Deliberate Unity
Jeff Strite
Ephesians 4:1-6
(I went over to the thermostat on the wall that we have on stage)
Over here on the wall we have a box.
I look closely here and I see a number. It says ''70''. What does that mean?
That's right - it means that that's the temperature here on stage.
Now is that the temperature on the outside? (It was 35 outside)
Why?
Because in this box there is not only a thermometer, but also a theremostat.
A thermometer tells me HOW hot or cold it is on stage.
A thermostat allows me to CONTROL how hot or cold it is.
Now... hold that thought for a moment.
APPLY: Today is a special day for us.
This is our Unity Worship service.
It's the day when we deliberately gather the people from 3 different languages into ONE combined worship service.
Now, that took some extra work
The English and Spanish worship teams had to get together to practice songs.
We had to go to Burmese congregation and see what songs they knew that we could sing
And we had to buy transmitters so we could translate the worship service into Spanish/Burmese
It is extra work for Mosi (our Burmese translater) and Max (our Spanish translator)
That's a lot of extra work isn't it??
But all three congregations saw this as an important time.
A time when we gathered together in unity to worship God.
A time when we declare to the world... we are ONE church!!!!
In our text this morning we have the most unusual command from God.
He commands us to be
''EAGER to MAINTAIN the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' Ephesians 4:3
Notice that word EAGER.
God wants us to be eager to be united as Christians.
Whether we speak English/ Spanish/ Burmese - or any of 1000s other languages
Then notice that word ''MAINTAIN''
We must not only be eager... we must WORK at maintaining that unity.
And that involves more than just having a unified worship service once a year.
God is commanding us to WORK at being ONE church... all the time.
N ...
Jeff Strite
Ephesians 4:1-6
(I went over to the thermostat on the wall that we have on stage)
Over here on the wall we have a box.
I look closely here and I see a number. It says ''70''. What does that mean?
That's right - it means that that's the temperature here on stage.
Now is that the temperature on the outside? (It was 35 outside)
Why?
Because in this box there is not only a thermometer, but also a theremostat.
A thermometer tells me HOW hot or cold it is on stage.
A thermostat allows me to CONTROL how hot or cold it is.
Now... hold that thought for a moment.
APPLY: Today is a special day for us.
This is our Unity Worship service.
It's the day when we deliberately gather the people from 3 different languages into ONE combined worship service.
Now, that took some extra work
The English and Spanish worship teams had to get together to practice songs.
We had to go to Burmese congregation and see what songs they knew that we could sing
And we had to buy transmitters so we could translate the worship service into Spanish/Burmese
It is extra work for Mosi (our Burmese translater) and Max (our Spanish translator)
That's a lot of extra work isn't it??
But all three congregations saw this as an important time.
A time when we gathered together in unity to worship God.
A time when we declare to the world... we are ONE church!!!!
In our text this morning we have the most unusual command from God.
He commands us to be
''EAGER to MAINTAIN the UNITY of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' Ephesians 4:3
Notice that word EAGER.
God wants us to be eager to be united as Christians.
Whether we speak English/ Spanish/ Burmese - or any of 1000s other languages
Then notice that word ''MAINTAIN''
We must not only be eager... we must WORK at maintaining that unity.
And that involves more than just having a unified worship service once a year.
God is commanding us to WORK at being ONE church... all the time.
N ...
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