When Jesus is the head of the church, unity will be a core commitment. Jesus teaches that the unity of believers expressed in our love for each other will help us stand out in the world. Unity requires all of us to submit to Jesus as head and to pull in the same direction – a desire to grow as disciples of Jesus and a commitment to seeking His kingdom first. Unity does not mean uniformity; Jesus unites us, but we give space for differences on secondary issues.
Sermon Notes:
Big Idea: We don’t attain Christian unity, but we do maintain Christian unity.
We have a shared source of truth that determines what we accept as true.
We share a hope that is greater than any other hope.
We share an allegiance that ought to come before any other allegiance.
We have a shared recognition of our own insufficiency.
We have a new identity that ought to trump all our other identities and affiliations.
As a church we maintain unity by committing to put the Kingdom first. (Matthew 6:33)
As individual members we maintain unity by committing to put others first. (Ephesians 4:2)
