unity

2 Timothy 1:1-14 - "World Communion: A Faith That Lived First"

Synopsis: Paul writes to Timothy encouraging him to keep the faith which was first passed on to him by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. The faith which grants us a spirit not of cowardice but of power, love, and self-discipline, is the same faith passed down from Jesus to the Apostles, to Timothy’s grandmother, all the way to all 2 billion Christians around the world today. In this faith, we are all the family of God gathered around one global table of fellowship and community. The faith which strengthens us is a gift that lived first in the countless faithful people who have loved and lived for good and for God since Christ rose from the dead.

Keywords: Jesus, unity, Kingdom of God, communion, global church, family of God, inclusion, peace, community

Galatians 3:23-29 - "Brother Paul and the Kin-dom of God"

In a biographical look at the life of Saul-turned-Paul, we see a life of violence, hate, and bigotry transformed on the road to Damascus in an encounter with the Living, Risen Christ. After this, Paul’s hatred of the Jesus-follower’s inclusion of Gentiles into their community becomes his life calling. In a world where we label, divide, and polarize, Brother Paul is still preaching today that we are all not just citizens in the Kingdom of God, but kinfolk and siblings in the family of God.