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Saturday, 11 November 2017
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. 5 And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, 6 and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
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This passage named central truths all Christians hold in common. These are the foundation for God’s new community—a community united, despite its members’ many differences, by their loyalty to the same God. Yet before, during and since the Reformation, Christians have
disagreed (and often divided) for many reasons—from circumcision in New Testament times to the “right” form of baptism or communion in Reformation Europe to slavery in American history and ordaining women among Methodists in the middle of the 20th century. Today, some honest Christians on all sides of the issue argue that the United Methodist church must divide over the issue of same-sex marriage. But, as with all the other issues, we all serve the same God. Many Methodists believe we can disagree on this issue without needing to divide (visit unitingmethodists.com for more information about the “Uniting Methodists” movement).
• Methodism’s founder John Wesley often echoed Ephesians 4. In the introduction to his Notes on the New Testament, he wrote, “Would to God that all the party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms, which have divided the Christian world, were forgot: and that we might all agree to sit down together, as humble, loving disciples, at the feet of our common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe his Spirit, and to transcribe his life in our own!” In his sermon titled “Catholic Spirit”, he asked, “"Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?... Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences." * If more Christians
through the ages had followed Ephesians 4:1-6, as well as Wesley’s counsel, do you believe the church would be stronger and more respected, or weaker? For what reasons?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, guide your people all over the earth. Guide me. As the world looks at your followers, help us to so conduct ourselves that words like “peace,” “unity,” “humility” and “love” will be the main descriptors that come to minds. Amen.
* To read Wesley’s entire sermon on unity, visit www.umcmission.org and search Sermon-39-Catholic-Spirit.
Family Activity: Through portraits of biblical characters and God’s followers of today, the Leawood stained glass window tells the story of God’s transforming love for all people in past, present and future generations. See how many people you can identify and whose stories you can share. Discuss how your life and your family’s life displays God’s love for all people. Gather some family pictures and with words, phrases, drawings, and magazine cutouts design your own artistic expression of God’s love. Find a special place in your home for your family’s creation. Consider a title for it such as “Our family shares God’s love with all!” Thank God for His love. Ask God to help you continue to tell the story of his amazing, faithful love.
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Cathy Bien
Cathy Bien serves as the Director of Communications at Church of the Resurrection. She and her husband Rick have been members of the church since 1993 and have four adult children.
This weekend, there’s an announcement in the bulletin about Resurrection’s Pathway to Ministry program. As a congregation, we are asked to prayerfully consider whether God might be calling us into ministry as a vocation or if we know someone we should encourage to consider a career in ministry. Pathways is a great way to explore what's involved in vocational ministry.
One of the goals of our church is to identify, encourage and support the next generation of ministry leaders. Although not all of us are called to ministry as a professional career, this passage in Ephesians is clear that as followers of Jesus, we have received a call from God and we are to live as people worthy of that call.
The Apostle Paul is reminding the Ephesians (and us) that we are united as followers of Christ's – “one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.” I’m not sure if is more comforting or disturbing that 2,000 years ago people who should be brothers and sisters in Christ were divided, just as we are today.
Paul’s letter goes beyond just pointing out the divisions. He gives us clear descriptions for how to conduct ourselves – humility, gentleness, patience and love. I don’t know about you, but these aren’t characteristics that I can simply check off. I am working on this every day. Here are some of the questions that I ask myself:
My response is, that's how I would like to be. This is my prayer this week:
Gracious God, let me be worthy of your call. And though we may not think alike, let me love my neighbor as myself. Amen
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Haines and family on the death of her aunt Patricia Grey (Twilley) Stone, 10/30
• Nancy Nance and family on the death of her brother Jess D. Paul, Jr., 10/26
• Anne Sanders and family on the death of her cousin Marilynn Roche, 10/21
• Diane and Tom Slezak and family on the death of Diane’s mother Cora Magdaleno, 10/19
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. 5 And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, 6 and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
---
This passage named central truths all Christians hold in common. These are the foundation for God’s new community—a community united, despite its members’ many differences, by their loyalty to the same God. Yet before, during and since the Reformation, Christians have
disagreed (and often divided) for many reasons—from circumcision in New Testament times to the “right” form of baptism or communion in Reformation Europe to slavery in American history and ordaining women among Methodists in the middle of the 20th century. Today, some honest Christians on all sides of the issue argue that the United Methodist church must divide over the issue of same-sex marriage. But, as with all the other issues, we all serve the same God. Many Methodists believe we can disagree on this issue without needing to divide (visit unitingmethodists.com for more information about the “Uniting Methodists” movement).
• Methodism’s founder John Wesley often echoed Ephesians 4. In the introduction to his Notes on the New Testament, he wrote, “Would to God that all the party names, and unscriptural phrases and forms, which have divided the Christian world, were forgot: and that we might all agree to sit down together, as humble, loving disciples, at the feet of our common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe his Spirit, and to transcribe his life in our own!” In his sermon titled “Catholic Spirit”, he asked, “"Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?... Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences." * If more Christians
through the ages had followed Ephesians 4:1-6, as well as Wesley’s counsel, do you believe the church would be stronger and more respected, or weaker? For what reasons?
Prayer: Loving Jesus, guide your people all over the earth. Guide me. As the world looks at your followers, help us to so conduct ourselves that words like “peace,” “unity,” “humility” and “love” will be the main descriptors that come to minds. Amen.
* To read Wesley’s entire sermon on unity, visit www.umcmission.org and search Sermon-39-Catholic-Spirit.
Family Activity: Through portraits of biblical characters and God’s followers of today, the Leawood stained glass window tells the story of God’s transforming love for all people in past, present and future generations. See how many people you can identify and whose stories you can share. Discuss how your life and your family’s life displays God’s love for all people. Gather some family pictures and with words, phrases, drawings, and magazine cutouts design your own artistic expression of God’s love. Find a special place in your home for your family’s creation. Consider a title for it such as “Our family shares God’s love with all!” Thank God for His love. Ask God to help you continue to tell the story of his amazing, faithful love.
---
Cathy BienCathy Bien serves as the Director of Communications at Church of the Resurrection. She and her husband Rick have been members of the church since 1993 and have four adult children.
This weekend, there’s an announcement in the bulletin about Resurrection’s Pathway to Ministry program. As a congregation, we are asked to prayerfully consider whether God might be calling us into ministry as a vocation or if we know someone we should encourage to consider a career in ministry. Pathways is a great way to explore what's involved in vocational ministry.
One of the goals of our church is to identify, encourage and support the next generation of ministry leaders. Although not all of us are called to ministry as a professional career, this passage in Ephesians is clear that as followers of Jesus, we have received a call from God and we are to live as people worthy of that call.
The Apostle Paul is reminding the Ephesians (and us) that we are united as followers of Christ's – “one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.” I’m not sure if is more comforting or disturbing that 2,000 years ago people who should be brothers and sisters in Christ were divided, just as we are today.
Paul’s letter goes beyond just pointing out the divisions. He gives us clear descriptions for how to conduct ourselves – humility, gentleness, patience and love. I don’t know about you, but these aren’t characteristics that I can simply check off. I am working on this every day. Here are some of the questions that I ask myself:
- Am I asking God to guide my thoughts and words?
- Am I acknowledging that I don’t know everything or have all the answers?
- Am I looking at the issue from the other person’s perspective?
- Am I taking the time to truly listen and learn?
- Am I focused on what brings us together and unites us?
My response is, that's how I would like to be. This is my prayer this week:
Gracious God, let me be worthy of your call. And though we may not think alike, let me love my neighbor as myself. Amen
---
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Mary Haines and family on the death of her aunt Patricia Grey (Twilley) Stone, 10/30
• Nancy Nance and family on the death of her brother Jess D. Paul, Jr., 10/26
• Anne Sanders and family on the death of her cousin Marilynn Roche, 10/21
• Diane and Tom Slezak and family on the death of Diane’s mother Cora Magdaleno, 10/19
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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