Giving God Room: Prayer Focus
Week #5
Unity is powerful.
I think of Psalm 133:1 every once in a while. It says,
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
(Psalm 133:1, NIV)
In our world today, there are plenty of opportunities to embrace division. Politics divides us. Our social groupings divide us. Our stage of life divides us. Our social media algorithm divides us. Our various interests and hobbies divide us. Some of us are passionate about making a real impact in the lives of people. Others of us are passionate about heady theoretical matters. Still others are passionate about raising our families and the day to day challenge of living life.
Hopefully, when we enter the church, we have an opportunity to experience something the world cannot offer: Unity. There is something beautiful about unity. It is good. It is pleasant. It brings peace.
Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. As Christians, we can and should have different interests and passions. Yet in Christ we have the unique opportunity to be united together as believers.
What we have in common.
We share so many things in common as followers of Jesus.
We are all created in the image of God.
We have all fallen short of God’s purpose and plan.
Even though we struggle in different ways, we can all identify together as people who need the grace and mercy of Jesus.
We have a Saviour who died for us and his shed blood atones for our sins.
We all share in the beautiful gift of salvation and forgiveness!
We are all saved for a purpose and have calling to reach our world with the message of the Gospel.
We all share the same Holy Spirit working in us.
We all receive a spiritual gift for service in Jesus’ kingdom.
And I could go on and on sharing many more things we have in common in Christ! Unity is a beautiful gift. Our reality is, as Scripture says,
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 4:4–6, NIV)
We are all one in Christ Jesus.
Let’s continue to value Unity.
As we engage with the process of Giving God Room, we are praying into the question of how God wants us to grow as a church. Do we expand the worship center and add more people to our current site? Do we refresh our worship center and then plant another church? Do we do both? How does God want us to increase the imprint of his Kingdom in Southern Alberta? These are the questions we are considering.
When I speak to people about this process, one piece of feedback I hear is people are looking forward to the unity this process can bring to the church body. As we seek the Lord together, and as we discern together through this process of prayer (October/November) and vision casting (January/February) and surveying the body at Hillcrest (March), they are excited about the development of unity. And this is certainly the hope of church leadership. We want to see the Lord unite us around a purpose and a strategy to further impact our city for Jesus.
Scripture clearly challenges us to remain unified as we meet and worship Jesus together.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. (Philippians 2:1–2, NIV)
So this week, let’s pray for unity.
Here are the four things you can bring before the Lord this week.
1. Thank Jesus for the gift of unity.
Jesus has given you so many good gifts. He is the one who unifies and strengthens us.
2. Pray for unity for all believers and all churches in Medicine Hat.
Ask the Lord to unite us. Each church body is unique, but we serve and worship the same Lord!
3. Pray that our Christian unity would be a witness to the people of our city.
Ask the Lord to use our unity to speak to the city about our shared love of Christ.
4. Pray the Lord would unify the people who call Hillcrest their home church.
Pray that the process of Giving God Room would unite the church and give us clarity around our purpose and vision.
In His Grip,
Pastor Steve Pahl