The LPBC Sunday School Gazette: Unity in the Church -- April 29, 2013

We live in the United States of America. But are we as a country UNITED? Most every issue, social and political, shows the divide that exists in our nation.

Just looking at the popular vote in the last four presidential elections shows the split:

2012 Presidential election: Obama 51%     Romney 47%
2008 Presidential election: Obama 52%     McCain 45%
2004 Presidential election: Bush 51%        Kerry 48%
2000 Presidential election: Bush 48%        Gore 48%

But the one place we are to be united is inside the walls of our church. As Christians, we are commanded to be unified under the banner of Jesus.

Super-disciple-maker Paul of New Testament fame wrote four letters while in prison for preaching the Gospel. We looked at passages from three of those letters. The one theme that ran through them was unity.

We saw in Ephesians 4:1-6 that " Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

Jesus did not introduce denominations of Christianity to the world; he taught ONE WAY. Through Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Being in a church should be like being in a rowboat. Everyone isn't holding the same oar, but everyone should be rowing their oar in the same direction.

Moving into Philipians 2:1-4: "If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Scott Guffin's April 22nd, 2013 blog post was entitled The "Mysterious Triangle of Strength". In it, Scott explains Dr. Frank Minirth's idea of this "Mysterious Triangle of Strength". It speaks of three things that together give a person of God strength in tough times. The first is The Bible--God's Word. The second is Prayer. The third is the Body of Christ--The Church.

The image I have of these three--the Bible, Prayer, and the Church is this. Let's say you want to rely on just the Bible for your journey. It would be like riding a unicycle. You'd get there, but it would take a lot of effort to stay upright.

If you rely on the Bible and Prayer, you now have two wheels--a bicycle. It would be much easier to go, but you'd always have to be moving forward or else risk toppling over.

But if you use the Bible and Prayer and the Church, you are now riding with three wheels on the ground. You are much more stable. And in those times where your strength is sapped, you can rest in God without falling down.

Our final scripture came from the letter from Paul to Philemon. Now Philemon had been led to Christ by Paul earlier in Paul's ministry. Philemon was a slave owner.

One of Philemon's slaves was a man named Onesimus. Onesimus had fled from Philemon's house and probably stole something on the way out. Onesimus later met Paul and became a Christian.

In this letter, Paul urges Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household without punishment. In verses 15-18, Paul writes: "For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account."

Philemon did nothing wrong, but Paul asked him to wipe Onesimus' slate clean. Philemon had every right to be hurt, angry, and upset with Onesimus' actions.

But Paul wanted Philemon to show the same grace to a slave that Jesus showed to him--total forgiveness of past sins. Grace was the price of admission.

Unity isn't natural. Unity isn't easy. It means letting go of your selfish motives for the good of others. But the payoff is the increase of God's Kingdom. And that's a trade you should make every day.

To finish, we saw a video that summed up our lesson. It was "Mark Lowry--Recovering Fundamentalist". It is one of the best explanations of our need for Jesus that I've seen.