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Volunteer With Kids Praise— Check your e-mail from the Westside office for a link to sign up as a Kids Praise volunteer.

Baby Shower Next Week— Everyone is invited to a come & go baby shower for Sean & Hannah Nickell on Sunday, January 22, from 1-2:30pm, in the WAC (#520). Sean and Hannah are having a girl and they are registered at babylist.com.

Bridgebuilders

Last Week: The mission of the church requires the unity of God’s people.

Today’s Big Theme: Jesus paid a high price for the unity of the church. If it was that important to Jesus, it ought to be a high priority for us.

Today’s Passage: Ephesians 2:11-22

Paul was writing to a deeply divided Christian church, with Jews and Gentiles struggling to understand and accept their unity in Christ:

11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time 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. Ephesians 2:11-12, NIV

The Bible’s Description of Life Without Jesus:
1. Separated from Christ
2. Excluded from citizenship with God’s people
3. Foreigners to God’s covenant promises
4. Without hope
5. Without a relationship with God

The Cross Brings People Closer to God:

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

1. What did Jesus accomplish? He opened a door into the presence of God for everyone who had previously been excluded.
2. What did it cost? Jesus opened this door “…by the blood of Christ.”

The Cross Brings People Closer To Each Other:

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations… Ephesians 2:14-15a (NIV)

What Kept The Jews and Gentiles Apart?
1. The spiritual barriers God instituted in the Law
2. The physical barriers Israel constructed in Jerusalem.

An actual quote found on a the Temple wall in Jerusalem: “No man of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his subsequent death.”

The Purpose and Cost of Bringing People Together:

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2:15b-16 (NIV)

1. The Purpose: Create one new people that will be one body, where everyone is reconciled to God.
2. The Cost: His own life on the cross. If unity was this important to Jesus, we ought to take it much more seriously in our lives.

Life on this Side of the Cross

“17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:17-22 (NIV)

Key Points:
1. Unity is possible because all Christians have access to the same Heavenly Father through the same Holy Spirit.
2. The church is a unified people, a unified household, and a unified Temple.
3. God desires to dwell in our midst as his unified people.

Unity Movements in Christian History

Thomas Campbell— The pastor who was fired for pursuing unity became one of the early leaders in what eventually became known as the Churches of Christ.

The All-Too-Common Pattern in Unity Movements:
1. Identify a problem with the status quo of Christianity.
2. Bring people together by focusing on just the basics.
3. Expand the list of what you need to “get right” to belong.
4. Greater certainty and less humility.
5. Greater antagonism towards groups who disagree.
6. A new group takes issue with the fighting and begins the process all over…

What Can We Do Differently? Practice the principle of charity.
1. Assume the best about people’s intentions, motivations, and reasons for believing what they do.
2. Resist the urge to “fill in the blanks” with a cynical, pessimistic backstory about people you disagree with. Think of the explanation that puts them in the best possible light and start with that before assuming anything else.
3. Be able to explain what a person believes in a way they would be proud of. Don’t twist their words or build a straw man out of their belief system.

Paul’s teaching in Colossians 3:12-13 captures the essence of this idea well:

“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

Application

Since Jesus was willing to die for the unity of the church, honor his sacrifice by pursuing unity.
Practice the principle of charity with people you disagree with.
Be strong in your convictions but stay humble in your heart.

Next Week: Digging deeper into why Christians disagree about what the Bible says.

Commit Your life to Christ
Pray About a Difficult Situation
Talk About Baptism or Next Steps

Tap here to Respond to today’s message

Questions? Contact Bryan: (609) 356-3147 or bfojtasek@westsidelife.org.