======================================================================== (CLIP) THE CHURCH IS ONE IN CHRIST by Todd Atkinson ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the authority of Jesus Christ over creation, using the example of Jesus calming the storm to reveal Himself as the author of creation. It highlights the importance of unity within the church, urging believers to prioritize their identity as children of God over political divisions and to come together in unity, following the example of influential Christian leaders like J.I. Packer who dedicated their lives to unifying the church through love and theological strength. Topics: "Authority of Christ", "Unity in the Church" Scripture References: Matthew 8:26, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:3, Colossians 3:14, 1 Corinthians 1:10, Philippians 2:2, Romans 15:5, Psalm 133:1, 1 Peter 3:8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the authority of Jesus Christ over creation, using the example of Jesus calming the storm to reveal Himself as the author of creation. It highlights the importance of unity within the church, urging believers to prioritize their identity as children of God over political divisions and to come together in unity, following the example of influential Christian leaders like J.I. Packer who dedicated their lives to unifying the church through love and theological strength. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am completely fascinated by the Lord's dealings with his people. When I think back to the New Testament, of all the places that God could have taught his people, that he was above the cosmos, that he is greater even than his own creation. Where did God teach his people that Jesus Christ, his son, had complete authority over creation? In a boat, on a storm, when creation was threatening to swallow them up. That's the moment that Jesus chose to reveal himself as the author of creation. And he always does things like that. And at this moment, in time, he's doing the exact same thing. In a time of human history that is threatening to isolate the church and separate the church. Isolate people from one another. At a time of incredible political pulling, polarization. Of all the moments where Jesus is saying, I want my church to be one. To be one. Be careful of that polarization. Leave your politics at the door. And come in as a child of God. I'm not saying it doesn't matter. I'm saying that it cannot separate the church and polarize us. I too have politics. They're not greater than Christ's church. And they're not greater than our unity. They're not greater to me than you are. They're not greater to me than the dwelling place of God. The house of commons isn't more important to me than the dwelling place of God. So we come into here and our sense of priority, our sense of proportion, comes back into place. So we pull together, not apart. We find our union, not our polarizations. This summer, a great statesman of the Christian faith went home to glory. He was someone who had been very influential in the journey of Via. And that is J.I. Packer. He was one of the first theologians we read in something called the Leadership Academy that we ran 100 years ago. 93 years of age. A great unifier of the church. A great theologian of the church. And as I read one of his obituaries, someone who knew him well said he was prone to make fun of himself. He said, but never of others. How could people who walked with a man for 93 years hear him kind of make fun of his own weaknesses regularly? But they never heard him make fun of another person. They never heard him run anybody down. No wonder he was a Christian statesman. He loved God's church. He loved her unity. Even that, he used the doctrine to unify her, not divide her. He used his great theological strength to bring her together. I was very challenged by that, reading that. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/UEWsBt_JQMM.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/todd-atkinson/sermon-clip-the-church-is-one-in-christ/ ========================================================================