Pastor Weekly - 2/25/26
Hello ICC Family!
I have been looking for good modern examples of Christian unity in the church for several months now. Between google and AI, you can find answers to almost any question and solutions to almost every problem, but finding a great testimony of people within a church who were in disagreement on how to move forward or how to change, coming together through prayer and compromise seems to be beyond the capability of the algorithms. Likewise, I can’t find examples of churches working together despite their differences to minister to the lost and proclaim the name of Jesus in their communities. Perhaps this should come as no surprise given how divided we are in every area of life (see the absolute polarization surrounding the State of the Union address last night), but shouldn’t the church be different? Shouldn’t there be examples and stories of Christian unity that shine so brightly in comparison to the surrounding discord that they are impossible to miss? Scripture seems to tell us that the church should be different…
21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
John 17:21-23 NLT
We have been in the book of 1st Corinthians for just a month or so now, and I am starting to think that it might take a lifetime to understand the importance of unity in the Christian life. At this point “Unity in Christ” might have been a better tagline for this current sermon series than “Basics of Life in the Church.” The verses from the gospel of John above show both the foundation and depth of our calling to be unified. The foundation is found in the relationship of the Trinity itself. Jesus states plainly that God the Father is in him and He is in the Father. There is unity in the Trinity! We also see in these verses that through our salvation, each Christian has unity with Christ as well. And just as we are one with Jesus, we then are called to be one with each other. This is the sense of unity within the church that we have been studying in 1st Corinthians. And the effect of this unity absolutely should be noticeable to the world around us - the world is supposed to know about Jesus and God’s love because of our unity! Please come this Sunday as we look again at how the call to holiness and purity should be helping us be unified.
Finally, there is another aspect of unity we find throughout Scripture. In Christian marriage, we are called to become unified as well - “One flesh.” As Larry Crabb states, “When God presented Eve to her husband, the Bible tells us, they became one flesh, that is, they fully experienced a relationship of Oneness. Developing this kind of relationship is the goal of marriage.” How fitting then, as we study unity in the church, that our next Wednesday discipleship series will be on marriage! I am very excited to lead this new study from the people that produced the Alpha course. It doesn’t have a catchy name - “The Marriage Course,” but I am greatly looking forward to spending a couple of months working on our marriages. There will be more information coming the next couple of Sundays, but I would highly encourage all of you to make this a priority - even if you don’t typically come on Wednesday nights. It will be well worth your time! Starting on March 10th.
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
I have been looking for good modern examples of Christian unity in the church for several months now. Between google and AI, you can find answers to almost any question and solutions to almost every problem, but finding a great testimony of people within a church who were in disagreement on how to move forward or how to change, coming together through prayer and compromise seems to be beyond the capability of the algorithms. Likewise, I can’t find examples of churches working together despite their differences to minister to the lost and proclaim the name of Jesus in their communities. Perhaps this should come as no surprise given how divided we are in every area of life (see the absolute polarization surrounding the State of the Union address last night), but shouldn’t the church be different? Shouldn’t there be examples and stories of Christian unity that shine so brightly in comparison to the surrounding discord that they are impossible to miss? Scripture seems to tell us that the church should be different…
21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
John 17:21-23 NLT
We have been in the book of 1st Corinthians for just a month or so now, and I am starting to think that it might take a lifetime to understand the importance of unity in the Christian life. At this point “Unity in Christ” might have been a better tagline for this current sermon series than “Basics of Life in the Church.” The verses from the gospel of John above show both the foundation and depth of our calling to be unified. The foundation is found in the relationship of the Trinity itself. Jesus states plainly that God the Father is in him and He is in the Father. There is unity in the Trinity! We also see in these verses that through our salvation, each Christian has unity with Christ as well. And just as we are one with Jesus, we then are called to be one with each other. This is the sense of unity within the church that we have been studying in 1st Corinthians. And the effect of this unity absolutely should be noticeable to the world around us - the world is supposed to know about Jesus and God’s love because of our unity! Please come this Sunday as we look again at how the call to holiness and purity should be helping us be unified.
Finally, there is another aspect of unity we find throughout Scripture. In Christian marriage, we are called to become unified as well - “One flesh.” As Larry Crabb states, “When God presented Eve to her husband, the Bible tells us, they became one flesh, that is, they fully experienced a relationship of Oneness. Developing this kind of relationship is the goal of marriage.” How fitting then, as we study unity in the church, that our next Wednesday discipleship series will be on marriage! I am very excited to lead this new study from the people that produced the Alpha course. It doesn’t have a catchy name - “The Marriage Course,” but I am greatly looking forward to spending a couple of months working on our marriages. There will be more information coming the next couple of Sundays, but I would highly encourage all of you to make this a priority - even if you don’t typically come on Wednesday nights. It will be well worth your time! Starting on March 10th.
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
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