Unity in the Body

ORDER OF WORSHIP:

Welcome 
Song of Praise  “This Is Amazing Grace”
Call to Worship Psalm 133:1-3
Song of Praise“The Church’s One Foundation”
Confession of Faith 
Song of Praise “Who You Say I Am”
Prayer of Adoration
Greet One Another
Ministry Spotlight Deacon’s Ministry 
Prayer of Intercession 
Giving of God’s Tithe and Our Offerings
Song of Preparation  “Is He Worthy?”
Scripture Reading  Ephesians 4:1-6
Sermon “Unity In The Body” 
Prayer of Commitment
Song of Response “Nothing But The Blood”
Benediction

SERMON NOTES:

Gospel Truth: God uses Tamar’s deception of disobedient Judah to continue
Judah’s family line, so that, eventually, Jesus can be born of this royal line and
defeat the power of death.

1) United in our (vv. 1-4)

We are beings “whose wants make no sense, don’t harmonize: whose
desires, deep down, are discordantly arranged, so that you truly want to possess
and you truly want not to, at the very same time.  You’re equipped, you realize, for
farce (or even tragedy) more than you are for happy endings…You’re human, and
that’s where we live; that’s our normal experience.”

(Francis Spufford, Unapologetic)

 Romans 7:15
 Colossians 2:6
Tim Keller, “Our identity is a sense of self and a sense of worth…our
identity is received, not achieved…our identity is rooted in God’s love for you.”

2) United in our (v. 5)

“So much so-called “testimony” today is really autobiography and even
sometimes thinly disguised self-advertisement, that we need to regain a proper
biblical perspective. All true testimony is testimony to Jesus Christ, as he stands on
trial before the world.” (John Stott, Christianity Today)

1 John 5:11

Nabeel Qureshi, a Muslim convert to Jesus Christ, had a Muslim friend named
Sahar who was attracted to parts of Christianity but couldn’t accept the idea of God becoming a
human being. On one occasion she honestly asked, “How can you believe Jesus is God if he
was born through the birth canal of a woman and that he had to use the bathroom? Aren’t these
things beneath God?”
Qureshi affirmed her questions and then asked her one in turn: “Sahar, let’s say that you are on
your way to a very important ceremony and are dressed in your finest clothes. You are about to
arrive just on time, but then you see your daughter drowning in a pool of mud. What would you
do? Let her drown and arrive looking dignified, or rescue her but arrive at the ceremony covered
in mud?”
Her response was very matter of fact, “Of course, I would jump in the mud and save her.”
Nuancing the question more, Qureshi asked her, “Let’s say there were others with you. Would
you send someone else to save her, or would you save her yourself?”

She responded, “If she is my daughter, how could I send anyone else? They would not care for
her like I do. I would go myself, definitely.”
Qureshi said, “If you, being human, love your daughter so much that you are willing to lay aside
your dignity to save her, how much more can we expect God, if he is our loving Father, to lay
aside his majesty to save us?”
The biblical story of God eventually won Sahar’s heart. As Qureshi reported, “The message of
God’s selfless love had overpowered her, and she could no longer remain a Muslim. She had
accepted Jesus as her Savior.”

3) United as a  (v. 6)
“The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing
together over a meal.” (C.S.Lewis, The Weight of Glory)

Psalm 68:5-6a

A 2007 study by the Barna Group found that seven out of ten adults choose their earthly family
over their heavenly Father when asked to choose the most important relationship to them. Of
the 1,004 adults over the age of 18 that were surveyed:
 one-third said their entire nuclear family is more important than God.
 twenty-two percent named their spouse as the most important relationship in their lives.
 seventeen percent said their children were of chief importance.
 three percent identified their parents as the most important relationship in their lives.
Interestingly, when asked to identify the most important group or network in their life, 29 percent
named their church.