Dale Partridge - How to Stay Unified in Disagreement

00:00:00.000 Amen. Praise God for the worship that we've had, the fellowship that we've already had.

00:00:12.940 I'm looking forward to more of it this morning.

00:00:17.980 Last week, we began this two-part series talking about unity in the church

00:00:23.980 and how vital unity is in preaching the gospel.

00:00:28.480 We saw Jesus' four pillars of unity in the church from the passage that Joseph just read.

00:00:36.040 Our church desperately needs to hear this message this morning.

00:00:43.340 We need to hear the tender words of the Bible that show us the foundations of our unity.

00:00:50.020 And we need to hear that while we can disagree, we can still call ourselves one.

00:00:57.680 today we need to hear that when disagreements come and they will come

00:01:06.160 it is far better to work through them with respect

00:01:10.380 and love rather than cause pain and heartache in the bride of christ

00:01:16.560 there's one disagreement that we find in the bible that i think is helpful to illustrate

00:01:24.520 what I'm talking about this morning.

00:01:27.560 This disagreement is the tension

00:01:29.680 that formed between Paul and Barnabas,

00:01:32.780 found in Acts 15, 36 through 41.

00:01:37.220 This disagreement started over whether or not

00:01:40.200 they should take John Mark

00:01:41.320 on their next missionary journey.

00:01:44.060 Paul opposed taking Mark

00:01:45.560 because he had previously abandoned them

00:01:48.040 on a previous missionary journey,

00:01:50.920 while Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance.

00:01:55.460 Their disagreement had become so sharp that they parted ways.

00:02:01.700 Paul chose Silas and went one direction.

00:02:05.920 Barnabas took Mark and went another.

00:02:09.700 This very easily could have ended their relationship for good.

00:02:16.380 This is the Apostle Paul we're talking about,

00:02:19.280 who allowed such a sharp disagreement to form between him and his brother

00:02:25.060 that they separated.

00:02:28.140 Paul's probably the most mature man I can think of outside of Christ.

00:02:33.720 And yet, disagreement caused division with him.

00:02:40.000 If it can happen with Paul, it could certainly happen with us.

00:02:45.140 we could have seen what we often see in disagreements in the church

00:02:51.680 we could have seen the slandering that comes the gossip the needless quarreling

00:02:59.140 the besmirching of characters we could have seen that in the apostle paul and barnabas

00:03:08.600 we didn't

00:03:09.600 the church today has a big problem with knowing how to disagree without leaving

00:03:18.600 despite their disagreements paul and barnabas eventually reconciled eventually they allowed

00:03:29.400 time and charity to win in their relationship what paul and barnabas did by the way that they

00:03:36.320 handled their disagreement, demonstrated the principles that are taught in our passage of

00:03:41.440 Scripture this morning. Ephesians 4, 1 through 6, urges believers to walk in humility, gentleness,

00:03:50.140 patience, bearing with one another in love, and maintaining the unity of the Spirit.

00:03:56.640 Although Paul and Barnabas separated

00:04:01.360 Their division was not fatal

00:04:05.760 They continued to work for the gospel

00:04:11.000 Respecting each other's ministry

00:04:13.560 And later Paul even commended John Mark

00:04:17.740 For his usefulness in ministry in 2 Timothy 4.11

00:04:21.420 this shows that while disagreements will arise

00:04:26.940 and they certainly have

00:04:28.760 we can have humility

00:04:33.560 love and charity

00:04:36.560 even in the midst of our disagreements

00:04:40.000 we all

00:04:42.340 every single person in this church today

00:04:45.120 needs to know how to do this better

00:04:48.080 We all fail in this in some regard.

00:04:52.840 We all have struggles in seeing the best in a person that we disagree with.

00:04:58.960 The temptation towards division will always loom heavy over the church.

00:05:06.120 Satan knows that if he can divide us, he can strip away our ability to share the unifying message of the gospel.

00:05:13.960 A divided church will always result in a divided witness.

00:05:22.060 A wounded church will always result in a wounded witness.

00:05:27.200 There are painful consequences for disobeying God's command for unity.

00:05:35.340 Kingdom consequences.

00:05:37.300 Jesus says in Matthew 12, 25

00:05:45.560 Every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

00:05:54.680 When we allow minor disagreements to break our covenant with one another,

00:06:01.040 we show that we do not truly believe the words of Scripture.

00:06:05.160 we undermine the truth that the bride of christ can be one just as jesus is one with the father

00:06:12.920 and we strip the church of her effectiveness and preaching the message of salvation 0.93

00:06:20.360 there is a time to separate there's a time where separation is absolutely justified

00:06:29.380 but it's over primary issues not secondary what are some primary issues you may ask

00:06:38.800 they are doctrines surrounding the trinity

00:06:43.620 they are the message of the gospel the hypostatic union in christ

00:06:52.300 the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Christ

00:06:57.340 and the authority of scripture.

00:07:03.220 Only around these doctrines and a few others

00:07:08.100 is separation warranted.

00:07:12.900 When we separate over these issues,

00:07:16.460 we're not distancing ourselves from people who are Christians.

00:07:20.920 We're not distancing ourselves from those who belong to Jesus Christ

00:07:26.320 If you deny these doctrines, you do not belong to Christ

00:07:31.020 You are not a Christian

00:07:34.380 When we separate from those who preach truths against these doctrines 1.00

00:07:41.200 We're separating from worldliness

00:07:43.800 Those who preach these things preach a false Christ

00:07:50.380 and a false gospel.

00:07:53.780 And we ought not have fellowship with them. 1.00

00:07:57.760 This is why we don't have fellowship with Mormons. 1.00

00:08:01.480 This is why we don't have fellowship with Jehovah's Witnesses. 0.99

00:08:05.880 This is why we don't have fellowship with Roman Catholics. 1.00

00:08:11.100 We don't have fellowship with them 1.00

00:08:12.920 because they present a distorted view of Jesus to the world.

00:08:17.680 They lie about the scriptures.

00:08:20.380 we can't have fellowship with these

00:08:25.000 there are however certain doctrines of secondary importance and while they are important they are

00:08:35.800 not important enough for us to call one another non-christian they're not important enough for

00:08:42.200 us to excommunicate someone over them or to completely separate from them and no longer

00:08:48.780 call them brother or sister. These are areas that we may have differing opinions,

00:08:55.820 but they are not essential for salvation. Some of these issues are issues surrounding

00:09:04.260 sacramentology, baptism in the Lord's Supper, differing views on what's happening in those

00:09:12.000 sacraments. These are secondary doctrines. Some others would include church government.

00:09:20.300 Should we be congregational? Should we be Presbyterian, elder-led? Should we be Episcopal,

00:09:29.020 having bishops reign over the church? These questions are important,

00:09:35.060 but they are not so important that you cannot be a Christian and believe differently from me.

00:09:42.000 On these doctrines.

00:09:45.660 When congregations believe these things, they form what are known as denominations.

00:09:52.380 These denominations separate over these secondary doctrines, but they are not divided.

00:09:59.500 There's a misconception in the church that denominations are division.

00:10:03.980 They aren't.

00:10:05.460 The OPC, the SPC, the CREC, PCA, the Lutheran Church, the Methodist Church.

00:10:17.200 We may disagree over these secondary doctrines, but in the primary doctrines, we are one.

00:10:26.460 We preach the same gospel.

00:10:30.120 We preach the same Christ.

00:10:34.500 We believe the same important foundational truths of the scriptures.

00:10:42.380 Disconnection is not disunity when we agree on primary principles.

00:10:50.340 Let me say that again.

00:10:53.380 Disconnection is not disunity when we agree on primary principles.

00:11:00.100 while these issues are important

00:11:06.300 they are not so crucial

00:11:10.560 that they should prevent us

00:11:12.640 from worshipping together

00:11:13.840 with one another

00:11:15.320 we believe

00:11:18.800 here at Kingsway

00:11:19.640 in a doctrine known as

00:11:21.700 reformed catholicity

00:11:22.840 at Kingsway

00:11:25.920 we want to see 0.99

00:11:27.480 Presbyterians

00:11:29.600 Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans, Dutch Reformed,

00:11:35.340 all worship in the same body.

00:11:41.040 All who disagree on these secondary issues.

00:11:45.920 This doesn't mean that we throw out our convictions

00:11:48.520 over these things when we worship together,

00:11:50.500 but instead we learn how to unify

00:11:53.560 in spite of our disagreements.

00:11:55.760 this is really hard

00:12:01.120 and it doesn't always work

00:12:06.020 our goal for reformed catholicity is a good goal

00:12:11.820 and we believe in it with all of our hearts

00:12:15.080 but a large reason why many of the families who left

00:12:19.780 the reason why they left

00:12:24.540 is over these secondary issues.

00:12:31.700 This is difficult.

00:12:34.560 It takes humility,

00:12:37.980 grace,

00:12:39.920 patience,

00:12:41.860 love,

00:12:44.260 a deep earnestness for unity

00:12:47.220 that is so scarce in the church.

00:12:51.400 at Kingsway we're going to keep fighting

00:12:57.260 for reformed catholicity

00:12:59.360 we believe that we can have unity

00:13:02.960 in spite of our diversity

00:13:05.340 the last category

00:13:11.180 is what are known as tertiary doctrines

00:13:14.800 these doctrines hold great importance

00:13:19.280 in the church

00:13:20.340 But they're even less crucial than these secondary doctrines I just mentioned.

00:13:27.660 Unfortunately, what happens with the tertiary doctrines is that they are elevated to the place of primary doctrines.

00:13:35.960 What happens is that we're more likely to divide over these issues than anything else.

00:13:44.060 These issues include practices around raising children.

00:13:48.960 how you're raising up children

00:13:50.900 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

00:13:53.380 Should you observe the Sabbath day?

00:13:56.620 Are you allowed to consume alcohol?

00:14:00.960 What is your view on the end times?

00:14:04.640 Dress codes in church

00:14:06.220 and differing opinions

00:14:09.060 about the most effective way to preach the gospel.

00:14:12.060 Regrettably, these and many other reasons are why so many Christians leave solid, biblical, loving, gracious churches, though they had so much in common.

00:14:34.720 Our culture has made people feel like everything should be customizable

00:14:42.740 That everything should be tailor-made for you and your preferences 0.91

00:14:48.500 When Christians demand that the church meets them on these issues 0.97

00:14:56.700 Rather than on primary issues 0.99

00:14:59.500 we're demonstrating that we have no desire for unity

00:15:04.820 but only uniformity

00:15:07.120 this ought not be

00:15:11.580 your love for one another ought to go deeper than this

00:15:18.620 our love for every person at this church

00:15:23.740 ought to be able to overcome whatever

00:15:27.220 disagreements we may have

00:15:29.360 over these types of issues.

00:15:33.220 Each of these doctrines matter.

00:15:36.420 It matters if you wear a head covering or not.

00:15:40.220 It matters if you drink alcohol or not.

00:15:45.120 It matters if you observe the Sabbath or not.

00:15:47.940 I preached a sermon on my clear conviction

00:15:51.460 that you should observe the Sabbath.

00:15:54.680 It matters whether you do these things.

00:15:56.860 But it doesn't matter more than your unity.

00:16:02.940 It never can.

00:16:07.880 In our passage this morning, I just want to make a few points that I think will be helpful for us, all of us, in maintaining the unity of the church.

00:16:22.460 Let's begin by looking at verse 1.

00:16:26.860 It says,

00:16:30.340 I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,

00:16:35.280 urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

00:16:42.260 Again, this is Ephesians 4, 1 through 6.

00:16:47.080 Take a drink.

00:16:53.320 Paul begins his exhortation for unity.

00:16:56.860 By displaying his authority here, his credentials for why he's giving the command for unity.

00:17:04.120 He calls himself a prisoner of the Lord.

00:17:07.440 It underscores his submission and his apostolic authority in being able to issue to us a call for unity.

00:17:19.120 This title isn't just a statement about his physical imprisonment,

00:17:23.240 But rather, it displays his total devotion to Christ.

00:17:29.600 He's calling the church in Ephesus, by extension, all of us, to unity.

00:17:37.360 Not just as a suggestion.

00:17:40.500 You're not just suggested to be united here at Kingsway or at whatever other church you're at.

00:17:48.240 It's not a mere suggestion for us.

00:17:51.880 It's a command.

00:17:53.240 This command carries the full weight of apostolic authority.

00:18:02.980 What follows in this passage isn't optional for believers.

00:18:08.480 These aren't mere words of encouragement.

00:18:11.180 They are divine mandates that call the church to unity.

00:18:17.340 disregarding this call to unity is not only disobedience

00:18:24.000 but it's also failure to love the bride that christ died for

00:18:30.600 seeking division or refusing to pursue unity within the church puts us in direct

00:18:40.880 opposition to the will of god and into the realm of sin

00:18:45.320 do not divide the bride of Christ

00:18:50.220 we are called to serve and love one another

00:18:56.920 reflecting the love of Christ

00:18:59.820 if we choose disunity

00:19:02.800 we not only harm the church but also undermine our total witness to the world

00:19:08.580 we saw this in the high priestly prayer from Jesus last week

00:19:13.680 Jesus ties the church's unity directly to our ability to faithfully preach the gospel.

00:19:21.680 You must see this.

00:19:25.260 True love for God's church means doing everything in your power to pursue her unity and peace.

00:19:35.540 if you truly love the church you will pursue unity and peace in the church

00:19:44.100 he goes on and says walk in a manner worthy of our calling

00:19:50.920 the question is what is this calling that he's he's telling us to walk in

00:19:58.240 this is the effectual calling the calling that's issued by god by christ to his

00:20:05.340 people to save them. It's the call to our souls that Christ is our Savior and that his perfect

00:20:14.320 blood washes away our sins. I desired to go into a little bit of the doctrine of effectual calling,

00:20:23.120 but I think it's important to stay on the point of unity.

00:20:26.240 we have to remember that in this effectual calling

00:20:35.360 christ just didn't call you

00:20:38.400 he didn't just issue the call to you individually who's sitting in your seat

00:20:45.560 he issued the call to your brother who's sitting next to you your sister right in front of you

00:20:53.200 the personal loving call of Christ came to you and to them

00:20:59.320 Christ wanted them just as much as he wanted you

00:21:04.000 this should spur us to deep love for each other this should spur us on to the love that Christ

00:21:17.100 has for the church remember the love that he has for the church John 13 verse 1

00:21:22.540 When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of the world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

00:21:38.280 Christ loved his bride all the way up to his death and beyond.

00:21:45.980 We are called to display that same type of love for one another.

00:21:52.540 the question is, do you?

00:22:00.320 Do you show this type of Christ-like love

00:22:03.800 for your brothers and sisters?

00:22:07.220 Do you love the people in this church like Jesus does?

00:22:12.240 Is that something that can be said of you?

00:22:17.400 These are things to consider.

00:22:22.540 Paul urges us to walk worthy of this calling.

00:22:28.280 The word worthy describes the way you're walking.

00:22:32.900 It's the adverb in this sentence.

00:22:38.940 The way that we walk is defined by Paul.

00:22:43.000 He tells us five ways that we can actually live out this walking,

00:22:48.540 this walking in love for unity for one another.

00:22:52.540 He lays it out with five simple steps.

00:22:57.520 In verses 2 and 3, he says,

00:22:59.440 With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

00:23:07.980 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

00:23:11.740 Do you know why Paul commands humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance in this passage?

00:23:26.980 Because Christ had these things with you.

00:23:31.480 Christ is our model.

00:23:35.200 We do all of these things because Christ did them to us.

00:23:41.740 Do you know how absurd it is to not forgive someone when Christ has forgiven you?

00:23:50.900 Do you know how absurd it is to not have patience with a brother and sister

00:23:55.480 when Christ has had so much patience with you?

00:24:02.780 Do you know how absurd it is to not bear with one another in love

00:24:07.040 when Christ lovingly, gently, carefully bore with you?

00:24:17.420 We have a lot to learn from the example of Christ.

00:24:24.140 We have a lot to learn and how to love one another better.

00:24:30.180 1 Corinthians 13 is the love passage.

00:24:34.660 Everybody uses it in their weddings.

00:24:37.040 It's not about weddings.

00:24:38.640 It's not about marriage.

00:24:40.620 1 Corinthians 13 tells us what Christian love is all about.

00:24:45.960 I'm going to quote just a section of it.

00:24:48.820 It says,

00:24:50.740 Love is patient and kind.

00:24:55.820 Love does not envy or boast.

00:24:59.580 It is not arrogant or rude.

00:25:02.820 It does not insist on its own way.

00:25:05.200 it is not irritable or resentful

00:25:08.960 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing

00:25:12.460 but rejoices with the truth

00:25:15.340 love bears all things

00:25:19.060 believes all things

00:25:22.300 hopes all things

00:25:24.920 endures all things

00:25:28.000 unfortunately

00:25:32.800 and this is especially common

00:25:36.500 in reformed circles

00:25:38.260 instead of loving one another through our differences

00:25:42.700 we allow pride

00:25:45.780 harshness

00:25:47.360 quick tempers

00:25:49.140 and short fuses 0.94

00:25:51.080 to wedge themselves

00:25:53.880 between the love that we should have with one another

00:25:57.980 we are the closest theologically in reformed circles we are the closest out of all the other

00:26:08.540 Christians we believe the same soteriology or message of salvation we believe that God

00:26:17.180 is sovereign over all these things we are so close in fellowship yet we allow minor distinctions

00:26:27.480 to come between our unity.

00:26:31.720 This has happened for centuries.

00:26:36.540 And it has to stop.

00:26:42.460 Ask yourself,

00:26:44.820 do you operate

00:26:48.280 with a spirit of humility,

00:26:53.280 patience,

00:26:55.200 gentleness,

00:26:55.760 love

00:26:58.260 forbearance

00:27:00.220 with one another in the church

00:27:02.280 or are you quick to jump to a spirit of disunity

00:27:07.300 do you have the reformed bug

00:27:11.800 of hating the people that are

00:27:16.280 closest theologically to you

00:27:18.680 have you dealt with disagreements in the church

00:27:24.040 in the most charitable way you can?

00:27:27.380 Have you viewed your opponent

00:27:29.120 in the best light possible?

00:27:36.340 Or have you allowed a spirit of disunity

00:27:38.760 to settle in?

00:27:43.080 Have you done all that you can

00:27:44.780 to get through disagreements?

00:27:49.960 Or have you been looking for a reason

00:27:51.800 to get away from each other.

00:27:59.040 These are things that you really must check your heart with.

00:28:04.120 The unity of the church is at stake.

00:28:10.600 Paul continues on.

00:28:13.760 There is one body and one spirit,

00:28:17.400 just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call,

00:28:20.700 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

00:28:32.960 The KJV ends, and in all of you.

00:28:37.820 I think that's a better translation.

00:28:41.900 How can anyone read these words and so quickly divide?

00:28:44.980 How can anyone hear that we're called to one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, who loves all of his children, and say, I do not want to be near you?

00:29:03.820 Paul gives this list of things that we are to be one in

00:29:12.340 because he wants to show us the reasons for unity

00:29:16.780 these things are the reasons

00:29:20.540 why you should be united as one bride

00:29:23.860 in Christ

00:29:24.940 he says that we are one in body

00:29:29.000 that being one in the body of Christ

00:29:32.060 We are called to one Spirit, one Holy Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father.

00:29:48.240 This overarching oneness are all the reasons why the apostles give that the church should be one.

00:29:58.080 many of these reasons i gave in my previous sermon so i'm not going to rehash all of them

00:30:04.620 what i do want to point out here is something very important that the apostle calls us one in

00:30:10.840 if we can keep this one thing top of mind in the church i very seriously doubt

00:30:20.000 that you're going to struggle to be united together as one

00:30:24.100 what paul points to one crucial thing in this passage that we can be one in

00:30:33.980 is that we are one in the hope that belongs to our calling

00:30:41.640 what's he talking about what paul is saying is that we should be looking ahead to the future

00:30:52.740 to the hope that's given to us because of the calling that was issued to us by Christ.

00:31:00.480 In the words of Paul, or in other words, it's saying that we should be looking forward to eternity together

00:31:10.640 to find this blessed hope.

00:31:14.100 we should be not looking

00:31:18.080 at what's behind

00:31:20.540 at where we came from

00:31:23.740 we're not looking at who we were

00:31:27.600 this is often why disagreements come in the church

00:31:32.540 we focus too much on where people were

00:31:38.480 when Christ found them

00:31:39.780 or the sins that are in their past

00:31:42.460 we focus on what has been

00:31:46.240 rather than on what will be

00:31:50.120 the Bible says that we ought not do this

00:31:55.820 it says that we should look ahead

00:32:01.280 we should remember that none of us are the same

00:32:06.980 as what we were when Christ found us

00:32:09.260 and thank God

00:32:12.260 i used to be the lowest of the low ridden with drugs lost in the world i loved my sin

00:32:25.500 and had no affection for christ or for the or for any of the things of heaven

00:32:31.320 i had no love for god or for his church i had only love for me

00:32:38.500 but praise be to God

00:32:44.760 that he showed me grace

00:32:48.760 and not just saved me from my wretched life of sin

00:32:54.080 but has blessed me with the forever hope

00:32:58.180 of eternity with him

00:33:00.100 one of the passages that saved my soul

00:33:04.580 was Jeremiah 29 11

00:33:07.700 I know context matters within that verse,

00:33:10.020 but the Holy Spirit used it anyways.

00:33:14.140 It says, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

00:33:18.560 Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.

00:33:22.480 Plans to give you a hope and a future.

00:33:29.740 This is not to tell you that you should have some grand salvation story like mine.

00:33:33.480 In fact, I'm jealous of all of you who don't have my testimony.

00:33:41.660 Who have the quiet testimony of saying, I never know when I came to faith.

00:33:47.140 I don't know the day or the hour.

00:33:49.880 Praise God, you weren't as stubborn as me.

00:33:55.220 But what we can't do is allow one another to be defined by our pasts.

00:34:03.480 But instead, look ahead to the hope that Christ has given us.

00:34:12.580 In the church, we get stuck here.

00:34:16.780 The pastor, Martin Lloyd-Jones, said in a sermon on this passage of scripture, he said,

00:34:22.580 quote, it is because we fail to keep our eye on the hope of our calling

00:34:27.140 that there are so many divisions and distinctions

00:34:31.700 and misunderstandings in the church, end quote.

00:34:38.500 Keeping our eyes upon the hope that we have

00:34:42.320 will ensure that there are no divisions in the church.

00:34:48.680 It's unthinkable that you can know the truth

00:34:52.940 that we will be perfectly one in eternity

00:34:56.200 and yet allow a minor difference of opinion

00:35:01.220 to separate you from one another.

00:35:05.960 In heaven, we will be one with one voice crying aloud unto God,

00:35:11.780 praise be to God and Father, our Father,

00:35:14.700 who loves us and who cares for us, who chose us,

00:35:18.840 who sent his son to die for us.

00:35:20.860 it's unthinkable

00:35:23.660 that divisions would happen in the bride of Christ

00:35:28.420 I know 0.85

00:35:33.660 and I think you know

00:35:36.500 that the church is not held together

00:35:40.340 by the efforts of pastors and elders

00:35:44.300 the church isn't being held together

00:35:48.580 by the works of love that you show one another.

00:35:54.300 The church isn't being held together

00:35:56.360 by our obligations to one another,

00:36:00.060 our desires for affection for one another,

00:36:03.840 or any other thing that we can muster up.

00:36:09.320 The church is being held together for one reason.

00:36:13.840 Because Christ is in you.

00:36:19.440 The church is held together because Christ is with us now, today.

00:36:28.100 We don't have to worry about the church falling apart.

00:36:34.360 We don't have to worry about the church not seeing this blessed hope that I was just speaking of.

00:36:41.180 we can rest knowing that Christ who is over all and through all and in all of you

00:36:52.640 is holding the church together take comfort in this truth take comfort in the fact that

00:37:02.320 no matter the disagreements no matter the quarrels no matter the hurts and pains that

00:37:08.160 come with relationships. Christ is keeping his church one. He will not allow his bride

00:37:20.080 to be divorced. We are in covenant with one another and with our God. This covenant is

00:37:32.960 not easily broken.

00:37:36.820 Christ is fighting for the unity of the church.

00:37:40.180 And we should do all that's in our power

00:37:42.920 to obey the scriptures and seek the same unity that Christ

00:37:47.040 wants. I pray this morning

00:37:50.380 that as we go out from this place,

00:37:54.920 as we process the words that were said here,

00:37:59.080 that the conviction of the Holy Spirit would lead us

00:38:01.840 to deeper and deeper bonds of unity, love, and peace with one another.

00:38:11.480 Amen?

00:38:12.520 Let's pray.

00:38:18.340 Holy God,

00:38:20.380 you are the great sovereign Lord over all things.

00:38:27.840 You're the one who decided that it would be good.

00:38:31.840 to win a bride for your son.

00:38:36.580 You are the one who has woven together this tapestry of people

00:38:42.300 from all different backgrounds, denominations, ethnicities, cultures, ideologies, family histories,

00:38:54.480 and made them one in your son.

00:38:58.180 lord your plan is magnificent

00:39:03.620 your overarching desire for unity

00:39:07.820 is convicting

00:39:08.780 and as you know the temptations for sin

00:39:13.920 in this area

00:39:14.600 are easy

00:39:16.780 lord protect your church

00:39:20.820 protect your church

00:39:23.640 from the devices and desires of the enemy

00:39:26.520 who seeks to cause and sow disunity

00:39:29.660 in a people that you call one.

00:39:34.380 Lord, may it never be with us

00:39:36.740 that we seek to be right,

00:39:42.100 to allow differences,

00:39:46.380 to allow distinctions and misunderstandings

00:39:50.540 to ever separate us from one another.

00:39:56.520 Lord, make our love grow deeper, our desires for unity stronger,

00:40:02.140 our convictions to preach the gospel together as one be more firm.

00:40:09.200 And may all these things glorify your Son, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Dale Partridge - November 22, 2024

How to Stay Unified in Disagreement

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