Peace & the New Humanity March 1, 2009
Posted by Noel in The Peacemaker Series.5 comments
Hello out there. Jesus says “seek and you will find” – well if you are here, wondering if the sermon blog is up and running you are right!!
I didn’t specifically mention the sermon blog at all this morning – I was curious to see what would happen if I didn’t.
For those that missed out, or need a little re-cap we read from Ephesians 2:11-22. I focused primarily on the relationship between peace and the “new humanity” that Paul talked about.
Through the ministry, death & resurrection of Jesus there is now no separation between Jew and Gentile – Jesus cast down the barriers in life and faith to unite us all in the Spirit of God based on His saving Grace. The former “rules”, cultural standards, religious expectations and divisions no longer hold any meaning.
The Kingdom of God that John the Baptist and Jesus both talked about so much is the predecessor to what Paul describes as the New Humanity. All are equal before God, all are to be united together because of the grace, love and peace of Jesus.
Yet human, namely Christian, history shows us that we easily find ways to divide ourselves over small, less-than-significant issues; rather then remembering the new humanity rooted in peace that Jesus came to establish….
Questions for the week:
1. At the end of the service, we spoke “May The Peace of Christ Be With You” to each other…. what did this experience teach/reveal to you?
2. If all are equal to God, including people of other social & religious standing, how are you relating to them this week?
3. Any other comments/questions for each other?
Please click “add a comment” above to list your responses
The Powerful Witness of Unity – Peacemaker 2 February 8, 2009
Posted by Noel in The Peacemaker Series.1 comment so far
Here’s the sermon in a nutshell….
Our text was Ephesians 4:1-6….
Living at peace is the key to unity Living at peace is a key to our christian witness
Unity does not mean we need to see everything the same way!!
Unity is not necessarily uniform thinking
Real, true unity invites diversity
disagreements do not need to be seen as conflict (m.s.)
UNIFORMITY is the facade of external peace
UNITY is the expression of internal peace
that said, here are this weeks questions:
1. Why does real unity leave room for people to have different opinions?
2. How can diverse ideas about faith and life enrich everyone’s spiritual journey?
click “add a comment” above to …. add a comment…. thanks for your participation – even to all you lurkers out there….
The Peacemaker – #1 Real Peace February 1, 2009
Posted by Noel in The Peacemaker Series.add a comment
Hello Friends and everyone else….
Here are the Questions of the Week:
What do you understand “peace” to mean?
How would you describe the ideal “peacemaking” person?
remember, click “add a comment” if you want to respond…
