We are One

Tell Them What You are Going to Tell Them

Introduction

"I want to introduce you to two people this morning—two ordinary, everyday people. Meet Carol and Mason. The two live next door to each other in a small town in North Carolina, one of those towns so small you might find it hard to find on a map. Carol is a lifelong Democrat and attends the local United Methodist Church, while Mason is a lifelong Republican who worships at the Assembly of God church. These two neighbors couldn’t seem more different.

As election season heated up, Carol’s front yard filled with signs supporting her favorite Democrat candidates, while Mason countered by lining his lawn with Republican signs. Tensions were visible, even if unspoken.

But then came the hurricanes. Streets flooded, homes were damaged, and lives were upended. Carol’s dog went missing in the chaos, and in her distress, Mason was the one who showed up. Together, they searched all morning until, finally, they found the dog. When Mason began clearing out the wreckage at his place, Carol rallied friends from her church to come help him with the work. Day after day, Carol and Mason worked side by side.

On Sunday, the community held a joint worship service. In that gathering, there were no labels—no Democrats or Republicans, Methodists or Assemblies of God. It was simply a community, united to worship one God and to serve each other. And when that worship service ended, they left as one people, moving out to continue the work, reaching out to their neighbors, setting aside politics and focusing on each other’s needs.

Carol and Mason were united not by party lines but by their shared faith and love for God and their community. Today, as we continue our sermon series on proper Christian behavior in a politically polarized environment, we’re going to talk about the power of that unity and the simple truth that we are one. The central message for today is

Central Message

“Christians must not let secular issues divide a divine institution.

The church is no ordinary institution—it’s a divine one, established by Jesus Himself. Though we may worship in different buildings or belong to different denominations, there is one Church, one body of Christ, and we are all members of it. No secular issue, no political affiliation, and no earthly organization should be allowed to divide what is sacred.

As we explore this central message, we’ll focus on four main points that reveal why unity in the Church is both our calling and our witness to the world.”

Main Point(s)

We are one body / one Spirit / one Church (race, economy, politics)

To live as one we must be humble, gentle, patient, and loving.

Seek peace.

Tell Them

1 Corinthians 12:12–14 NIV

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

We are one body (race, economy, politics)

Ephesians 4:2 NIV

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

(be humble, gentle, Patient, and love)

Ephesians 4:3 NIV

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

seek peace

Ephesians 4:4–6 NIV

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.

Question(s)

How can we be one with people who are so different from us?

Answer(s)

"The church is full of people who are different. It’s a global body, the Church of God—the body of Christ that reaches beyond culture, beyond race, beyond socioeconomic status, and beyond politics. So how can we be one with people who seem so different from us?

Jesus gave us two great commandments: to love God and to love our neighbor. We cannot fulfill the first commandment to love God if we are unwilling to fulfill the second commandment to love our neighbor. Notice that Jesus didn’t qualify this command. He didn’t say, ‘Love your neighbor if they look like you.’ He didn’t say, ‘Love your neighbor if they dress like you, or if they make as much money or more money than you, or if they share your political views.’ He simply said, ‘Love your neighbor.’

We are one with people who differ from us because God made us to be one, and God calls us to be one. Will it be difficult at times? Yes. But God doesn’t call us to what’s easy; He calls us to what’s right.

Second, we should

consider that we aren’t as different as we might think. When we get down to the basics of life, we’ll find that most of us want the same things: safety, love, purpose, and hope. Our ways of achieving these things may vary, but our core needs unite us.

Finally, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we find unity in the essentials of our faith. On the foundational truths of our faith, we stand together, and these are the things that matter most. In the essentials, we find unity; in the non-essentials, we allow liberty. We need to give our sisters and brothers the freedom to see the world differently, especially on issues outside the core of our faith. And in all things, we are called to love one another.

When we prioritize love and unity over our differences, we live out Christ’s vision for His Church—a community united in love and purpose." That is how we are to be one with those who are different.

Application.

As we draw closer to this election, I want to challenge you to look at fellow believers with new eyes. When you see someone who is part of the body of Christ, see more than a Trump supporter or a Harris supporter. See beyond Democrat or Republican, conservative, moderate, liberal, or progressive. Look past these non-essentials, and see someone who is your brother, your sister in Christ. See someone who holds the same worth to God as you do, someone for whom God sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross.

Be humble. Friends, be humble, because as we discussed last week, we all have sinned, and we all fall short of God’s glory. We are human; we are imperfect. That means we’re all wrong about something. It’s easy to focus on what we think others get wrong, but it can be hard to admit that we, too, are mistaken about some things.

So let’s shift our focus to God—our Creator, our Savior. Let’s center ourselves on the essentials we hold in common and commit to being faithful ambassadors of the kingdom. By doing so, we open the door for the Holy Spirit to move in powerful ways. Whether someone is Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, they can be touched by the Holy Spirit, led to salvation, and welcomed into the family of God.

Let us be a Church that is defined not by our differences but by our love, our humility, and our shared purpose to glorify God."

Tell Them What You Told Them

"My friends, let us not allow the secular institution of politics to divide the divine institution of the church. We are called to be humble, gentle, and patient, to love one another, and to seek peace wherever possible. Let us hold fast to this truth: we are one—regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, or political views. We are one body, bound by one Spirit. We share one faith and one hope—Jesus Christ, our only hope.

We serve one Lord, one God. We are one. May this unity be our witness to the world, a testimony of God’s love and grace. We are one Amen."