“ That which was from the beginning , which we have heard , which we have seen with our eyes , which we have looked upon , and our hands have handled , concerning the Word of life — 2 the life was manifested , and we have seen , and bear witness , and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you , that you also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ . 4 And these things we write to you that your [ a ] joy may be full .” 1 John 5 : 1-4 NKJV
I ’ d like to share with you these words from St Patrick of Ireland about his take on Jesus Christ . It was a long passage so I am putting the last lines . The lines show how much St Patrick love Jesus Christ .
“ Christ to shield me today , Against poison , against burning , Against drowning , Against wounding , So that there may come to me an abundance of reward . Christ with me , Christ
|
before me , Christ behind me , Christ in me , Christ beneath me , Christ above me , Christ on my right , Christ on my left , Christ when I lie down , / Christ when I sit down , Christ when I arise , Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me , Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me , Christ in every eye that sees me , / Christ in every ear that hears me . I arise today Through a mighty strength , the invocation of the Trinity , Through belief in the Threeness , Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation ”
This is part two of the Church Statement of our Beliefs .
LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE
“ According to Paul , writing on 1 Corinthians 12 , the same thing is true in the spiritual realm . If one member of the church refuses to work in harmony with the directions of Christ , the Head , the work will be impaired or interrupted until each member decides to cooperate . And if Satan , the
|
author of chaos , controls any members of the body instead of Christ , there will be no possibility of Christ ’ s church functioning in unity , unless of course , it ’ s for the wrong purpose .”
IMPORTANCE OF
UNITY
Speaking of unity , the Bible writers stress that differences such as gender , race , wealth , intelligence should not hinder the body of Christ from functioning correctly as long as members are in Christ . These differences exist , but the person who is in Christ is a new creature . The Lord removes the barriers that divide human beings , ( Ephesians 2 : 14 ). Thus , “ There is neither Jew nor Greek , slave or free , male or female , for you are all one in Christ Jesus ( Galatians 3 : 28 ). In other words , all these differences , far from producing dissonance , contribute to enriching the concert .
Just before His agony in Gethsemane , Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples . He asked His Father to make them one , as He and the Father were One . ( John 17 :
|
20-23 ). The unity that we , His disciples , achieve in response to His prayer will give us the ability to fulfill His purpose of declaring to the world that Jesus died to save us from sin .
As one body with many members , the church brings together people from every nation , tribe , language and people . Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Bible , we share same faith and hope , becoming witnesses to the whole world .
“ Christ to the world we sing , The world to Christ we bring .” Amen .
For prayer , questions and Bible study , call Ben at 604-581-1278 , Junjun at
|
778-927-8040 , and Stanley at 604-700-3053 . You are invited to worship with us every Sabbath ( Saturday ) at the Abundant Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church at 13062-104 Avenue , Surrey . Welcome .
Our new shepherd , Pastor Leomar Macaraig also takes care of the Vancouver Filipino and Burnaby FilCan SDA churches . His phone number is ; 604-928-3579 . Every Friday , we have a Bible Study with the Pastor . Everybody is welcome to attend , whether you are a Seventh-day Adventist or not . The Word of God is for everyone . Our address is 9495- 132 Street , Surrey .. |