Opening Prayer:
Almighty God, you have called the church into being and have gathered us into one family. By the power of your Holy Spirit help us to live in unity and peace with all of your children. May our actions this day be fruit of our faith in your kingdom. In the name of Christ. Amen
(A Guide to Prayer, p. 178)
Read: Ephesians 4:1-16
Story/Illustration:
I think I get it! The word “one” is used seven times in this passage (Eph. 4:1-16) – one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all. We’re talking unity! And perhaps the best way I can be a hero is by making sure that everything I do has at its core the intention of unifying and building up the body of Christ – the church. What an awesome way to whittle down or focus my to-do list each day! (Pastor Karen)
“If we focus on our differences, our focus is on ourselves. If we focus on our unity, our focus is on God.” ~Anonymous
Paul says in Ephesians 2:14, “For he himself is our peace.” Now in Ephesians 4:3 he says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” The word “bond” in Greek “prisoner, or literally the bands that hold one as a prisoner.” Wow, we are bonded together by peace, or, as the church we are prisoners of peace, Christ’s peace! I want to think about and see the ways in which we at Enon UMC are held together by our Lord’s peace. That’s our real oneness. (Pastor Jeff)
Questions For Reflection:
* Any response to Pastor Jeff’s sermon?
* What words in this passage jump out at you? Why?
* How have you been identified by your relationship with others? In what ways has this been a blessing in your life? In what ways, though, has it seemed limiting or restrictive, making you feel misunderstood, as though you can’t be yourself?
* Every believer has a place to fill in the church. Everyone has a ministry given by the Spirit. Share your thoughts on this. What is your ministry? How can you discover what your role or gift is?
* How does the Spirit bring about unity among Christians? What is your role in helping to unify the body?
* How are we (EUMC) creating “spaces of grace” for diversity? (From the above quote: Diversity refers to the recognition, acceptance, practice, and celebration of gifts given to the community “for building up the body of Christ.”)
* Paul says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:1b-2, NIV) Which one of those characteristics is most important to you, or most helpful for the body to find its oneness in Christ?
* As you think about your part in the Body of Christ, what do you think is the gift you have received, whether it is listed by Paul or not in Ephesians 4?
Wrap up:
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is “an emphatic reminder of his determination to see divisions healed and unity restored: ‘Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one’ (John 17:11b). What would our world be like if this prayer of Jesus was answered today? What changes would we see in our communities and our congregations? We do not know all that would happen but we do know that the changes would be dramatic, life-giving, and liberating. Let us pray that the prayer of Jesus will be answered in our time and where we live. And then let us promise God and one another every day that each of us will become a living answer to this fervent prayer of Jesus. It will change our world! (When You Pray, p. 118)
Meditate on this daily and jot down what God lays on your heart.
Closing Prayer:
Be held in the center of God’s will today and know the joy, freedom, and power of walking by faith and in faithfulness. Amen
* What words in this passage jump out at you? Why? As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. This statement is very relevant to where I am in my life and my spiritual walk. For a long time I wondered why some of the events of my life have occurred they way they have or in the timing – but this past two years I have been confident that all of my life was perfectly scripted and has lead me exactly to this place. It is up to me, however, to “live a life worthy of the calling”. That is my task – to recognize that God instilled in me, from before I was even born, a specific purpose and I have an opportunity to live that blessed life. When I am one with Him, I am in Him and He is in me!
ReplyDelete* How have you been identified by your relationship with others?
Relationships are hard for me. The long-term, deep, soul-searching relationship are ones that I have very few of. I can name on one hand people that have been in relationship with for longer than 10 years. For some who see this side of me they know that I take relationships seriously for others they may see me as cool or standoffish. I am also a very serious person – I try not to be, but I am so it is hard for me to have just a casual relationship with people as they seem to shallow or focused on the surface.
*What is your ministry? How can you discover what your role or gift is?
I am not sure if this is my place in the church but I know it is my purpose on earth – to reach out to those in need. I know that I have been given a specific purpose and that is to bridge the gap in our community to help those who don’t have a voice learn to speak out and to educate those in a position of power to better understand our world. This is my gift and I stumbled into through a divine passage.
* How does the Spirit bring about unity among Christians? First and foremost I have to live it out in my life and be a good model. They I need to speak truth as often as I can to those who are believers and non-believers. I have found the modeling a much more effective tool than the speaking.
* How are we (EUMC) creating “spaces of grace” for diversity? First we are becoming more aware that there exists pockets of our community that are vastly different than what we perceive as normal and we are wrestling with what can we do and how do we do it to have an impact on this part of our community. Awareness is a good first step – but a powerful second step is action. This is playing out in our church with Celebrate Recovery, individuals getting involved in mentoring and outreach to both nursing home and Enon Beach.
* Paul says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:1b-2, NIV) Which one of those characteristics is most important to you, or most helpful for the body to find its oneness in Christ?
Patient – this one is hard for me but is the one that has helped me to get to where I most want to be – living out Christ-like principles in my daily living. I need patience with myself as I am not perfect and if I beat myself up for my shortcomings I won’t get very far. I need to be patient with those around me as we are building relationships and gaining greater understanding of each other.
* As you think about your part in the Body of Christ, what do you think is the gift you have received, whether it is listed by Paul or not in Ephesians –
I think my gift is one that brings both understanding and awareness to community. I have been gifted with a passion for working with vulnerable populations and ensuring that there is a sense of justice in our communities for them. I do this not “TO” those who are vulnerable but rather “WITH” them – to empower them to be the leaders and advocates and the messengers into their communities. It is difficult work but very, very rewarding.
* Any response to Pastor Jeff’s sermon? I appreciate the affirmation that we all have a place within the church and that we all have a purpose and a calling. It can be so easy to just step out of the way and watch others “do their thing,” and not realize that we all have a special “something.” Also, one of the points that Pastor Jeff made was that the church is the workshop for Christians. Understanding that the church means more than just the walls of EUMC, what a picture this portrays!
ReplyDelete* What words in this passage jump out at you? Why? “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received” is what resonates with me. Living as faithful children of God is not easy nor was it easy for the early believers. I look at how often in the Bible instructions for faithful living are given (too may to cite here!) Jesus demonstrated this repeatedly to the disciples. Bottom line: This is not going to be easy!! We can help each other practice and live what Jesus taught.
* How have you been identified by your relationship with others? For the longest time here at the church I was identified by my parents, in particular my mother. Thank goodness she was well-liked and respected! This was definitely a blessing but yeah, there were times when I yearned to be known for just being Karen. This was really the only instance where I felt this. Once others got to know me for who I was that comparison stopped for the most part. I can remember times when I would pause and wonder – would mama do this or do that?
* What is your ministry? How can you discover what your role or gift is? I have heard it said that we have been gifted in ways that make us necessary to others and others have been gifted in ways that make them necessary to us. Our individual gifts are important for the emotional and spiritual growth of others. How I discovered my role or gift was through prayer and meditation, working “hands-on” in different ministry settings, and listening to what the body of Christ shared with me regarding my gifts and graces. Our passions will definitely line up up with our ministry!
* How does the Spirit bring about unity among Christians? What is your role in helping to unify the body? I think the Holy Spirit is the only way we can have unity in the church and among Christians. Our nature is not always one of unity, especially with all of our wonderful (ha!) differences. Paul urges Christians to "make every effort’ to be united; this is more of an imperative. Our understanding of God’s Spirit and our experience with the Spirit shapes our sense of unity with fellow believers. Only if we are Spirit-filled people will we be able live in unity and peace with one another. My role is to make every effort to have my fellowship reflect God – a God of peace.
* How are we (EUMC) creating “spaces of grace” for diversity? One way we are creating “spaces of grace” for diversity is during Sunday’s worship, where the different ministries are spotlighted. All individuals are encouraged to find their niche for serving God at EUMC and currently we are being very intentional in letting people know this. We have also been challenging people to look around for ways to serve in the church as well as in the community.
* Paul says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:1b-2, NIV) Which one of those characteristics is most important to you, or most helpful for the body to find its oneness in Christ? The characteristic that is most important to me is bearing with one another in love. I think pride can get in the way of our oneness in Christ. If we are bearing with one another in love, the walls of pride start to crumble down. Pride and love for one another cannot coexist; pride creates disunity.
Karin - I wanted to thank you for all you are doing to make a difference in the lives of those who are living in poverty. To use the word "living" doesn't seem quite right; perhaps the word "merely existing" is more appropriate. The Poverty Simulation has really opened my eyes to the ways that you and others are truly advocating for "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." You are definitely the voice of Christ as you help others find their voices in this crazy-mixed up world where those in poverty are invisible to so many. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThe poverty simulation was good, but... I will admit that I struggled with the role of a 14 year old girl... It was not easy to see who others my age and gender were, even at school... so I didn't do a whole lot. A part of me wishes I'd been an adult having to deal with the various things they did. However, the discussion afterwards was what was helpful to me. Hearing others' stories and experiences made me feel and understand some of the issues more clearly. Thanks for the invitation!
ReplyDelete