Unity in Christ: Overcoming Division in a Broken World
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "It's okay to have convictions. I have deep convictions on every level. It's okay to have convictions. But our convictions should lead to compassion for other people that maybe don't see things the way you do. And then if we have compassion, it can lead to a conversation. But when we don't show compassion, we're never going to get to that place of conversation with somebody. It's us and them. That's what they feel. Keep your convictions by all means. Just make sure they're the Lord's convictions. Walk in compassion so you can have a conversation." [01:07:05]
2. "Jesus is saying, if they'll be one, then the world around them that's divided, you know, crazy, will actually believe, Father, you sent me. But people that don't know Jesus come and they look at all the division within the church and they see it's all divided and us against them and who's in and who's out. And they go, I got this. In my own neighborhood. I got this at work. I got this in my country. So, it like hurts the witness of the church when we're divided, when the church is divided." [38:44]
3. "Jesus is saying, no, when it comes to that. The first week, the pastor preached about commitment and how we should dedicate our lives to serving one another. So the worship pastor responded with the song, I shall not be moved. Just to kind of despite the pastor. Second week, the pastor preached about tithing and how important it was for the congregation to contribute to the church. The worship minister responded to that sermon with Jesus paid it all." [28:11]
4. "When you go to a baseball game, you could be sitting next to someone who has a completely different political view. Theological point of view, worldview. But if you're both sitting there in your favorite team's jersey, you're hoping for the same outcome that your team would win. You're cheering for the same team. At that moment, there is some common ground. That's why baseball is such a great sport. Brings people together. But, and I know some of you don't like baseball, but whatever it is that brings people together, you're there because of your common interest." [55:53]
5. "Remember to find common ground with people. And look in the church and in your relationships with your neighbors around you and who God has called you to influence. Christie's already used this illustration, but it made me think of" [55:03]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Humanity as a whole failed in the calling to steward and rule creation. Jesus has raised up his church to be salt and light. And he said the gates of hell will not stand against it. Gates are a defensive thing. And Jesus is saying we're going into the kingdom of darkness with the good news and the light of Jesus. We penetrate the darkness. And we do that one life at a time. So I'd say this. Don't get drawn into the division. Be part of the solution. And if you do find yourself there, speak the truth. But speak it in love, not in arrogance." [01:01:13]
2. "When we talk about resisting the evil one and the evil forces that are behind division, resist the evil powers by loving your neighbor. We resist getting drawn in to the conflict by showing love, by demonstrating love, by praying. And all that comes with that. Now, there's neighborly love, which was love for, you know, your fellow Jew. For us, it'd be Christians. What is enemy love? Enemy love is believing that that person is just as valuable to God as you are. Enemy love is believing that who you see as an enemy is just as valued by God, as you are. It's not easy to always do because people do some terrible, terrible things. And there's, in loving your enemies, there's no excuse for atrocious behavior. Jesus isn't saying that. He's talking to us as individuals in our life." [52:28]
3. "Jesus practiced what he preached when he was on the cross. When they were humiliating him and hurting him, nailed him to a cross, he says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And then I thought of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. In Acts chapter... 6, 7, and 8, I believe. You see Stephen preaching the truth to his fellow Israelites about how they missed the Messiah and they crucified the Messiah. But how God, in their pouring out their wrath on the Messiah, God was ushering in the new covenant. And they're getting really mad at him, gnashing their teeth. And then he has a vision and he sees the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God. And they knew what that meant. That was right out of Daniel. That he says he's seeing the Messiah. And they picked up rocks and stoned him to death. Just pelted him with rocks. And right before he died, he said, Lord Jesus, don't hold this against them." [55:03]
4. "To live in a divided world, remember to walk in the light. Remember to walk in the light. Light always expels darkness. If we clicked on more light in here, darkness always leaves. Colossians 1.13, what a beautiful promise Paul tells the church. For he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. You've been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus. Is that good news? That's awesome. That's awesome news. So we need to walk in the light. Darkness, biblically, when you see it in Scripture, according to Jesus, John, the Apostle Paul, darkness, of course, is evil, but it's also in the mind. Darkness came into humanity when Adam and Eve stopped trusting God. They got duped to believe that God couldn't be trusted and that God was not good. And then he was distant. He's out there. And Jesus came to flip the switch in showing us his light and to rescue us from this darkness that he showed that God loved us, that he's good, and that he is all-powerful, almighty, and gave his life for us. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness. He" [45:25]
5. "So I think the most important for us as believers is this. If we're going to live in a divided world, we're going to live in a divided world. And remember how important unity is to Jesus. It is very important to Jesus that his followers walk in unity. You ever wonder why there are so many denominations in the Protestant movement of churches? It's because somebody elevated a secondary issue, maybe a mode of baptism or your belief about the end times or whatever, and they elevate that and make it a primary issue. And you become wrong and they're right, so they take their ball and create a new movement. It happens all the time. Little factions where we're right and you're wrong. And in the body of Christ, we're not supposed to treat each other that way. It doesn't mean that we don't speak truth and seek truth. Of course we do. But you can get theologically arrogant real quick and think, man, I got it all figured out. And the longer I walk with Jesus, the more I read Scripture. The more simple I have become. That Jesus is perfect theology. Jesus is perfect theology." [36:02]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "It's okay to have convictions. I have deep convictions on every level. It's okay to have convictions. But our convictions should lead to compassion for other people that maybe don't see things the way you do. And then if we have compassion, it can lead to a conversation. But when we don't show compassion, we're never going to get to that place of conversation with somebody. It's us and them. That's what they feel. Keep your convictions by all means. Just make sure they're the Lord's convictions. Walk in compassion so you can have a conversation." [01:07:05]
2. "Jesus is saying, if they'll be one, then the world around them that's divided, you know, crazy, will actually believe, Father, you sent me. But people that don't know Jesus come and they look at all the division within the church and they see it's all divided and us against them and who's in and who's out. And they go, I got this. In my own neighborhood. I got this at work. I got this in my country. So, it like hurts the witness of the church when we're divided, when the church is divided." [38:44]
3. "Jesus is saying, no, when it comes to that. The first week, the pastor preached about commitment and how we should dedicate our lives to serving one another. So the worship pastor responded with the song, I shall not be moved. Just to kind of despite the pastor. Second week, the pastor preached about tithing and how important it was for the congregation to contribute to the church. The worship minister responded to that sermon with Jesus paid it all." [28:11]
4. "When you go to a baseball game, you could be sitting next to someone who has a completely different political view. Theological point of view, worldview. But if you're both sitting there in your favorite team's jersey, you're hoping for the same outcome that your team would win. You're cheering for the same team. At that moment, there is some common ground. That's why baseball is such a great sport. Brings people together. But, and I know some of you don't like baseball, but whatever it is that brings people together, you're there because of your common interest." [55:53]
5. "Remember to find common ground with people. And look in the church and in your relationships with your neighbors around you and who God has called you to influence. Christie's already used this illustration, but it made me think of" [55:03]
### Quotes for Members
1. "Humanity as a whole failed in the calling to steward and rule creation. Jesus has raised up his church to be salt and light. And he said the gates of hell will not stand against it. Gates are a defensive thing. And Jesus is saying we're going into the kingdom of darkness with the good news and the light of Jesus. We penetrate the darkness. And we do that one life at a time. So I'd say this. Don't get drawn into the division. Be part of the solution. And if you do find yourself there, speak the truth. But speak it in love, not in arrogance." [01:01:13]
2. "When we talk about resisting the evil one and the evil forces that are behind division, resist the evil powers by loving your neighbor. We resist getting drawn in to the conflict by showing love, by demonstrating love, by praying. And all that comes with that. Now, there's neighborly love, which was love for, you know, your fellow Jew. For us, it'd be Christians. What is enemy love? Enemy love is believing that that person is just as valuable to God as you are. Enemy love is believing that who you see as an enemy is just as valued by God, as you are. It's not easy to always do because people do some terrible, terrible things. And there's, in loving your enemies, there's no excuse for atrocious behavior. Jesus isn't saying that. He's talking to us as individuals in our life." [52:28]
3. "Jesus practiced what he preached when he was on the cross. When they were humiliating him and hurting him, nailed him to a cross, he says, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. And then I thought of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. In Acts chapter... 6, 7, and 8, I believe. You see Stephen preaching the truth to his fellow Israelites about how they missed the Messiah and they crucified the Messiah. But how God, in their pouring out their wrath on the Messiah, God was ushering in the new covenant. And they're getting really mad at him, gnashing their teeth. And then he has a vision and he sees the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God. And they knew what that meant. That was right out of Daniel. That he says he's seeing the Messiah. And they picked up rocks and stoned him to death. Just pelted him with rocks. And right before he died, he said, Lord Jesus, don't hold this against them." [55:03]
4. "To live in a divided world, remember to walk in the light. Remember to walk in the light. Light always expels darkness. If we clicked on more light in here, darkness always leaves. Colossians 1.13, what a beautiful promise Paul tells the church. For he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. You've been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus. Is that good news? That's awesome. That's awesome news. So we need to walk in the light. Darkness, biblically, when you see it in Scripture, according to Jesus, John, the Apostle Paul, darkness, of course, is evil, but it's also in the mind. Darkness came into humanity when Adam and Eve stopped trusting God. They got duped to believe that God couldn't be trusted and that God was not good. And then he was distant. He's out there. And Jesus came to flip the switch in showing us his light and to rescue us from this darkness that he showed that God loved us, that he's good, and that he is all-powerful, almighty, and gave his life for us. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness. He" [45:25]
5. "So I think the most important for us as believers is this. If we're going to live in a divided world, we're going to live in a divided world. And remember how important unity is to Jesus. It is very important to Jesus that his followers walk in unity. You ever wonder why there are so many denominations in the Protestant movement of churches? It's because somebody elevated a secondary issue, maybe a mode of baptism or your belief about the end times or whatever, and they elevate that and make it a primary issue. And you become wrong and they're right, so they take their ball and create a new movement. It happens all the time. Little factions where we're right and you're wrong. And in the body of Christ, we're not supposed to treat each other that way. It doesn't mean that we don't speak truth and seek truth. Of course we do. But you can get theologically arrogant real quick and think, man, I got it all figured out. And the longer I walk with Jesus, the more I read Scripture. The more simple I have become. That Jesus is perfect theology. Jesus is perfect theology." [36:02]
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