Monday Morning Pastor

In what may become a weekly feature at the FBCyouthblog I will give my thoughts and review of Sunday Morning's Sermon.

Sermon Title: Essentials of Church Unity
Preacher: Bob Montgomery
Text: Philippians 2

First let me say, thank you Bob for preaching the Word, this message was a perfect fit for the time and circumstances surrounding the transitions FBC may or may not be facing.

God designed the church to function in unity, unfortunately the church is full of fallen people that includes you and me! Too many times our selfish desires dominate the call to service. The Phillipian church was facing this same issue with Euodia (sweet sent) and Synetyche (pleasant aquaintance) unfortunately these two ladies were anything but what their names suggested. So Paul writes to the Phillipians and gives them a formula for pursuing and achieving Church unity.

Remember when you see the word "if" in verses 1-4 read it as "since". (BDAG) notes that "ei" with the indefinite pronoun (tis) translates everyone who, or whoever. So we could say that everyone who has encouragement...

Bob built is sermon on 3 lists of 4. 4 Realities, 4 Results, and 4 Representations. His breakdown was very helpful and memorable for this passage. "4 re"

The Big Idea or the main thought through the sermon is "How to maintain unity within the church."

To maintain or achieve church unity you must understand 4 Realities

• You are United with Christ (personally to Christ and corporately to the church)
• Christ's love brings comfort
• The Spirit bring fellowship (unlike any human device or plan can bring)
• Christ demonstrates Tenderness and Compassion

These 4 realities bring 4 results (This list focuses on Unity see also Ephesians 4)

• Like Mindedness or attitude
• Share the same love
• We are 1 in Spirit
• Have the same Spirit

Then Paul provides 4 representation of church unity lived out in lives.

• Jesus vs. 5-11
• Timothy vs. 19-23
• Epaphroditus vs. 25-30
• Paul

I really appreciated Bob's Q&A activity turning to 2 people and telling them that Jesus loves you and so do I. Going beyond that he challenged us to pray for the 2 people we said that too throughout the week. I intend to follow through with that challenge.

I felt that Bob's message tied in with the application from the Student Sunday School lesson. We have been created in the image of God, even though we have suffered a distortion of that image because of the fall, no one deserves to be mistreated, so much more as Christians we should strive for unity in the body and with other individual believers because they bear the redeemed image of God.

Welcome

I'm a youth pastor and I'm just now starting to blog? I've always been a few steps behind the latest trends. Thanks to a few blogs I've been reading recently I think this site can provide an opportunity for me to express some of my thoughts (and my students') on God, Scripture, and Youth Ministry that may be helpful in raising questions and facilitating dialogue