The Church at Northshore

One Body, One Spirit, One Lord

“There is one body, there is one spirit, just as you all have been called in one hope of your calling.One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all, through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4: 4-6

Paul is in prison. The society he was in didn’t want him to be a minister of Christ, so Paul was in jail. From there he gives this plea for us to live the life worthy of what we have received.

Doug read some of the sticky notes we had put on the wall: sins we brought to Christ these last few weeks. Among them, lying, deceitfulness, lust, gluttony, to be a better spouse, tired of worrying, doubt, selfishness, afraid of other people, pride, the word FEAR was written 7 times. Some are overwhelmed, some confess disrespect.

We need to love each other, do we not? We need to be vulnerable enough so that when someone says “I’ve been smoking marijuana since I was 7 years old” that we will do more than just pray for that person. Why? Because there’s one body of Christ. We need to live in that community and not be afraid to express ourselves and confess our sins in that community.

There are a lot of sticky notes on the wall; not just one or two. So we share in community.

God Gives People To People

Christ offers us the gift of Love, and when we open up that box, that gift of love, we find… Mercy. And God says what? You don’t have to be punished for what you did. And then you open up the next box, and Mercy brings you Grace: Privileges that are yours. And inside that box comes an ultimate description of who you are: Righteousness.

We see something curious in Ephesians 4:7. Paul, in prison, is quoting the scripture we find in Psalms 68:18. Only one difference. The verse in Psalms says, talking about Jesus “you received gifts from people”. And in the Ephesians, Paul says “when he ascended on high, he gave gifts to his people.” Interesting.

And the gifts he gave? He made some apostles, some prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Why? to prepare us for works of service, until we all reach unity in the faith.

Paul wants to explain how God works. What he wants to explain is what God gives to his church—is each other. He gives people to people. So love your neighbor as yourself. We believe God, in His love, is calling us to be his people. Our call as a church is to carry out his calling through worship and prayer, evangelism, fellowship. service and obedience.

Want to join us? It’s easy, just let us know.