“Glory in the Church Through Unity and Diversity” 5/07/06
CH. 1-3 “WEALTH” CH. 4-6 “WALKING”
GANG INITIATION brings EXPECTATIONS… so does the CHURCH.
POINT 1- The Church brings glory to God through UNITY Vv. 1-6
A. To achieve unity we must cultivate these Christian VIRTUES
(1) Unity starts with a genuine commitment to humility.
(2) Coupled with humility is that virtue of being gentle.
(3) We must also be willing at all times to be patient.
(4) Even when we might disagree we are required to be tolerant.
(5) The foundation of all unity is our dedication to genuine love.
HOW MANY OF THESE DO YOU HAVE?
B. The unity that we should have is rooted in the one-ness of GOD
When conflicts arise that threaten unity. You have two choices:
1) Overlook the matter and forgive. “He gains honor by overlooking the wrongs in others.” Proverbs 19:11
2) Without gossiping to anyone, go directly to that person (Matt 18:15)
POINT 2- The Church brings glory to God through DIVERSITY Vv. 7-16
A. God’s glory is magnified by giving us diversity of GIFTS
(1) Jesus has chosen to give a gift to each of us.
(2) All the gifts that he gave were given to equip the saints.
(3) The purpose is to edify the church to become unified.
(4) As we do this we will not be deceived by false teachings.
B. The diversity of gifts demands for us to grow to MATURITY
(1) We must always speak the truth in love.
(2) Everyone of has our unique part to play.
Are you walking worthy of your calling? Are you part of the building up or the tearing down of the unity of God’s church? Let’s pray together that God will use each of to build His church and glorify Himself through us.