Unity in Community
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Names mean something!
They reflect who you are or who you belong to...
Jesus name has power, healing and salvation.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
If it was important to make a declarative statement of the meaning of a name, then it is important for us not to neglect what our name means.
Not personally, but as a body of believers.
Not just on the universal level but at the local level...
Whats in our name?
You don't just grab a name off the shelf and claim it.
Who are we?
Where are we going?
What are we doing?
Members want to know, people want to know.
What differentiates us from another church on the corner?
We are Greater Community First Baptist Church...
Today, I want to focus specifically on Community.
Looking at Community, I want to drill down and see the word Unity in Community...
The Church is one in essence,ecause
It is founded upon one Gospel.
United to One Lord.
And indwelt byvOne Spirit.
It’s unity is under constant threat because of the tendency to division that is inherent in fallen humanity, and needs to be continually maintained and expressed in fellowship.
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
This 1st letter from Peter was addressed to Christians, here called”God’s Chosen People.” who were scattered throughout the northern part of Asia Minor.
This 1st letter from Peter was addressed to Christians, here called”God’s Chosen People.” who were scattered throughout the northern part of Asia Minor.
The main purpose of the letter is to encourage the readers, who were facing persecution and suffering for their faith.
Peter does this by reminding the readers of the Good News about Jesus Christ, who’s death, resurrection, and promised coming gave them hope.
Along with his encouragement in time of trouble, the writer also urges his readers to live as people who belong to Christ.
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude B. Relationships in the Church (vv. 8–12)
These verses present an ideal picture of the life of a church. The target audience (all of you) has expanded beyond husbands and wives to include everyone in the church. Harmonious living is displayed in the life of the church. Live in harmony translates a single word in the original text and means “to be like-minded.” It describes an inner unity of attitude that makes division and mutiny within the body of Christ unthinkable.
This does not mean the church will never have any differences of opinion. The variety of gifts and talents God has given his people mean differences of opinion are bound to occur. The key is not the differences; the issue is how those differences are handled. Believers should live and minister together so that the differences do not divide the church but serve to enrich its life and work. To live in harmony means Christians should pursue the same primary purpose of serving God and extending love to one another, instead of being fueled by individual and selfish interests.
This emphasis on loving one another as brothers was introduced in 1 Peter 1:22. Its repetition here suggests that practical harmony within the body of Christ will not occur without a concerted effort by individual believers to approach their relationships within the body of Christ with a familial love.
Marshall observes, “The ideal Christian community is one which produces between people who have no blood ties the same bonds of affection as are expected between brothers (and sisters)” (Marshall, 106).
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter
1
Verse 8 adds a trio of virtues that reflect the active working elements of a harmonious group of people: sympathy, compassion, and humility.
If there is to be sustained Unity in Community we must...
Be Compassionate
Be Compassionate
Be compassionate simply means “a tender heart.” It underlines feelings that come from deep inside a person, especially when one observes the suffering and pain that another person is enduring.
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
:32
13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
Be Sympathetic
Be Sympathetic
Be sympathetic goes beyond compassion in that it attaches action to a tender heart reaction. This word has a distinctly practical bent. Not only do believers understand the feelings of another; they act appropriately to assist that person.
Sometimes in the body of Christ people find it difficult to receive help from others.
Something inside of us recoils from the need to be assisted.
At other times, those who do the helping approach this action with a superior attitude.
Jesus had sympathy in both situations:
Luke 7:
14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
Matthew 15:
Be Humble
Be Humble
That’s why humility is added. Humility is not a poor self-concept that shouts, “I’m no good! I am not worth anything to anyone. I don’t deserve a thing!”
Humility is an awareness of strengths and gifts as provided by God and a grateful attitude for them.
It is also an awareness of areas of weakness and need and a desire to grow in these areas and the willingness to receive assistance with these needs.
Furthermore, humility is the attitude that is content to minister in the background, away from the spotlight. Humility desires to put the interests of other people ahead of self-interest.
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2 Corinthians 8-9
Love as Brethren
Love as Brethren
Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus was washing the disciples feet...
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
John 13:
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.