As Jesus was preparing to face the cross, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray fervently for the disciples, knowing that they would face difficulty in sharing His message of peace and love with the world. Having prayed for the disciples, he also prayed for Christians down through the ages: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” John 17:20–21.
His prayer was that all who would believe in Him through the word of the apostles would have the same unity that He experienced with the Father. He prayed that the church would be unified and that those whom would be called by His name would walk in unity and harmony. Therefore when God’s church experiences disunity and division they are ignoring Christ’s prayer, and then the unbelieving world looks to the church and rejects the gospel message.
Much of the book of Ephesians is about the unity of the body of Christ. In Paul’s day he declared that there was, “one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). Through November I will continue preaching through Ephesians and will continue to challenge us to seeing ourselves as one unified body. Truth is however as we study the word of God, and God teaches us these truths; we must translate our hearing into doing. Jesus said if we loved him then we would show it by doing what he tells us to do.
Among other community church gatherings, each November we schedule an annual Thanksgiving worship service with our sister churches and fellow believers of the Borden community. As we attend this gathering we are being obedient to Christ’s prayer. With that understanding, I am asking you to make a special effort to gather your family, and attend this special service. Our meeting, which rotates each year, will be at the Pleasant View Methodist Church on Wednesday evening November 24th at 7pm. Let’s demonstrate to Borden and the surrounding community that we are one unified body, the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we have love one for another.
See you there. Brother Scott >
A Message on Unity in the Body
