15 Jul Hot Topics | Part 3: “23 and We”
Key Verse: Ephesians 2
Updates:
15 Wishes:
We have 15 wishes, 4 which are completed with 11 more to go! The estimated cost of the remaining wishes is approx. $35 – $38,000. To help us bless these people, you can designate your gift with the word “Wishes” and the $ amount via TXT to Give. If giving online, simply select the “Wishes” designation af the bottom of the list!
Woonsocket: We are working on a zoning permit which has been submitted for a space at Walnut Hill. Please keep praying for this permanent location for Woonsocket. We are also believing God for a campus in Warwick.
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RACISM is a Hot Topic still in our country today. It still exists and it is a sin before God. Racism has no place in our hearts as children of God. The Gospel message declares that all men are equally sinful and all have an equal shot to the greatest blessing in the universe, a relationship with our heavenly Father and we come into that relationship not by what we are or what we have done but by the gracious gift of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
We all come from a common ancestor. The reason many people desire to know where they come from through companies like those that will test our DNA is because they are a byproduct of a broken society; a broken generation with no sense of community. We want to know where we came from because we were made to know and made to belong.
We were made to be in a perfect family harmonious with God.
There is only one race, the human race. If we hate someone because of the color of their skin, then we are hating a family member.
Q. What experiences have you had in your upbringing in regards to racism? What was your neighborhood/school like?
We all have two common dads, Adam and Noah. But we need to get back to the third Dad, which we have through Jesus Christ, His Son. Through Abraham, comes Jesus the fulfillment of the promise. Because mankind hated one another, God calls Abraham out of his home and tells him to go. He uses Abraham’s family to bless all the other families of the earth. God works through this people called the nation of Israel and through Jacob, Isaac and the patriarchs and kings of Israel, we eventually get Jesus. He is the son of Abraham and the son David and the Son of God who was sent to be the fulfillment of that promise made to Abraham.
This is a picture of the human race from heaven’s perspective. Red, black, white all together. Though we are many, we are one in Christ. This gets accomplished in God’s love exhibited through Christ Jesus.
1. BEFORE CHRIST I WAS ALIEN TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
We were outsiders. Paul, who wrote the book of Ephesians, was a Jew and he tells the Gentiles that because of Christ we are one people.
Jews/Gentiles – The worlds oldest ethnic hostility. This is still a serious hostility today. People are always coming against the nation of Israel. Every Middle Eastern country outside of Israel has a problem with Israel and wants them wiped out. They have a problem with Israel.
Q. Have you ever felt like an outsider or treated someone else as though they were an outsider? How have you shown love to an outsider?
2. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST DESTROYS MAN-MADE WALLS OF DIVISION.
We are good at building walls and finding fault with other groups of people.
Q. Have you ever built a wall between you and someone else or a group and why? What are some things that had divided you and others?
Jesus brings an end to the common regular sacrifices because He is the One to which the signs were pointing. Because of Him, we no longer need the signs that point to Him anymore. He is the sign.
3. IN CHRIST MY IDENTITY, DEVELOPMENT, AND PRIORITY ARE EXPERIENCED IN THE UNITY OF HIS CHURCH.
We have all kinds of colors in this church. It is the power of the Holy Spirit working on bringing people here.
Q. How is this church different from or similar to other churches you may have attended in regards to ethnicity?
MY IDENTITY: A MEMBER OF GOD’S FAMILY.
MY DEVELOPMENT: OCCURS IN THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF GOD.
MY PRIORITY: THE UNITY OF GOD REFLECTED IN THE TRINITY.
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER, THE LOST, THE CHURCH, WOONSOCKET, NEW CHURCH PLANTS, NEW ENGLAND CHURCHES AND PASTORS, LEADERS AND GOVERNMENT.
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