Lenten Lunch Message

Prayer, Intro, Scripture Reading

Before we begin would you pause with me for a moment of prayer to prepare our hearts for God’s word?

Opening questions:

How many of you like chocolate ice cream more than vanilla?

How many people drink Tea raise your hand. How many people prefer coffee instead?

These are just a few examples of areas where we can be divided over small things like what we eat and drink. Yet, we have never been more divided in the past several years. It leaves us to question, if so much has the potential to divide us, is Unity even possible?

Eph Chapter 4 gives us an answer to this question. Id invite you to listen to Paul’s word to the believers in Ephesus

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord,one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

What Unifies Us

Unity of Spirit

As believers We all have God’s Spirit in Us

Breath and life

equips and empowers the church to do the ministry of Christ on Earth as We are Christ’s body here on earth.

One Hope - The hope that has existed since the beginning a renewed world, a world totally under God’s reign.

One Lord- Jesus, the earliest Christian Creed is made up of three words, Jesus is Lord- all of life stemmed from that.

One Baptism - this isnt one mode, but one person we are baptized

One God- well 3-in 1 but still one.

Maintaining Unity in A Divided World

Paul Gives us A hint of how to maintain Unity

Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Bearing One another in Love

Paul Writes in Romans 15:6

Romans 15:6 NIV

so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek Word here for one mind and one voice or in some translations it says: with one accord is homo-thumadon

Its a compound word homo meaning one, thumos, meaning passion or fierceness.

What Paul is saying here is that we must have a fierce passion for oneness. A fierce passion to maintain unity among Brothers and Sisters in the church.

How do we do this when there is so much to distract us from unity and divide us.

Illustration: Paper with a black Dot - What do you see on this paper?

Church imagine if our focus for unity was like this? That all our attention was on not the other stuff but the One thing that unifies us?

Transition: Yet, our unity is not an end in itself, but in fact a means to an end. God doesnt want us to be unified to simply say YAY of all the religious groups in the world the Christians are unified!

Our Unity Bears Fruit

In John 17, Jesus prays for not only his disciples, but all of the disciples that would come as a result of the Gospel. Thats you and me and everyone hear this morning. Please listen as I read the words of Jesus’ prayer.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Did you catch what Jesus said about Unity?

Jesus prays that we would be one as He and the Father are one and the result is that the world would will know that Jesus was sent by the Father and that the Father loves them.

This is so important because our Unity bears fruit. Our Unity Builds the Kingdom. Our Unity is How the World will know Jesus.

So when we reflect on Unity we must remember:

What Unifies US

How to Maintain Unity in a Divided World

That our Unity Bears Kingdom Fruit

Would you pray with me?