Essential Church Part 2

The Importance of the Church and Unity

Why this series? 

God calls Christians to gather in local churches to worship and reflect His to the world.

We are . 

The goal in this series is to understand the opportunities and we have as those who make up the local church.

Why is the church so important? 

A brief overview of Ephesians 3 and 4:

Ephesians 3:10

Three Truths: 

1.  Unity of the Church is to the message of the gospel 

2.  Church unity the wisdom of God

3.  Cultivating unity is the r of church members. 

What is the goal of the church? .

1 John 4:20

The subject of unity within the church has become divisive in that people have understood the biblical call for unity in different ways: 

Two Extremes: 

A. Unity at costs 

The problem with this view is that unity then is too shallow!

A unity at all costs, confuses the world when it comes to the nature of Christianity. 

B. Unity at all

For some, unity is almost a word — these will only fellowship with those who agree with every point of doctrine (at some point, we will find disagreements with those we think we agree with).

The that defines Christian unity is

Matthew 5:46; Matthew 18:21-22

The of Christian unity is the glory of God in the proclamation of the gospel. 

The Source of Christian Unity is the of

We love because Jesus loved us.

Luke 7:47

The where Christian unity is seen and worked out is in the

How can an imperfect people display the perfect character of a perfect God?

A sinful people can and display the love and holiness of God as they live in unity.

This unity does not white-wash sin but calls it sin. A unity that forgives the sin of others just as Christ Jesus has us.