Unity - 10/23/2008
This past week I was preaching in Northwest Florida at a small church where I spent a few years as a child. The name of the church is Unity Baptist Church and it was the 128 year of the church’s’ existence. No doubt the founders of the church named it “Unity” in an effort to remind the congregation that it had a responsibility to be a unified body of believers.
In Ephesians 4: 3 Paul tells the Ephesian church that they are to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and that is one of the hardest burdens for church members and pastors to bear.
It is a hard burden because of the sinfulness and selfishness of people (even well meaning Christians) as well as the spiritual warfare that rages around and in the life of Christians and their churches. This is why we must be endeavoring” in the pursuit of peace, but always remembering that the unity that we seek is based on the Spirit and nothing else.
I am thankful for Unity Baptist Church and the investment that they made in my life and ministry, and I am grateful that God has allowed me to pastor this church where I see believers endeavoring to be unified by the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace.
Pastor Stan