PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
In Your infinite love and mercy, we ask for Your guidance toward unity in matters of disagreement. O Lord, teach us to embrace the diversity of thought, tradition, and practice within our Christian family, always prioritizing the peace that comes from our shared faith in Christ Jesus.
Grant us the grace to listen with open hearts and minds, recognizing Your Holy Spirit among us. May our discussions and conversations, even when challenging, be anchored in mutual respect, love, and a genuine desire for understanding.
Help us to remember the words of Jesus, that we may be one as He and You are one, reflecting Your perfect unity in our relationships with one another. May this unity testify to the world of Your love and ability to transcend all barriers.
Forgive us for when we have allowed our differences to cause division instead of enriching our love for you and others. Renew a right spirit within us so we may work tirelessly for reconciliation and unity that reflect Your heart.
We commit our hearts and minds to You, trusting in Your guiding light and unchanging grace. We pray through the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
SERMON
POINT: People are complicated.
John 13:35 NIV – By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
POINT: The body of Christ has an autoimmune disease.
POINT: We tend to see conflict as a precursor to chaos. But what if we started seeing conflict as a catalyst for growth, learning, and connection?
Romans 14:1-10 NIV
Accept the one whose faith is weak without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God, and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Start believing in the possibility that things can work out.
- Practice pausing to ask (1) why and (2) what do I really want?
- Be humble enough to admit that you may also be contributing to the problem.
Psalm 133:1 NIV
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
“We are prisoners of hope.” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu