Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
On that same trip to Russian years ago when I visited the Cathedral of St. Peter St. Paul, I also had the opportunity to preach several times at Transfiguration Baptist Church in Samara, Russia. Transfiguration is one of the most influential protestant churches in that region of Russia and was our “sister church” at the time.
The first time I preached was on a Sunday morning. Russian services are very long – from 2 to 2 ½ hours - and usually feature several choirs along with several speakers. By the time I got up to preach the congregation had already been sitting there for over an hour and a half – much longer than I am used to being in a worship service. The message I had prepared was my usual 25 minutes or so – and adding the time needed for an interpreter to repeat my words in Russian – the sermon was close to 50 minutes long. I remember being very aware of how much time was passing – and I felt bad that I had preached so long.
When I sat down after the sermon, the senior pastor, Pastor Victor, immediately turned to me and said in his strong Russian accent, “Pastor Brian, why you speak so little? When we Russians come to church we want big spiritual feast.”
I was scheduled to preach again that night so I decided to give it my best shot. I spent the afternoon putting two sermons together so I would be sure to satisfy my Russian friends’ hunger for a “big spiritual feast.” So when the time came for the evening sermon I preached for a little over an hour – including the interpreter. After finishing, I sat down next to Pastor Victor, sure I had fulfilled my goal. While the congregation was singing the closing hymn I leaned over and asked him, “How was that?” He looked back at me and said, “Little bit too long!” Fortunately, I think Victor was just teasing me!
The truth is that Victor and I could share the same pulpit – despite the differences between us in language and cultural background – because we had far more in common than what made us different!
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6
The Apostle Paul mentions “seven ones” in just two sentences.
One body.
One Spirit.
One hope.
One Lord.
One faith.
One baptism.
One God and Father.
Each weekend FBCG worships in six different services in four different venues on two campuses. Yet because we share these “7 ones” we are unified as a church.
Each Sunday, our bothers and sisters in Samara, Russia, or in Ankara, Turkey, worship in different languages and musical traditions, yet, because we share these “7 ones” with them we are unified as the church of Jesus Christ!
The miracle of the church is that despite all of our myriad differences as human beings – we are ONE. And we are unified because we share one Spirit – the Spirit of Christ himself. This does not mean that we will always agree on everything; this doesn’t mean we will all enjoy the same kind of music or the same style of preaching; it doesn’t mean that we will necessarily share the same passions in ministry – but it does mean, as Paul reminds us, that we will:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Thank God for the unifying power of his Spirit and ask him to help us protect and strengthen the unity of his church.
Pastor Brian Coffey
As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
On that same trip to Russian years ago when I visited the Cathedral of St. Peter St. Paul, I also had the opportunity to preach several times at Transfiguration Baptist Church in Samara, Russia. Transfiguration is one of the most influential protestant churches in that region of Russia and was our “sister church” at the time.
The first time I preached was on a Sunday morning. Russian services are very long – from 2 to 2 ½ hours - and usually feature several choirs along with several speakers. By the time I got up to preach the congregation had already been sitting there for over an hour and a half – much longer than I am used to being in a worship service. The message I had prepared was my usual 25 minutes or so – and adding the time needed for an interpreter to repeat my words in Russian – the sermon was close to 50 minutes long. I remember being very aware of how much time was passing – and I felt bad that I had preached so long.
When I sat down after the sermon, the senior pastor, Pastor Victor, immediately turned to me and said in his strong Russian accent, “Pastor Brian, why you speak so little? When we Russians come to church we want big spiritual feast.”
I was scheduled to preach again that night so I decided to give it my best shot. I spent the afternoon putting two sermons together so I would be sure to satisfy my Russian friends’ hunger for a “big spiritual feast.” So when the time came for the evening sermon I preached for a little over an hour – including the interpreter. After finishing, I sat down next to Pastor Victor, sure I had fulfilled my goal. While the congregation was singing the closing hymn I leaned over and asked him, “How was that?” He looked back at me and said, “Little bit too long!” Fortunately, I think Victor was just teasing me!
The truth is that Victor and I could share the same pulpit – despite the differences between us in language and cultural background – because we had far more in common than what made us different!
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6
The Apostle Paul mentions “seven ones” in just two sentences.
One body.
One Spirit.
One hope.
One Lord.
One faith.
One baptism.
One God and Father.
Each weekend FBCG worships in six different services in four different venues on two campuses. Yet because we share these “7 ones” we are unified as a church.
Each Sunday, our bothers and sisters in Samara, Russia, or in Ankara, Turkey, worship in different languages and musical traditions, yet, because we share these “7 ones” with them we are unified as the church of Jesus Christ!
The miracle of the church is that despite all of our myriad differences as human beings – we are ONE. And we are unified because we share one Spirit – the Spirit of Christ himself. This does not mean that we will always agree on everything; this doesn’t mean we will all enjoy the same kind of music or the same style of preaching; it doesn’t mean that we will necessarily share the same passions in ministry – but it does mean, as Paul reminds us, that we will:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Thank God for the unifying power of his Spirit and ask him to help us protect and strengthen the unity of his church.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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