REFLECTION QUOTES

“God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has already bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them…. [Therefore] we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients.”

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), pastor-theologian, martyred by the Nazis

“The big deal is we think the power is in us individually; the power is in us collectively. It is the church.”

~John M. Perkins, Christian minister and civil rights activist

“The cross reconciles men to God and men to each other.”

~Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor and writer

“True repentance is the result of an accurate understanding of the significance and gravity of sin, coupled with an overwhelming desire for the remission of that sin through the person and work of Christ and turning from sin and dead works to faith and obedience.”

~Voddie Baucham, Dean of Theology at African Christian University (Zambia)

“The operation of the Church is entirely set up for the sinner; which creates much misunderstanding among the smug.”

~Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964), novelist and essayist

“Saints cannot exist without a community, as they require, like all of us, nurturance by a people who, while often unfaithful, preserve the habits necessary to learn the story of God.”

~Stanley Hauerwas, theologian, ethicist, public intellectual at Duke University

“We can’t weep with those who weep…if we don’t know their stories. Learning about them helps us guard against self-centeredness.”

~Trillia Newbell, writer and activist

“Our communion with God lies in his giving himself to us and our giving ourselves and all that he requires to him. This communion with God flows from that union which is in Christ Jesus.”

~John Owen (1616-1683), pastor, theologian and Oxford academic

SERMON PASSAGE

Psalm 133 (NASB)
A song of ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forever.