Unity has power in the unseen realms, both for good and for bad. Positively, consider Matthew 18:19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.” (NLT)
But not all unity is healthy unity; sometimes unity has power in unseen realms that threatens our well-being That’s true for the disciples in the immediate aftermath of the resurrection, as John 20:19-23 makes plain. The disciples had unity...a unity of fear. “That evening the disciples gathered together. And because they were afraid…” (v. 19)
There is an antidote: peace. It’s what Jesus gives here. Perhaps because the spirit of fear is so hard to subdue, he commands this blessing twice — v. 19 & v. 21: “Peace to you!”
Because They Were Afraid
April 8, 2018 • Graeme Sellers
Upside Down Kingdom
December 30, 2018 • Dirk Duhlstine
God says: 1. If you want to be great… be a servant 2. To find yourself…you must die to yourself 3. To get back at your enemy…you should love him 4. To become rich… give money away God's kingdom is an upside down kingdom! When we clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and love…which is clothing ourselves with the person and nature of http://christ...we’re clothing ourselves for battle.
Words Create Worlds
December 23, 2018 • Graeme Sellers
Our words create worlds. The words we speak shape and create world we live in. Words have always created worlds. It’s true. How was our world made? Words. Ten times in the creation account of Genesis 1 we read this: “And God said…” Their impact is captured in Genesis 2:1 “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” Gen. 1:28 reports that we are made in God’s image, so why should it surprise us that our words have creative power as well? God would urge us to listen to ourselves, to pay attention to the words we speak and the worlds they create.
What's the Point?
December 16, 2018 • Graeme Sellers
What’s the point of this – the Sunday morning church gathering that is, for many of us, a regular part of our lives? What if the point isn’t what we think it is, or is more than we imagined it is? God isn’t afraid of honest inquiry or the fierce conversation, and the answers to this question may surprise and delight us!