Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The December unit in the Quarter is entitled “The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ” and it reveals what the early leaders proclaimed about living our faith in Christ. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faith to Unite” and is the last one in the December quarter.
It is believed that Paul wrote this Epistle during his final imprisonment in Rome while under house arrest along with his letters to Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. This portion of the letter is important because of its emphasis on oneness and unity. The Church, or body of Christ, may be seen as a single unit like a person’s body. Every part of that body is joined and fits perfectly together in order for it to function properly. This is also how Paul sees the Church.
He begins this portion of the letter by calling on the members of the Church to live up to the manner and way of life that being a Christian calls for. He understood how important it is for those who have not yet accepted Christ as Lord and Savior to see Christ living in the Church. He calls on us to demonstrate the love of Christ in the way we interact with one another. He reminds us of our common calling in our common hope that unifies us as one body. He lifts up what some call the seven ones: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. He tells us that God has equipped the body with individual roles such as apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers in order to help the members of the body to reach the spiritual perfection like that of Christ.
Finally in this lesson, Paul employs us to be rooted and grounded in these things by not allowing ourselves to be influenced by pretenders and deceivers but allow love to abound in all things so we can grow in Christ. Love is what nourish and empowers the Church. All things should be done and received in love. Just as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Church, we should love and care about one another. Being united in Faith, Hope and Love are the key ingredients in a growing and maturing body of believers. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
