Podcasts about our unity

Isaiah 54:2-3 AMP “Enlarge the site of your tent [to make room for more children]; Always about people Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them; Lengthen your tent ropes And make your pegs (stakes) firm [in the ground].Make solid what you already have because when you steward well3  “For you will spread out to the right and to the left; And your descendants will take possession of nations And will inhabit deserted cities. Acts 4:32-33 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all. Our UNITY determines our STRENGTH. It takes a UNITED church to heal a DIVIDED world. John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Acts 4:32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. Our GENEROSITY determines our IMPACT. 2 Corinthians 9:11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. Coastal Community Church will continue to make an impact at the SPEED of your GENEROSITY. Acts 4:33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's great blessing was upon them all. Our PARTICIPATION determines our SUCCESS. Because Heaven and Hell are realities, we must do anything SHORT OF SIN to reach people. What is my part to play in BUILDING God's kingdom?

1. Our Unity is GOOD2. Our Unity is PLEASANT3. Our Unity Commands God's BLESSING

So we're in this small series on the church to kick off the new year, called Gospel Culture. The reason we're doing this, is to emphasize how the gospel ought to shape our whole life together as a church. This is a great need. While we've been living in a time of resurgence in reformed doctrine,…… Continue reading Romans 15:1-13 – Our Unity & Gospel Culture

Unity is a non-denominational Spiritual Community in Central Oregon. Join us each week for some great music, a little bit of silliness, and a lot of inspirational soul food. All are welcome! This week: Rev. Jane Hiatt, Rev. Tamera Schmidt, and Kevin Kubota share, “Ask the Ministers”. Our popular “Ask the Ministers” series continues! Our Unity ministers, and ministers in training, open the floor to conversation with YOU. Ask any question and let's get the discussion started! Come with a question in mind, or see what Spirit leads you to ask. All are welcome. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ Submit your prayer claims online!: http://bit.ly/prayerclaim Please TXT donations to: (833) 455-1960 or Donate on our website: https://unitycentraloregon.org/donate/ Donate via Paypal: http://bit.ly/donateunitybend More goodness on our website: [www.UnityCentralOregon.org](http://www.unitycentraloregon.org/)

A new MP3 sermon from Founders Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Expression of Our Unity Subtitle: Series - Ephesians 4 Speaker: Richard Caldwell Jr. Broadcaster: Founders Baptist Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 10/1/2023 Bible: Ephesians 4:7-16 Length: 53 min.

A new VIDEO from Founders Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Expression of Our Unity Subtitle: Series - Ephesians 4 Speaker: Richard Caldwell Jr. Broadcaster: Founders Baptist Church Event: Sunday - PM Date: 10/1/2023 Bible: Ephesians 4:7-16 Length: 53 min.

Scripture used: John 14:23a; 1 John 5:3; John 3:35; John 5:22; John 5:27-29; John 5:26; John 17:2; Matthew 28:18; Luke 22:29; John 17:6a; John 7:16b; John 12:49, 50b; John 14:24b; Matthew 4:4b; Hebrews 4:12; Jeremiah 23:29; Isaiah 55:10-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 10:14a, 17; John 16:26-27; Matthew 6:9a; Romans 8:34b; Hebrews 4:15-16; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 5:2a; 1 Chronicles 29:11-12a, 14b; Psalm 24:1; John 1:1-4; John 1:14; Psalm 115:1; 1 Corinthians 10:31; John 14:1-3; Matthew 6:9; Revelation 4:8; Proverbs 18:10; Mark 9:38-40; John 6:64, 70-71; Psalm 41:9 Main points: I. The Word of God is of Utmost Importance II. You are Precious Enough to be Prayed For III. Fathom the Depth of the Oneness of Father and Son IV. Never Underestimate the Importance of God's Protection and Our Unity

Unity celebrates the presence of God, or Spirit, inherent in all life. We believe in the power of our mind to manifest the deepest desires of our heart. Our Unity philosophy states that we are responsible for the quality of our own lives. While this may sound empowering, it also has a downside. If we're not careful, we can take on too much responsibility and end up frustrated and defeated if we don't manifest a "successful" outcome. However, we cannot take responsibility for everything that happens in our lives. Even the greatest of spiritual masters have endured times of great challenge. This is not because they weren't good enough or evolved enough, but because challenges are a part of life. As we gain greater self-knowledge we can learn to observe our tendencies toward excessive guilt or self-blame and not judge ourselves or others too harshly. 

Strengthened by Our Unity

Fr. CJ’s homily on Sunday, May 22, 2022 The post What the World Believes About Christianity Depends on Our Unity appeared first on Our Lady of the Valley.

March 13, 2022 Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18Big Vision Requires Small Beginnings.OUR VISION: We exists to make life giving relationships that lead people to Know and Follow Jesus Christ.1. Make Life Giving Relationships.You were created for community.2. Lead People to Know Jesus.I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.  Philippians 3:10Jesus is the focus.I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.   John 14:61.  Take Steps to Follow Jesus.For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10I was created on purpose for a purpose.All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And God's grace was so powerful at work in them all.  Acts 4:332. Our Unity determines our strengthYour love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.  John 13:35I'd rather have united novices than divided experts3. Our generosity determines our impact.You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  2 Corinthians 9:11We will go and grow as fast as you give and serve.”  4. Our participation determines our success.Keep doing anything short of sin to reach people.  Discussion Questions:What would you miss most if you lost your sight?Why is community so important to you and in the church?How can we know what our Next Step toward God is?What are some examples of things that divide us?How can God been generous to us?What can you do to embrace Vision God has for your life?

The Cornerstone of Our Unity – Won Kim - Won Kim November 21, 2021 - Speaker: Sermons - Sermon Series: Racial Reconciliation - Watch Online: https://thenewcom.com/sermons/2021-11-21/the-cornerstone-of-our-unity/

The Glory of God in Our Unity with Christ

1 Corinthians 13:2-3 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may […] The post The Body of Christ: What is the Nature of Our Unity? Part 3 – Unity Under His Love appeared first on Hope Chapel.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 The Resurrection of Christ 15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 […] The post The Body of Christ: What is the Nature of Our Unity? Part 2 – United Under Shared Authority appeared first on Hope Chapel.

3/7/2021 The Beauty of Our Unity – by Tyler Young Basis Content Keeping *Click on “Save” to download the sermon audio or a PDF version of the PowerPoint.*

A new MP3 sermon from Gracious Cross Reformed Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Preservation of Our Unity Subtitle: Philippians Speaker: Gustavo Barros Broadcaster: Gracious Cross Reformed Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 9/6/2020 Bible: Philippians 2:2-3 Length: 73 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Gracious Cross Reformed Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Nature of Our Unity Subtitle: Philippians Speaker: Gustavo Barros Broadcaster: Gracious Cross Reformed Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 8/30/2020 Bible: Philippians 2:2 Length: 68 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Gracious Cross Reformed Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Ground of Our Unity Subtitle: Philippians Speaker: Gustavo Barros Broadcaster: Gracious Cross Reformed Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 8/24/2020 Bible: Philippians 2:1-2 Length: 64 min.

The Strength in Our Unity.

This is the talk only from our celebration service – without all music, prayer, meditation, celebrations, and announcements. Listen to our full service podcast for the entire experience. Our Unity form of prayer goes way beyond beseeching. It meets us where we are and lifts our consciousness higher. Unity Community of Central Oregon | Sunday's Celebration Service on May 17th, 2020 with Rev. Jane Hiatt. ********************************************************
 Unity's website: www.unitycentraloregon.com Located in Bend, Oregon, we are a growing spiritual community of like-minded yet eclectic and unique individuals that come together in love, joy and spiritual growth. If you are looking for a spiritual home that leaves out the dogma and judgement of childhood religion and instead focuses on personal growth and connection to others, this may be what you've been yearning for. We invite you to come play and grow with us and with our entire spirit-led family of caring and sharing individuals. Our ministry invites and accepts all people of all faiths and all creeds while sharing the wisdom and love from the highest and best teachings of Christianity and many other faiths. Parents bring your youth to experience the fun programs and loving teachings of our youth program. Come exactly as you are and see how easy it will be to relax into letting go of fear-based teachings, while allowing yourself to be bathed in the flow of unconditional love and well being.

n this lesson, Dr. Jan George, a retired university teacher of literature with a Master of Theology from the University of Dallas and founder of Sacred Heart Productions, discusses: Our Unity in View of Many Differences, Sin Is Darkness, Holiness Is Light.

n this lesson, Dr. Jan George, a retired university teacher of literature with a Master of Theology from the University of Dallas and founder of Sacred Heart Productions, discusses: Our Unity in View of Many Differences, Sin Is Darkness, Holiness Is Light.

Making time an Inspired Introspective focus in everything every-time and every connecting moment allows a person to reach that place of unifications! My children sincerely bring this out in my guests with the purity of connection! Our Unity projects will be about increased communication from an inner place, collaborative developments and deeper look at global issues! To consult and collaboration email unityinspiresprojects@gmail.com :)

Guest minister Rev. Grant Dawson shares a message on The Source of Our Unity.

People are searching for and inventing their identity. Christ offers and identity in Him that makes every other identity pale in comparison.----1. Before Christ -vs. 23-24--Under the law--2. In Christ -vs. 25-27--In Union with Christ--3. Together in Christ -vs. 28-29--Our Unity with others in Union with Christ

The Practice in Trials Philippians 2:1-11 I. Our Unity - v. 1-4 II. His Example - v. 5-8 III. His Exaltation - v. 9-11      A. His Position            1. The Ascent            2. The Return      B. His Name      C. Our Response

The Practice in Trials Philippians 2:1-11 I. Our Unity - v. 1-4 II. His Example - v. 5-8

The Practice in Trials Philippians 2:1-4 I. Our Unity

Introduction Church History: Zinzendorf Oh, man, well, I love church history, and one of the things that I love to do is just learn some of the great stories of brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone before us, and one of my heroes is Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf who headed for many, many years the Moravian enclave or community of Herrnhut. Now, Nicholas von Zinzendorf was born in the year 1700, and he was raised in a pious German home surrounded by German piety, but he was really not walking a Christian life until he was a university student in Wittenberg, almost about 200 years after Martin Luther posted the 95 thesis. He was there in Wittenberg, it was 1719. And he was in a museum, and he saw a painting of Christ with a crown of thorns on His head and blood coming down His face, and there was a caption under the painting, and it said this, "All this I have done for you, what are you doing for me?" Well, that became a life changing moment for him. He looked at his life and he realized that he was not, as the text says that you just heard read for us, “walking in a manner worthy of the calling that he had received.” Now it's easy to hear some challenge like that, and start going over into works and think, "Oh, now we have to earn Jesus's blood, we have to earn the forgiveness," that's not true. And Zinzendorf didn't hear it that way, but he wanted to live a life worthy of the calling. Recalling Ephesians 1-3 And as we come now to Ephesians chapter 4, and we're coming to a whole new section in the Book of Ephesians. To some degree, there's a bit of a continental divide between Ephesians 1-3 and Ephesians 4-6. A major transition in the letter from deep doctrine, amazing doctrine, or you could even say soaring doctrine to lifestyle, “How then shall we live?” Ephesians 1-3 has soared over the redemptive plan of God almost like a satellite looking down on the surface of the Earth and you can see to the edge of the Earth east and west, and this grand, glorious, majestic work of God in Ephesians 1-3. Like Ephesians 1, right away, Paul who wrote Ephesians, “praise God for His eternal purposes in Christ, how God, even before the foundation of the world loved us and chose us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He, Christ, might be the firstborn, among many brothers and how He adopted us and He redeemed us by the blood of Christ, how by the shed blood of Christ we have received forgiveness of sins.” He says that the Ephesians, “having heard the word of truth, the Gospel of their salvation, having believed it,” they were included in Christ. And Paul there at the end of Ephesians 1 prays that they would, that the “eyes of their heart would be enlightened” so that they would understand these glorious spiritual things that have happened to them. That they would know the hope of their calling and the riches of the inherited and is waiting for all of us in Heaven. How rich we are, we're going to be in Heaven and the incredible power is at work in us to get us from Earth to that heavenly life. Hope, riches and power. And He prays for that, and He likens the power at work in our lives to the very same power that was at work in Jesus when God raised Christ from the dead physically, and ascended Him through the heavens, physically, and He went through the heavenly realms, and sits at the right hand of Almighty God and rules over all things in Heaven and Earth for the benefit of His Church. That same power was at work in us, Ephesians 2, because we were “dead in our transgressions and sins,” and we were enslaved to sin. We were in Satan's dark kingdom and we were “by nature objects of wrath.” I don't think we can meditate on that too much. We were under the wrath of God for our sins, and if we had died in that state, we would have been eternally condemned, justly condemned for our sins. But God because of the richness of His mercy in Christ. “Even when we were dead in our transgressions and sins, God made us alive with Christ, and He raised us from the dead spiritually and through union with Christ, we are together with Christ seated with Him at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms.” And he made it very, very plain, it is by grace that we have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. And so we have this 100,000 feet pie like in orbit looking down at all of these grand and glorious things. And that we would know that we as Gentiles, at one time, were outsiders. We were on the outside, we were aliens and strangers, we were “without hope and without God in the world.” But God brought us close, even though we were aliens and strangers, He brought us close and He did an amazing thing with Gentiles like us, He destroyed the “barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” that kept us as outsiders. In the Old Covenant, there were laws and regulations, circumcision, dietary laws, all of that, that separated Jews and Gentiles, He removed all of that through the body, through the death of Christ. And he's brought us in and now all of us together, to borrow a bit of an image from 1 Peter, we are “living stones now built on the foundation of Christ”, and there's this glorious spiritual temple that's rising higher and higher, it's getting more and more majestic all the time. This is the Church of Jesus Christ and we as Christians, we're included, eternally included. We are “living stones” in the walls of this temple that's rising to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit, Ephesians 2. And Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to know of his ministry. He's about to pray for them in an amazing way which we looked at over the last four weeks. That he want them to know who he is. He's the apostle of the Gentiles, and he was called, specifically called, to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” Let me think about that, the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” and that's his ministry, the privilege he has, the gifting he has, the role that he has to preach and to be an instrument of salvation for Gentiles who are lost to come over and hear the Gospel and be included in this grand, glorious work that God's doing, this temple that's rising and becoming more and more glorious, and larger and larger all the time. Every sinner that comes over. That was Matt Blackstone and work that he's doing overseas and that other servants are doing. Every time someone hears with faith the Gospel of Christ, the temple, this invisible spiritual temple is getting bigger and more glorious. It's the work that God's doing in the world. And Paul stops and prays for the Ephesian Christians, we spent four weeks on this, and how he prays that they would understand and have strength through the Spirit, to grasp the infinite dimensions of Christ's love for us. “How wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ?” That we'd be “strengthened through the Spirit in our inner man,” to grasp that and that there's this weighty massive conception of the love of Christ for us, that all of us underestimates, every last one of us and that we actually would underestimate a little less that God would “pour out on us through the Spirit,” a sense and experience a feeling of that love that goes beyond knowledge, that we would be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” and he finishes that whole section of that magnificent doxology. "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurable, more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that's at work in us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever, amen." Living a Life Worthy of Our Calling (vs. 1) Major Transition: From Doctrine to Lifestyle So that's Ephesians 1-3, and as Paul has given us this view 100,000 feet above looking down, he is now making a transition, that's the doctrine. How then shall we live? What kind of life are we going to be living? And he says that we should “live a life worthy of our calling.” That's the immediate command here, and that's going to stand over the rest of the book. For the rest of the book, we're going to keep going back again and again to this statement, this desire, this command that Paul has to “live a life worthy of the calling that we have.” Now immediately he's going to talk about unity, and the need that we have to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” and that's today's message. But then he's going to transition and go from unity to diversity. And he's going to talk about the diversity of spiritual gifts and how the unity then diversity leads to maturity, to the maturity that all of us have in Christ, that we will grow up into full maturity in Christ. So the spiritual gifts are given to bring the full-elect body of Christ from dead in transgressions and sins across the line into life in Christ, and then up into full maturity. That's what's going on. So, we're going to see that that's part of living a life worthy of the calling we receive, using our spiritual gifts. Then he's going to talk about in Ephesians 4, 17-24, living a life of heart purity, hating sin. No longer thinking like the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking,” their darkened minds, but being made new in the attitude of our minds and living and thinking as Christ would have us do, like God in true righteousness and holiness. And he's going to give us details of this holy life, that we are to live, lots of details, Ephesians 4:25 to 5:21: Negatives and positives things we must not do; Lying, sinful anger, unforgiveness, stealing, laziness, evil speech, bitterness, brawling, some of you struggle with brawling and I'm telling you, you have to put that to death. So we're going to get serious about that sin of brawling. And all sins, all things that are not worthy of the calling that we have, negative things slander and sexual immorality of “which there must not be even a hint in this congregation.” Negatively things we must not do. And then positively, by contrast, what we must do; hard work, using the fruit of our labor to help the needy not stealing, but working hard and using our mouths to bless people not to tear them down or to liars or slander, being kind and compassionate, forgiving one another, and worshipping together by the Spirit, summed up in that beautiful command in Ephesians 5:18, that we should “no longer be drunk with wine which leads to debauchery, but instead be being filled with the Spirit.” And goes from that into Christian marriage, so beautifully. I had the privilege this morning in the BFL class of touching on that, and the beauty of a Christian marriage of wives submitting to their husbands as to the Lord, and husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up. We're going to see all of that as part of living a life worthy of the calling that we have. And then Christian parenting, how fathers are two to train up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and children are to obey and submit to their parents. And then the master-slave relationship we're going to talk about all that, all of these relationships by the power of the Spirit, living a life worthy of the calling that we have received. And then he ends up with spiritual warfare. We're going to have time to do all of that God willing. Paul’s Moral Authority and Overarching Command So all of that, that's where we're going, where we’ve been and where we're going. So we're a bit at a continental divide now, as we turn from doctrine into the kind of life that we have and he gives us this overarching command. Verse one, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then or therefore, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Now this calling is a magnificent thing. I love what Daniel was doing in worship, as he was talking about that. And then we looked at And Can it Be. And I just think that's beautiful. Charles Wesley gave us a great picture of it. The calling is the sovereign work of God similar to his statement. "Let there be light," and there's light, or similar to what Jesus did with Lazarus when he calls out, "Lazarus come forth," and there's life, and then obedience. This is a sovereign calling of God, a powerful thing which creates that which it calls. When God as soon as God says, "I think the word light, there's like, "Let there be light," and there's light, and so God does that in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ that radiates, and we see it. That's our calling, and we have this calling. Our Calling: Out of Spiritual Death to Perfection in Christ Now, God's eternal purpose is clearly stated, if you look back at Ephesians 1:4, I covered it in summary a minute ago, but look at it Ephesians 1:4, He God the Father “chose us in Him,” God the Son, Christ, “before the creation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him,” or, “in His sight,” that's our calling, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.” So we were chosen and predestined. Now, I'm going to bring in Romans 8 to talk more about this calling. For "Those whom God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called,” with the Gospel by the sovereign power of God, and “those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified." So that's what it means. Our calling is to be glorified, it's to be completely conformed to Christ in every way. Eternally predestined to be conformed to Christ in every way, to love what Christ loves and hate what Christ hates. To yearn for and desire, what Christ desires and to choose what Christ would choose and to reject what Christ rejects and to think like Christ thinks about every topic. No disagreement at all from the mind of Christ that we have the mind of Christ and we would think like Christ thinks. And our emotions, we would feel and rejoice and grieve like Christ would rejoice, and grieve in every way conform. And then it goes actually to our bodies that we in the end will be perfectly conformed to Jesus's glorious resurrection body. How awesome is that? Paul captures it I think very well in Philippians 3:21 talks about Jesus, “by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies and make them like his glorious body.” How awesome is that? We're going to be conformed to Christ, resurrection body. So that's our calling. The calling we have received is the sovereign power of God to rescue us from spiritual death described in Ephesians 2: 1-3 in “Satan's dark kingdom, enslaved to our lusts and passions, living dead even while we lived we were dead, spiritually.” “By nature objects of wrath” out of that into life, eternal life, and then increasingly conformity to Christ in every respect until at last, we share a glorious resurrection body with Christ. That's our calling. Now, at present, we believe that we Christians are spiritually positionally in the heavenly realms with Christ, we're seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. If you don't believe me, look again. Ephesians 2:4-6, “but because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,” Ephesians 2:5, “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it's by grace you have been saved,” Here it is, Ephesians 2:6, "And God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms, in Christ Jesus." You're already there, positionally you are already in the heavenly realms in Christ through your union with Christ. But you are to live a life worthy of that. You are to live here on Earth a life worthy of your heavenly position united with Christ. So we have what Paul calls in Philippians 3, a sense of “upward calling of God in Christ Jesus,” a sense of upward calling. So for the rest of our lives, we're straining after a life worthy of this perfection. So he says in Philippians 3:12-14. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining” pressing, “toward what lies, ahead, I press on for the upward call of God on my life in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 3:14. So Jesus took hold of us, by the sovereign grip of grace for the purpose of our total perfection in Christ. He's got a hold of us and He's never going to let us go that corresponds to us pressing day after day to take hold of Him for the same purpose, perfection. So that's how I hear live a life worthy of the calling. Live a life worthy of the calling. Our heavenly calling. So we're going to press on, we're going to be holy because He is holy. Ultimately, our calling is heaven itself, the New Heavens, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem, the home of righteousness, where only holy people can dwell where everything is perfectly pure and free from sin, where the entire redeemed in the universe will live in a redeemed universe, a New Heaven, New Earth. That's our heavenly calling and so we are to live a life worthy of that. What is a Life “Worthy” of That Calling? Now, what does that mean? To walk in a manner worthy? Well worthy means something that conforms or is proportional to that high calling. It lines up with it, it reflects it, it's caused by it, it's completely synced up with it. We are royalty. We are future kings and queens under the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that's what we are, we're to live like it. We're to live, like royal sons and daughters. We are sons and daughters adopted and beloved children, so we have full access to the throne room of God, we should live like it, we should live a life worthy by going regularly into the throne of grace and making great requests of him, we should think like that. Central Command: Maintain Unity in the Spirit (vs. 3) Unity is the Goal of Christ’s Redemption So Paul's going to be describing this life worthy of the calling that we received over the next three chapters, and He begins with an urgent appeal for Christian unity. This is the central command here, Verse 3, "Maintain unity in the Spirit." So look at verse 3. NIV gives it this way. "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." The First thing he says is this issue of unity. Unity is the goal of Christ's redemption in the universe. That's what he's doing, go back and look at Ephesians 1:10, we've seen this before, but Ephesians 1:10, a very significant statement, how God made known to us the mystery of His will He gave us wisdom to know what He's doing. What is he doing well in Ephesians 1:10 it says that he is “bringing all things in Heaven and on Earth together under one head, even Christ.” Remember when I preached on that in Ephesians 1:10, I said sin has had the effect in the universe spiritually and physically, of a fragmentation grenade. Remember that blew it to bits hurdling away from the center away from God. Christ, God, His redeeming work through Christ is to reverse that and bring it back together and make it one. All things together, one under Christ, that's what He's doing. Unity is the Essence of the Spiritual Temple Christ is Building And so He's doing this work of redemption of restoration and unity is the essence of this work in the Church, it's the essence of the spiritual temple, that He's building. Remember, I described that at the end of Ephesians 2. And so we, living stones, quarried from “every nation and tribe and language, and people all over the world,” through repentance and faith in Christ we're brought in and we are made one together with other brothers and sisters in the walls of this spiritual temple. So look again at Ephesians 2:12 and following, it says "You were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world, you were outsiders, you were out in the cold, you were distant, you were out there." But now Ephesians 2:13 "In Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near." You see that? So we were like pieces of a fragmentation grenade Flying away from God, he stopped that turned us around, through repentance and faith, and brought us back together with other brothers and sisters who He did the same thing in them as well, and brought us together to make us one in this majestic spiritual temple, that's rising. And so there's this togetherness language in Ephesians 2:14-16. Listen again "For He,” Christ, “He Himself is our peace, who has made the two, one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the Law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace and in this one body, to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which He put to death their hostility.” Skip ahead to verses 21, 22, Ephesians 2, 21-22, “in Him,” in Christ “the whole building is joined together,” there's a picture of unity right joined together to become a holy temple in the Lord and in Him, you too are being built together there it is again, “to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” Unity is Patterned After the Trinity Now, I never tire of saying that this unity that we have in mind here is patterned after the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, it's an infinite mystery, the Godhead, but the Father and the Son and the Spirit, three persons of God perfectly one. And this work of unification that God is doing through the Gospel, puts the Gospel itself on display. And so in John 17, He prays that all who hear this Gospel message may be one, Father, Jesus Christ says, “Father that they may be one, as you and I are one. I in you, they in me. May they be brought to complete unity,” progressively perfected in unity, “to let the world know that you sent me.” You see, so we put the Gospel on display as we increasingly and more perfectly become one with each other. This is a huge deal. This is what God is doing in the world. The Focus: Church Unity So the focus here is on church unity. Paul has in mind here, not only the universal Body of Christ, what we call the mystical communion of Christ, the invisible Body of Christ. That's true, that's in his mind, but he's also talking about the local church. He's talking about the Ephesians church there in Asia Minor had a specific place in time where they'd assembled to worship and all that. I don't think they had a website, I don't think they had an email address, I'm sure of that. But they definitely had a physical location where you could go to at a certain time And worship with them. The local church, and so he has in mind the unity of a local church, not just the spiritual or mystical unity of the Body of Christ. He yearns therefore for local churches to put on display the supernatural unity, that is ours in Christ. He knows, as Jesus prayed, that as the Church earnestly loves one another, and forgives one another, and is kind to one another, and serves one another and use spiritual gifts in one another's lives that will put the Gospel on display for the watching, outsider, cold distant world. And they'll say, “I want in. I want to be part of whatever God's doing there.” That's what he's praying for that a local church will put that on display. But by contrast, if the church is fractious, and divided, and unforgiving, and bitter, and living in sin, it will have zero attractional power to the world. So this is a big, big deal. Unity is Already Ours Now, unity is already ours in Christ, we have it. It's something we already have spiritually, positionally we are all united with Christ through faith and up in the heavenly realms, positionally. All of us around the world, positionally one. So, Paul uses language here of “maintain” or “keep” or “protect” that unity. It's not something we have to go achieve it's something we have to protect. It's already ours in Christ. So the idea here is to keep, protect, defend against all attacks, that's the idea. This unity has been won for us at the cross, it's been applied to us by the Spirit, so now we have to live it out and protect it from all attacks. So, many of the New Testament commands to us are, “This is what you are now live it. This is what's true of you now live it out.” And so we have this issue, consistent issue of unity in the church. Consistent Issue in the New Testament How many of the Epistles deal with this? First Corinthians that church was ripped apart by factions and divisions. “I follow Paul, I follow Peter, I follow Paul, I follow Jesus,” and so he says, "I plead with you that you would be perfectly united in mind and thought, and there'd be no divisions among you." Corinthians. Same thing in the sweet letter to the Philippians. You have these two ladies, Euodia and Syntyche who are just not getting along. And they're the only ones we know by name, but we know in general he's pleading with them, the Philippians he said, “if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, any fellowship with His Spirit of any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but the interests of others, and you should have this mind in you, which was also in Christ.” And then that incredible statement about Christ humility. So it's going on in Philippians as well. Galatians they're ripping each other apart, because of false doctrine like wild beasts they’re biting and devouring each other, they need to be one. The acts of the flesh or factions, divisions, fits of rage, and all of that going on in Galatians. The Romans. He has a whole chapter in Romans 14, on church unity especially Jew-Gentile unity. About disputable, debatable issues. So every church struggles with this, every church does, and we have to embrace our responsibility and supernatural effort is required. Supernatural Effort Required (vs. 2-3) Conquering the Threefold Enemy Look again at verses 2 and 3, "Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. This effort, this will not be easy to do. Our unity as a church, first term's unity will be under constant assault as long as this church lives. Even down to person A and person B, there's going to be constant assault, the world, the flesh, the devil, those ancient enemies, will come after our unity and seek to divide it. So many different ways, but that's Satan's goal. And so we have to understand how the flesh, our own fanatical commitment to self-interest, destroys unity. And we have to be mindful of how Satan cleverly orchestrates temptations and circumstances that our flesh responds to to divide unity, and how the world is going to be pulling on us and attacking us, alluring us with materialism, and all that, to destroy unity, or persecuting in some parts of the world and probably increasingly in this part of the world. There's going to be hostility and persecution, to the point that brothers and sisters might actually even betray each other to the authorities, destroying unity so the world, the flesh, and the devil are going to be constantly assaulting our unity, and we have to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. So what this means is we have to be on this all the time, we have to be alert to this issue all the time. Make Every Effort “If you're offering your gift at the altar,” Jesus said, "And there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, then come and offer your gift.” So there's a sense of diligence and speed, quickness. Later in Ephesians, He's going to say, "Be angry but do not sin, and do not let the sun go down while you're still angry.” Same kind of teaching urgently quickly deal with anything that would break your horizontal fellowship with someone else. Our church covenant, says, “to be slow to take offense and always ready for reconciliation, mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.” So the image I have here is of constant vigilance on the walls. And we're walking and we're doing a patrol through the night and we're just going to be watching for any attacks on our unity and we're going to be zealous. Be Completely Humble and Gentle In order to do this, we have to be completely humble like I said, our flesh fanatical commitment to self, the Gospel destroys our pride doesn't, amen. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” "Be completely humble." He says "With all humility." Pride destroys more churches than any other sin. And so, thinking, You don't need God's grace, thinking you're better than other people pushing your own agenda, you've got an idea of what's best, and you push it forward because you have a special interest, and you're pushing that. That creates factions and divisions, and we are to be completely humble. I tell you, there's enough power for humbling in the Gospel, isn't there? Doesn't the cross of Christ humble us? Don't we come as broken sinners and need forgiveness? So, be completely humbled by the bloody cross of Christ and be gentle. There's a gentleness he talks about here "Be completely humble and gentle." I have a picture of Jesus as the Lamb of God. And the Holy Spirit as a dove coming down out of heaven and resting on the Lamb of God. There's a gentleness there, it's the only description, I ever find that Jesus gives of Himself. Where He says "I am gentle and humble in heart, and you'll find rest for your souls." There's a gentleness, a mildness. Hasn't this weather been amazing? Any of you hot? I'm really hot right now. I've been here for 17 plus years. It's hard to preach to a hot crowd, alright? And congregation. So hang in there, fan yourselves alright. But this weather has been so mild. And I was out in the sunshine, yesterday, I was waiting for Calvin's basketball game to start, and I was just sitting in the sunshine and this gentle breeze came across my face as I was just waiting there, and I just closed my eyes and I said, "Yes, yes, yes, Lord, December in North Carolina. Thank you. Thank you." I don't miss the blizzards I don't miss the cold. I know there's almost zero chance of a white Christmas alright. Now, I've been told whether could change in a while. I know it could still happen. You kids out there, you're hoping for a white Christmas, not looking good right now, but it's so mild, and pleasant like it's August or September or something like that. But there's just this mildness not a sharpness or harshness, that just destroys fellowship. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger,” Proverbs 15:1. Be Patient, Bearing with One Another in Love Let's be mild with each other, and let's be patient, bearing with one another in love He says, "Be long-suffering, be like God who puts up with so much sin, He is not quick to anger." Let's bear with it. I found the longer you're with someone, the more their habits start to grate on you. Alright, if you ever been on a long mission trip with a small group of people, you know what I'm saying? After a while... Never mind. But anyway, it just starts to happen. And I'm sure it's happening the other way too, and we have to make every effort to cover people sins with forgiveness and to bear with their habits that irksome and annoying Unity of the Spirit in a Bond of Peace Make every effort it says to keep it says the unity of the Spirit, it is the Spirit that does this for us, the Spirit gives us unity and makes us one, it's beautiful to see. You go overseas and there's a brother or sister in Christ, don't even speak the same language, never met. There's a unity between us and that brother or sister through the Spirit. "In the bond of peace," the text says. And what I think of, there is both the status of peace that we have, justified by faith, with Christ, we have peace with God, God at peace with us, we at peace with God. That's fine, that's the basis of it. But then there's that peacefulness. A feeling of serenity. He never flies off the handle He is a serene being. And so there is a status of peace we have with each other, but then there's a peacefulness in the relationship such as Philippians 4:6-7. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, I would say peacefulness, from God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So I think that's what it means to keep the unity of the “Spirit in a bond of peacefulness with each other.” So we're getting along well with each other, and we're at peace with each other and that's a delightful thing. The Seven-Fold Basis of Our Unity (vs. 4-6) Stunning Assertions of Doctrinal Truth: Seven-Fold Unity And then in verses 4-6, He gives the seven-fold basis of our unity. “There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called. One Lord, one faith, One baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all, and through all and in all.” This is a stunning assertion of the doctrinal basis of our unity, seven-fold Unity, how perfectly one we already are if we are in Christ. And note the Trinity here. The Trinity: The Basis for All Unity There's, “one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope are called.” One Lord, that's Jesus. One faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all. That's the God the Father. So God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all here, the perfect unity of God, how God is perfectly one with himself, the Father, the Son, the Spirit perfectly one, never a shifting shadow of disagreement between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, that's how we are to be with each other. And that's a beautiful thing. One Body And he says, "There is one body." Christ is working one body in the world, there's one Lord, one body and he's not doing separate works in Iran and something different in China and something different here in North Carolina there is worldwide one body of Christ. And we're going to get this image more and more unfolded for us in detail in the next section, but this body growing and building itself up in love, together, one in Christ and one Spirit. We don't receive a different Spirit from someone else around the world when they come to faith in Christ, the same Holy Spirit indwells us. And “one hope when we were called.” So when you're having trouble in a Christian relationship, could be in marriage, could be with another brother or sister in Christ here in the church, we have one hope. We're going to the same destination. We're traveling to the same place. When we were missionaries in Japan, we had the privilege of being on the Shinkansen, the bullet train, and I love that thing. It was like flying on earth Magnetic Levitation, we're going 300 miles an hour. It was awesome. But we're all going to one destination believe me, alright. There's no one getting off half way there. And they would arrive within two seconds of their stated destination time. It was all computer-controlled and nothing can get in the way. It's a picture of the sovereign grace of God, the redemptive plan of God we are all going, all of us, the elect, to the same place, we're going to Heaven. So when you're in a conflict with your spouse, with a friend, someone in a home fellowship, another Christian brother or sister, something's going on. Keep in mind we have one hope here, the same delight of Heaven, the same New Heaven and New Earth, and New Jerusalem we're going the same place. And then “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” take them all together, but that's what Christmas is all about one Savior, Jesus Christ, that's one Lord, one faith in Him, that “if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts God raised Him from the dead. We will be saved.” One faith, and then, one baptism, which I take really is the baptism of the Spirit then testified to by water baptism. By one spirit, we're baptized into the “one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” It is for this reason, Christ came. And so we get to preach that. And I think about that. I mean, this time of year, we get to proclaim the Gospel, and I don't know that every one of you that listens to me now that you're born again, but that's what Christmas is for. God sent his son into the world, who died on the cross, this one Lord, to give us salvation by faith in Christ. And so, the call of this message on you, if you're outside of Christ, is to believe in him. There's no unity apart from that. And then he finishes with this statement, “one God and Father of all who is over all, and through all and in all.” This is the Almighty God, who rules over Heaven and Earth, He is over all. So the picture of God seated on his throne, high and lifted up, and all the nations before Him are like “a drop in the bucket and dust on the scales and like grasshoppers before Him.” “One God and Father of all who is over all and through all,” for Paul says in Acts 17, “in Him, we live and move and have our being,” “and in all,” that's our unity. Application Self-Examination So applications I've been weaving applications all the way through, but begin this by asking this question. "What am I doing right now with my life that's worthy of the calling that I have as a Christian? How am I living my life? Like picture in your mind, Christ crucified and him saying, "This is what I did for you. Now I'm calling on you to live for me. What are you doing for me?” What aspect of your life is conforming to this high calling that you have through Christ crucified? Is my attitude, and then ask it minutely, "Is my attitude about this brother in Christ, or that brother is it worthy of the calling that I've received? Is the movie I'm watching on Netflix worthy of the calling I've received? Is the way I'm spending my time and my money worthy of the calling that I have received?" Sacrifice for the Body I look on the Lottie Moon Christmas offering as a subset of living a life worthy of the calling, we have received. By the way friends, we are halfway to our goal, praise God. Isn't that encouraging. We're halfway there, but we're not going to make it all the way there without sacrifice. I would urge each person if you gave to Lottie Moon last year, calculate the percentage difference from our last year goal, which is $130,000 to our this year goals of $150,000. It's a certain percentage more. And then give that amount, more than you gave last year. It's a sacrifice, that's what the calling is. And so, your financial giving to missions is part of living a life worthy of the calling you've received. So everything comes under this. Prize the Unity of the Church Secondly, prize the unity of the church more than you ever have before. Be very careful not to have crosswords or dark thoughts about other brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, be forgiving. If there's anything you need to forgive, then forgive. If something's happened and you've done something wrong, seek forgiveness, keep short accounts with one another. This is especially true in marriage, so husbands and wives give and receive forgiveness and “maintain unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace with each other.” It's the most important relationship in this church. Be Prepared for Opposition Thirdly, expect consistent satanic attack, on the unity of your marriage in this church. Expect it, don't be surprised. And take on these attributes of humility, and gentleness, and patience, and forgiveness with each other that's needed. Work to Build Up the Body And finally, let's work hard at the positive good works that build the body of Christ. I was so blessed, yesterday, to be part of the youth raking effort. And just to see you, young people, a number of you I've spoken to and some I haven't had a chance to thank, but thank you for being there and serving some senior adults or other folks that have a hard time looking after their homes, that actually maintains unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace when you go rake at someone's yard, when they can't do it. So when you visit someone in the hospital, you're doing good works that maintains unity in the spirit through the bond of peace. So do those good works. Let's be rich in good works. Prayer Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for this rich text there's a lot in here. We thank you for the things that we've learned in it. Father, I pray that you would make FBC Durham more unified than we've ever been before that we would be perfectly united in mind and thought help us to give and receive forgiveness to be humble with each other, especially help husbands and wives to do that, build that unity at the home and at the church and Lord help us to reach out with the Gospel to this community. Help us to share the Gospel plainly at this time when people can hear it from us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Pastor Eric Stevenson speaks about "Our Unity" from Acts chapter 4

Series Introduction As I begin this series in Ephesians, I want to share with you a special moment in my life. I was on a mission trip in Kenya in June 1986, ministering on a 10-week mission trip. This was one of the turning points in my life. I was sitting on a bench waiting for a bus to come take me back to Nairobi. I asked a Kenyan brother who was also there when the bus would come. He said simply, “In the afternoon.” I remember thinking, “In the afternoon? What does that mean?” Being a typical, time-driven, Type-A American, I was there at 11:49 a.m., ready for the afternoon bus, which rolled in at 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. I had nothing except my little pocket Bible with me. After a while I got the sense that it was going to be a long wait. I didn’t know what to do. I had dabbled with scripture memorization but that day, I opened up to Ephesians and, beginning with Ephesians 1:1, memorized that book. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” That day, I began a journey of scripture memorization that has continued for 29 years. I have memorized many entire books and portions of books in those 29 years, but this one is special for me, being the first one. I have recited this book to myself more than any other — hundreds and hundreds of times, with some portions of it approaching 1000 times. This is a precious book to me. I want to commend the practice of Scripture memorization to all of you. The book of Ephesians is a great place to start. Those 155 verses address many deep doctrines that will take you a long time to ponder, as well as very practical issues of the Christian life. Today we begin a journey in one of the most astonishing books ever written in human history. If you think about it — 6 chapters, 155 verses — you may wonder, “How much could be in there?” It takes less than 15 minutes to recite the whole book but it covers the scope and magnitude of God’s working in this world in ways that no other book does. It has a high view over all of these things. Paul doesn’t write to specific situations in the Ephesian churches. He doesn’t address people by name or situations that he wants to try to solve. He is giving an amazing view of God’s overall plan and how it is lived out in life. Today I will give a grand overview of Ephesians 1-6. A number of years ago, my son and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon. We had a breathtaking view of the whole thing from the South Rim. I have never forgotten my first sight of it, after driving along higher and higher, parking and walking through some trees — and suddenly, there it was. We walked along the South Rim, on the foot path, taking in the expanse of this thing, The Grand Canyon. It was hard to imagine the scope and magnitude of it. Since we spent a few days there, we wanted to get more of an experience with the Grand Canyon. We had a number of options. We chose a white water raft ride along the Colorado River. We spent 2/3 of the day looking at the walls of the canyon, stopping for lunch and then coming back. It was a great time, but there were other options available to us if we wanted to get to know the canyon a little better. For example, there was a hot air balloon ride for $300.00 per person per hour. We weren’t going to do that, but we could imagine coasting very slowly and silently at 400 feet up, with breathtaking views. Then there was the possibility of a small plane ride, 5000 feet up, at $450 per person per hour, but covering a much more vast area. There was a helicopter ride, 1000 feet lower than the small plane, able to hover and study certain aspects and different parts from that altitude. The price was not listed for the helicopter ride; we were call for quotes, so I figured that was not going to happen. Then there was the donkey ride down to the Colorado River with overnight camping. This morning we will take the airplane ride. We are going to fly over the book of Ephesians at 5000 feet to look at some of the grand and glorious themes in this book. Next week we will begin our donkey ride, going verse by verse to look more carefully at aspects of this incredible book. Quick Overview of the Epistle Let me begin with a quick overview of all of the book of Ephesians. I am going to break it into two main sections: Ephesians 1-3 and Ephesians 4-6. Ephesians 1-3 could be titled, “What God Has Done in Christ”. It is a picture of the saving work of God in Christ. Ephesians 4-6 could be titled, “What We Must Do in Christ”. It is more a picture of the Christian life and answers the question “How, then, shall we live?” given this great salvation. The epistle begins with Paul’s standard greeting, Ephesians 1:1-2, which I’ve already quoted to you. He emphasizes his call as an apostle “by the will of God” and he writes to give God’s people grace through the epistle. God’s Eternal Purpose in Redemption: 1:3-14 In Ephesians 1:3-14, we have God’s eternal purpose in redemption. Paul, in these incredible 12 verses, traces out in astonishing terms God’s eternal salvation plan, beginning with election and predestination —“before the foundation of the world”; carried out by the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, the redemption by His blood; and then applied to the sealing work of the Holy Spirit. We see the Trinity at work, Father, Son and Spirit, which we will come back to later in this message. In Ephesians 1:4-7, it says,“For He [God the Father] chose us in Him [that is, in Christ] before the creation of the world that we should be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one He loves.” [Ephesians 1:7] “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” I can’t help but stop there and make an appeal to any that are here, outside of Christ, who are lost. Perhaps you have been invited by someone and this is your first or second week here, and you know that you are not a Christian. Ephesians 1:7 speaks to you. It speaks of redemption through the blood of Christ. Christ shed His blood. Christ is God’s eternal Son who became incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit, who lived a sinless life and who died on the cross in the place of sinners like you and me. He has worked a redemption through His shed blood. Ephesians 1:7: “…redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin”. Oh, how we yearn for that, don’t we? We need forgiveness of sins, and it is available for us through faith in Christ. Paul’s First Prayer for the Ephesians: To Know God’s Power: 1:15-23 Then Paul, having traced out the work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, prays for the Ephesian Christians in Ephesians 1:15-23. This is the first of many prayers you see in Paul’s epistles and the first of two incredible prayers here in Ephesians. Paul reveals his prayer life for them. He prays in verses 18-19 for them to know God better, that they would have a deeper knowledge of God and that they would also “know the hope to which he has called [them], the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for those who believe” so that they would know God better. This is my prayer for this sermon as well, that, as a result of this study in Ephesians, you will know God better, that you will have a deeper sense of the knowledge of God. Beyond that, for you who are Christians, that you would know the hope to which you are called, your heavenly hope, and how rich you are as Christians. You are infinitely wealthy in Christ. Also that you would have a sense of the immeasurable power that is at work in your life and in the world around you to get you to your heavenly inheritance. Paul is praying for you to know these things, and he says the power that is at work in your life is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That power raised Christ from the dead out of that tomb and ascended Him through the clouds, through the heavenly realms, up to the very highest place at the right hand of God. There He sits at the right hand of God. He is “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the Church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.” That is Ephesians 1. Paul wants you to have a sense of that same power that raised Jesus to that lofty place, and a sense that Christ is ruling over heaven and earth for you, for your benefit. That power is at work in your life. It is breathtaking. The Ephesians’ Journey from Dead in Sin to Raised in Christ: 2:1-10 In Chapter 2, Paul transitions to say, “Do you understand what your condition was? You also were dead.” “You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live.” He wants us to realize just how desperate the condition was. We were the living dead. We were biologically alive, but apart from Christ, we were spiritually dead. God has taken every Christian and raised him or her from the dead by the power of the gospel, by the power of the Spirit, by His grace. God has raised us up from the dead and now we are alive and we will live forever and ever by the sovereign power of God. We need to understand this grace. Paul celebrates grace in very familiar verses, probably the most famous in the epistle, Ephesians 2:8-9 (the first that I memorized a few years before I memorized the whole book): “For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” We have this incredible grace at work in our lives, and God has raised us up that He might put that grace on display. Now in Ephesians 2:10, we see that we have a glorious life of good works to live, and those good works are worth doing. Our good works, which God has “prepared in advance that we should walk in them”, are not done in vain. All of these good works are tending toward the end of God’s glory and the building of His Church. We have a role to play. Life is worth living for the Christian. How beautiful is that? God’s Purpose in Jew-Gentile Unity: 2:11-22 Paul then talks about the mystery of God’s purpose in making Jew and Gentile Christians one in Christ. In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul reveals this mysterious purpose, that Jewish believers in Christ and Gentile believers in Christ are now one in Him and that God has created in Christ one new humanity —“one new man out of the two” — no longer Jew or Gentile, but now Christian. We have an amazing unity in Christ. God has taken the barrier,“the dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentile, and destroyed it, eradicated, it through the death of Jesus on the cross. Circumcision, dietary regulations and other laws that separated Jew from Gentile have been removed in Jesus. He has made Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians perfectly one. He is building us together into a structure, a kind of spiritual building. There is an architecture, a foundation that has been laid. There is this rising building, rising up through the workings of the body of Christ, rising up through the power of the Spirit, rising to become a holy temple in which God will dwell by His Spirit, eternally. This, the gospel of Jesus Christ, really is the only answer to racism and racial divisions and disharmony in the world. Paul’s Ministry for the Gentiles: 3:1-13 In Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul talks about his own ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. He is in prison for the Gospel, as he frequently was, and he writes to them about the administration of his ministry and what a special and unique individual he is. He says this not because he is arrogant or boastful, but because God has set him apart as apostle to the Gentiles. God has sent him to show His saving purpose to the Gentiles by revealing at last this mystery which, in ages past, stayed hidden in God, but has now been made known, as God intends Jews and Gentiles together in Christ to be one. This is an incredible mystery but it has now come into time. There is a lavish bumper crop of Gentiles coming to faith in Jesus, and Paul, as an apostle to the Gentiles, is there at the dawning of that age to do ministry to bring them in, that they might have a sense of the magnitude of this work. Ephesians 3:6-7: “This mystery is that through the gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” He says in verse 13, “Don’t be discouraged because of my sufferings. Don’t be discouraged because I am in prison. It is not a shameful thing for me. I am not ashamed of this work. This is a glorious, mysterious thing that God is doing. My sufferings really are your glory. Because of my sufferings, this is how the gospel advances.” Ephesians 3:1-13. Paul’s Second Prayer for the Ephesians: To Know Christ’s Love: 3:14-21 Now we come to what, for me, is the best part of whole book. I love the prayer that Paul prays in Ephesians 3:14-21. It is the kind of thing that moves me emotionally. It is the kind of thing that I pray for myself, for my family, for our church, frequently. In it, God speaks through the apostle Paul of a yearning and a desire that Paul has of a special work of grace in the heart of the Ephesian Christians. Look at verses 16-19. It says,“I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” — I can’t hear those words without thinking about the Grand Canyon — “[that you would have a sense of the magnitude, the dimensions of Christ’s love for you. That you would have] power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [and that you would] know this love that surpasses knowledge.” It goes beyond cognitive knowledge. It goes into a whole different level of knowledge — that you would have an ever-expanding sense of Christ’s love for you so that you would “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Wow! It is breathtaking — that you would “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” I would say that this is not the common experience of most Christians. As a matter of fact, I would say that many Christians go their whole lives without really approaching the dimensions which Paul prays for here. My desire is that the ministry of the word and a regular beseeching on your part will lead to an incredible expansion of the work of the Spirit in your heart, that you would have a sense of just how much Jesus loves you — how dearly and deeply loved you are — and that you would be empowered by the Spirit to do those good works that He has for you to do (Ephesians 2:10). “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we [could] ask or imagine, [to Him that is at work in you and in the church around the world], to Him be glory in the church … throughout all generations [now and forever].” Ephesians 1-3: that is the scope and magnitude of what God has done for us in Christ. Living Out Our Unity in Christ by the Spirit: 4:1-6 Then Paul turns the corner in Ephesians 4-6, and says in effect, as Francis Schaeffer said, “How, then, shall we live?” “How shall we live in light of these incredible teachings?” He wants us to live out our unity in Christ. Ephesians 4:1-6 is how he starts. He talks about unity, the oneness that we have. Not merely Jew/Gentile, but every individual Christian with every other individual Christian and every individual local congregation with other local congregations and the worldwide work of unity of the Spirit. This unity is under constant assault. It is constantly barraged by the world, the flesh and the devil. We’ll get to that in a moment. But this unity is something that we have to defend and so he says in Ephesians 4, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” One, one, one, one, this work of unity which we have to defend and fight for. Working for Our Unity by the Gifts of the Spirit: 4:7-16 Then in verses 7-16, he talks about diversity. He has gone from unity to diversity. Verse 7 begins with the word “but”: “We have been talking about unity and I’m going to go in a different direction.” “But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” We have a sense of the special working of the Spirit in each individual Christian’s life, and so we come to the doctrine of spiritual gifts. The concept of spiritual gifts is clearly taught in Ephesians 4:7-16, that we have different gifts that God has given to us by the Spirit according to the measurement of Christ by the power of the Spirit — different gifts.“He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service.” There are those works again (as in Ephesians 2:10) — “to prepare God’s people for works of service,” so that by those works of service, the body of Christ might be built up into full maturity in Christ. That means we have a role to play to get the body of Christ to the level of full maturity. You might be an evangelist, or a missionary. You might be a pastor or a teacher. You might be an administrator. You might have the gift of giving or the gift of serving. You might have the gift of prayer or the gift of faith. You might have a variety of gifts. Those gifts are given to you by Christ through the Spirit for the building up of the body so that (verse 13) “we [will] all reach unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” [Verses 15 and 16] “Speaking the truth in love we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him, the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.” We have a role to play in the body of Christ; everyone does. We have a spiritual gift ministry that God has given to us to get the body of Christ to full maturity. Protecting Our Unity by Fighting Sin by the Spirit: 4:17-5:21 Now we come back to what I mentioned before: We must protect our unity because it is under constant assault. In 4:17-5:21, Paul addresses the issues of the assault of the unity and what it is that divides Christians. The root of the issue is sin, and if we are going to be one as the Father and the Son intend, if we’re going to be one as the Father and the Son are themselves one, we are going to have to fight sin in every way. Paul begins by focusing on the mind: it all starts in how you think. He says in verses 17-24, “I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” [Do you hear all of those mental/mind words?] “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” That is the overarching battle we must have against sin. We must be a holy people, and it begins with how we think and what we love with our hearts and our minds. We must be pure. In the next section, Paul goes back and forth between what we’ll call negative sanctification and positive sanctification. What we must not do or be and what we must do or be, back and forth; both of those are valid aspects of sanctification, of growth and of maturity. So he says that we must not lie; we must put off falsehood, but rather we must speak truth. Thieves must stop their stealing, but instead they “must work, doing something useful with [their] own hands so that [they] may have something to share with those in need. [We should not say unwholesome things, but rather we should speak what is useful for] building others up according to their needs. [We should not be sexually impure, but instead we should be holy with our bodies and our minds. We should not speak obscenity, but rather, we should speak words of thanksgiving. We should not live as children of darkness, but rather we should live as children of the light. We should not live a foolish life, but rather we should] find out what pleases the Lord [and do it. We should] not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery, [but] instead [we should] be filled with the Spirit.” This is going to be a big theme in Ephesians, the Spirit-filled life: to be being filled with the Holy Spirit, to be empowered with the Spirit. Only by the Spirit can we defeat the world, the flesh and the devil. Displaying Unity in Christian Marriage: 5:22-33 Beyond that Paul talks about significant roles in the body of Christ and how submission works in those roles. He says in verse 21, as a subset of the Spirit-filled life, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” When I get to that, God willing, I will talk about how I believe that this is not teaching a universal mutual submission of every Christian to every other Christian, which would vacate the word submission of its meaning. Submission always has to do with recognition of God ordained authority. He is saying, “Category 1 is going to submit to Category 2 in the way I am about to describe to you. So this group is going to submit to this group, but this group — the one submitted to — should carry themselves in a certain way as Christians who have that authority.” Paul goes through the marriage relationship, husband and wife. He goes through the parenting relationship, child and father, and he goes through the master and slave relationship, slave and master. It is always the one who is commanded to submit first (the wife, the children, the slave), and then the one who is receiving the submission, how they should carry themselves (the husband, the father, the master). Then immediately, Paul goes into the most important and most significant human relationship on earth, which is marriage. Christian marriages should be putting the unity of the gospel on display. So he says, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which He is the Savior.” [The husband is then told,] “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” We get this beautiful picture of Christian marriage. If husbands and wives were living that out, what an incredible effect it would have on our church and on the nation. Displaying Unity in Godly Submission: 6:1-9 Then Paul goes to the parenting relationship. Children are to submit to their parents, to obey them in everything. But fathers are not to “exasperate [their] children, [but rather] bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. The same thing with the master and slave relationship: first slaves are to submit to their masters, to obey them as if they were obeying Christ, not only when the master’s eye is on them, but all the time. Then, for their part, the masters should not dominate and be tyrannical and evil toward their slaves, but realize that they have a master too, and they are going to have to give him an account on judgement day. Protecting Our Unity by Standing Firm Against the Devil: 6:10-18 Having presented the issues of unity, and struggling with sin, and key relationships, Paul then talks about the main, central attack on the church and on our unity. This is the work of Satan and his minions. Ephesians 6 is probably the clearest, most detailed teaching on spiritual warfare in the Bible. We are told to stand firm in the Lord because we have enemies. We have, as Peter called it, “an adversary, the devil.” Paul says in Ephesians 6 that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” “So, stand firm and put on your spiritual armor.” He goes through the articles of spiritual armor; they are impenetrable, they are powerful: “the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, which is able to extinguish 100% of Satan’s flaming arrows. So we are thoroughly equipped. We have in our hand the sword of the Spirit with which we can make advances for the kingdom of God.” We can call down God’s sovereign power in prayer — some liken it to a walkie-talkie, calling down artillery fire on our enemies. We are going to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests … and keep on praying for all the saints.” Standing Together in Prayer: 6:19-24 Paul ends up by saying, “Stand together with me in prayer. Pray for my mission, pray for my work, pray that I would declare the gospel” “fearlessly, as I should. … Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Major Themes So that is Ephesians 1-6. Now I want to draw out some main, significant themes. Pretend that we are not in the airplane anymore; we are now in the helicopter. We are going to hover for awhile to look at these main ideas, these themes. I. God’s Ultimate End: “The Praise of His Glory” The first is God’s ultimate end in all of this. Why is God doing all this? What is His purpose? I would say few, if any, books in the Bible, are so clear on what God’s ultimate end and purpose is, as is the book of Ephesians. God does everything “for the praise of His glory.” It is a simple answer coming to us three different times in Ephesians 1:3-14. Again and again we have this. God does everything for the praise of His glory or the praise of His glorious grace. Look at Ephesians 1:4-6: “In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will, [here is this phrase, verse 6] to the praise of His glorious grace.” Or perhaps, to the praise of the glory of His grace. In other words, God predestined us for salvation before the world began, so that after world history had ended, we “might be for the praise of His glory” as revealed in His grace. He says it again in Ephesians 1:11-12: “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory.” We have it again in verse 14. In verses 13-14, Paul says of the Ephesians,“Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession [here is that phrase again] to the praise of His glory.” What is God’s Glory? How Will His Glory Be Praised? What does that mean? What is God’s glory? God’s glory, I believe, is the radiant display of His attributes, of His nature, the shining brightness of His wisdom, His power, His love, His patience, His kindness, His wrath, His justice; there are various attributes. God wanted to put His own glory on display and He has done that in creation, but He does it even more in redemption. He does it even more in the salvation of the elect from every tribe and language and people and nation. He shines through us and He will do so for all eternity. He does everything for “the praise of His glory.” II. God’s Eternal Plan: “To Bring All Things Together into One in Christ” Secondly, in order to achieve this end of the praise of His glory, God has worked out a meticulous plan. He has actually planned out everything, and I mean everything. Not just grand overarching themes, like in this sermon, but details — down to the tiniest detail. We will get a chance to look at that when we get to verses 11 and 12, but God has worked out His plan in great detail. He had a plan, clearly, in these verses that I just read: “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless.” That is purpose language. He has a plan, and this plan is mentioned plainly in verse 11. It speaks of us having been “predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” The Final End of this Plan: Unity Now what is the final end of this plan? What is He getting to? What is happening in history? Verses 9 and 10 answer the question very powerfully and well. Verse 9 says, “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, [verse 10] to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” I picture God in perfect unity before He created the universe, before He created anything — perfect unity. Then He willed to create heaven and earth and he created them, saying, “Let there be light.” He did all this work in Genesis 1, and God pronounced everything “very good.” Creation and Creator were in perfect unity, perfect harmony. But then sin entered the universe — wickedness and evil entered the universe — and it behaved like a fragmentation grenade. It blew everything apart into bits, hurtling away from the true center. The disunity between the human race and God, vertically, has led to a disunity between human beings, one with another. From individual to individual, group to group, nation to nation, we see this every day on CNN or MSN or wherever you go. You see the evidence of this fragmentation and this brokenness. God is willing to reverse this and to bring everything back together under one head, Christ. This is His purpose in all of these things. He is going to bring together the elect and make them one. One new man, one new people, together, with no disunity at all. Central to that is the redemptive work of Christ. III. God’s Plan Effected: By Christ, by the Spirit, by the Gospel, by the Gifts The third theme is how God’s plan is effected: by Christ, by the Spirit, by the gospel and by the gifts. These things are given to bring the plan about, so it will happen. He sent His Son, and in Christ we have redemption through His blood. God the Father made the plan. God the Son worked it out, paid for it in His blood. God the Spirit moves throughout all of the world, throughout all of history to apply the plan, the saving work of Jesus Christ to individual people and to groups. By Christ, by the Spirit, by the gospel message, as it says, “In Him you were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything, conforming to the purpose of His will. … You heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were then marked with a seal.” The gospel is out there, the word of truth is out there, powerful. People are hearing it. By the Spirit, they are believing and they are marked, sealed with the Spirit. That is the unfolding of God’s plan that is applied by the Spirit. Spiritual gifts — given to and used by gifted individuals, human beings, Christians — are instrumental to that plan. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers take the work of God out to the ends of the earth. They settle in and they shepherd churches. They prepare the body of Christ to do those works of service and then the gifted Christians use their gifts and the whole building of Ephesians 2 or body of Ephesians 4 grows up to perfection and finality. That is what is happening. That is what is going on in the world today. IV. God’s Plan on Display: Unity in the Heart, in the Church, in Marriage Now God’s plan is put on display. It is a unity in the heart through holiness, it is a unity in the church, Jew and Gentile, together one. It is made one through the Spirit. It is a unity in marriage, in parenting and in the master/slave relationship as each group does what it needs to do. This unity is put on display perfectly and beautifully. That is God’s purpose of all of this. V. God’s Plan Opposed: By Satan, by the World, by Sin God’s plan is going to be opposed, as I’ve said, by the world, the flesh and the devil. We should not expect an easy ride. It is going to be hard, but we are going to win. Isn’t that awesome? The church, the elect, will be saved and glorified and radiant with God’s glory for all eternity in heaven. Applications This is Ephesians 1-6. This is the book of Ephesians. Now, God willing, if He gives us time, we will get a chance to go through it verse by verse. If He doesn’t, we will get to see it with our own eyes, the glory of God in heaven. Amen? What applications can we take from this? Salvation History Get a sense of the scope of salvation history through this. We will have a chance again next week and in subsequent weeks to see how meticulously God has put history together. This is not thrown together, but this has been meticulously planned. Get a sense of that and feel secure in that. Don’t feel like every time you watch the news or go onto a website which tells you some of the things that are happening like we are going off the rails or the wheels are falling off. No, this is exactly what we would expect to happen. This is the disunity and fragmentation that Satan has worked, but there is a secret power at work in the world called the Gospel, the power of the Spirit, that is changing everything. Be confident as you look at world history. Be confident that God knows exactly what He is doing. How God’s Commitment to His Own Glory Affects Us And how should God’s commitment to His own glory affect us? Live for God’s glory. Away with your selfish plans. Away with living for your own glory. Away with living for you own purposes. Say, “God, what is your plan for me? What is your purpose for my life? How have you gifted me? How have You prepared me? What am I to do? How can I live for your glory?” It is such a powerful idea, isn’t it? Husbands and wives, say, “I want our marriage to be for the praise of God’s glory. How can we do that?” “I want our parenting to be for the praise of God’s glory. How can we have a household that will be for the praise of God’s glory? How can I do my employment? How can I be an employer or an employee for the praise of God’s glory and putting God on display? How can I do that?” The Greatness of Christ Thirdly, how can we see in Ephesians the greatness of Christ? I want to zero in on one thing. There are so many things about the greatness of Christ, but as Paul prays at the end of Ephesians 3, I will be praying for you every day, through this series, that “you would have power together will all the saints” to get the sense of the scope and magnitude of Christ’s love for you. You are greatly underestimating it right now. You are greatly underestimating, and I am too, how much Christ loves you and me. It will be unbelievably empowering and liberating for you to improve even by 10% the sense of the magnitude of Christ’s love for you. So I am going to be praying that you would have a sense together with all the saints of how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Unity And what about unity? Pray for the unity of our church. Pray that our church would put on display supernatural unity. First of all, just two sinners getting along in Christ is supernatural. Amen? We are so selfish, wicked and carnal — that we could actually genuinely love each other from the heart is supernatural. I want to see racial reconciliation on display through this church. I want to see surprising unity. I want to see a unity that makes people, like in John 17, sit up and say, “What could have caused this? Only the Gospel.” Let’s see what God can do in a supernatural work of unity in FBC Durham, right here in this city. Satan’s Work vs. Our Work Finally, how can you be exhorted to be about the Master’s business, covered with the armor of God, aware that Satan is opposing you? How can you be exhorted to be active in evangelism and missions? Satan is going to be attacking, especially the more we get fruitful here, but God has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5). Ephesians makes very plain that only by putting on the spiritual armor of God with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace will we be able to make progress in the external journey of evangelism and missions. I would ask that you present yourself to God as ready to serve Him. Invite people to church. Talk to lost people about their faith and about the Gospel. Be instrumental. Then internally, within the walls of the church, use your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ until it reaches full maturity in Christ. Close with me in prayer, if you would. Father, we thank you for this very quick fly over we’ve had in Ephesians. It has been rich. I look forward, almost can’t wait, to get into the section next week in Ephesians 1. I pray that you would teach us, instruct us and prepare us, oh Lord, for that. I pray that the things we’ve already learned now from Ephesians would be so ingrained in our hearts and our minds that we would want to live them out. Oh, God, I pray for your Christians that are here now. Fill us with the Holy Spirit of God. I pray that we would be Spirit-filled. And Lord, for lost people, one more time, I pray that they would not leave this place lost, but that they would see, by faith, Christ crucified for their sins, risen from the dead by the power of God, and that full forgiveness could be theirs if they will just trust in Him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Unity movement was founded upon healing. Early on, the Fillmores had Healing Services as part and parcel of the events happening at the Ninth and Tracy Avenue church in Kansas City, Missouri. Today's show is from an 8 p.m. Healing Meeting on February 29, 1912 (obviously a Leap Year). Mr. Fillmore asks and answers questions in the service, which is centered on "The True Meaning of Affirmations and Denials." My special guest is Rev. Karen Epps, minister at Unity of Tri-Valley, Dublin, California.    

Our Unity movement was based on healing. Today's talk is a transcript for a healing service on a Wednesday evening on August 6, 1924, where Charles Fillmore breaks from routine and gives an explanation of understanding the truth about healing. My special guest is Rev. Lynn O'Dell, Director of Credentialing at Unity Worldwide Ministries.

Our Unity movement is blessed to have so much music that lifts and inspires us. This week, we will be listening to music that embraces and celebrates gratitude from our most beloved New Thought artists. Grab a cup of tea and sing along.

Join Rev. Lora Beth Gilbreath and other Unity ministers as they discuss Adventure 1, “Our Unity of Purpose,” in The Quest for Meaning by Jim Rosemergy.

ReThink...Our Unity. Preached May 4th, 2008 by Mark Miller.