and ugly outside. But once that door opened and I stepped in I was immediately bathed in the GRACE and MERCY OF GOD.

— All of that angst about approaching the door is gone… It’s washed away to the glow of Jesus.

Communion

— we are going to transition now to our communion time… the first time for 2023.

— We are going to use a different scripture during our communion time this year.

Listen as I read from Luke 22.

Luke 22:14–19 ESV

14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

— Communion servers please come forward

— At the end of our service, someone will be at the back door with the offering plate. This is for the members of our body and the community who are in need.

— If you are in need of prayer please come to the front during the last song and I or others will be there to pray with you.