Unity in Christianity
Pastor’s Desk
Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed not only for the ones that the Father had given Him but also for everyone in the future who would ever put their faith in Him. Jesus prayed for us! His prayer was a prayer for “Unity” – That we might be one as the Father and the Son are One. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, addresses church unity as a “done deal”. Unity within the church is not something that we as believers need to structure. That structure has already been established for us by Christ Himself. We are “One body” (not 2,000 denominations). We have “One Spirit” (the Spirit of Christ). We have “One Hope” (Christis our only hope). We have “One Lord” (the Lord Jesus Christ). We have”One Faith” (the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen). We have “One Baptism” (we identify with Christ both in death and newness of life). And, finally, we have only “One God” (who is Father of all who believe). These “Seven Ones” (are God’s structure for Church
Unity). We did not create them – He did. The only aspect of Church Unity that we have contributed is to “mess things up”. Today’s message will remind us how to be unified His way and
hopefully correct anything and everything that does not align with His will.
Pastor Wayne
In the Presence of the Lord We Find Rest
From The Pastor’s Desk
God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and on the 7th day He “Rested”. I do not believe that God was “tired” or needed a rest. Rather, He was setting a powerful example to a world that would soon be found in sin and chaos – A world in need of “Rest”. The Hebrew word for the 7th day is “Shabbat” which translates as “He rested”. Thus, the concept of rest was from the very beginning. Then, when the children of Israel were escaping Egypt and facing hunger, God gave them a gift, with a warning. Manna (bread from Heaven) would fall from Heaven but only for 6 days. The people were commanded not to gather Manna on the 7th day. The
punishment for not “Resting” was death. Later, when God gave His “Law” to Moses on Mount Sinai the 4th commandment was “to keep the Sabbath holy and to do no work on that day, lest you die”. When the Messiah, Jesus, came to the world He was accused of violating this very law. He responded to His accusers saying, “the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath”. This Lord of the Sabbath is also Lord of our lives and the question arises: Are we as New Testament believers to keep a law given to Old Testament saints? Today, we will put this question of “Rest to Rest”.
Pastor Wayne
