Posts Tagged ‘unity in christ’

Unity at the Table
The Lord's Supper, image by www.adcrucem.org

The Lord’s Supper, image by http://www.adcrucem.org

Yesterday I led communion at our Harbor Mid-City church. Our service is bilingual, English and Spanish, which adds a degree of difficulty when we are leading the church.

I appreciated the opportunity to lead our people to the Lord’s table. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on our unity in Christ.

People at the border waiting to cross into the U.S.A.

People at the border waiting to cross into the U.S.A.

When I go to Mexico I see the fence or wall that separates our two countries. It’s a reminder of the division between Mexico and the United States. Even in our own country there are many things that serve to divide us: race, culture, status, etc.

The Apostle Paul speaks of how Christ broke down the wall that divides us. He makes us one in the family of God.

Galatians 3:26-29 (ESV)

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

The Lord’s Supper, the communion table is a beautiful picture of our unity in Christ. We are all sinful needy people, who depend on a Savior, who is Christ Jesus our Lord. In the Lord’s Supper we are remembering what Christ did for us on the cross. We are also proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes.

There is unity at the cross.

Brokenness and Bridging
Worship Service at Harbor Mid-City

Worship Service at Harbor Mid-City

Harbor Mid-City has been going through a difficult season. In part this is due to the difficulty of bridging the gap between the Hispanics in our church and the English speakers. Last Sunday we had a time of corporate repentance with foot washing. It was a beautiful expression of the love of Christ.

We admitted that we had failed to love our brothers and sisters in the ways we should have. We confessed together how we hurt one another. People expressed their faults. Many tears flowed that evening as God’s Holy Spirit came in and began to repair and restore broken relationships.

Healthy relationships are not easy to maintain, and it’s even harder when we seek to do this across cultures and languages.

One day we will all be standing before the throne of the Lamb of God worshipping together.

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”” —Revelation‬ ‭7‬:‭9-10‬ ESV

We ask at Harbor, “why not now? Why can’t we see people from different nations, cultures and languages worship together in unity now?” This was the vision that God gave pastor, Stephen Phelan when he started the church.

Pray with us that this vision will be a reality in our church as we seek and serve our savior and one another.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Worship at Harbor Mid-City

Worship at Harbor Mid-City

I’m so grateful for the wonderful partners in ministry that The Lord has given us. I love our friends at Harbor church, and I count it a privilege to walk beside them and serve with them.

We are not the same, but we serve our Lord and the city together. It pleases The Lord when his people dwell together in unity. Jesus prayed that his church would serve together as one.

A Word of Encouragement from a Key Partner

Pastor Stephen Phelan recently wrote a word of affirmation for our ministry.

MTW‘s San Diego – Tijuana team lead by Dave Diaso is a catalytic partner playing a critical role in empowering us to ignite a church planting movement that so fills the binational city of San Diego/Tijuana with the gospel that it is renewed in ever way–socially, spiritually, and culturally.  The San Diego – Tijuana team has enabled us to reach more Spanish-speakers through spearheading ESL classes and providing seasoned mentoring for young Spanish-speaking pastors and leaders.  Moreover, MTW is fostering relationships with Mexican movement leaders south of the border that is paving the way for more churches to be planted in Tijuana.  I praise God for our partnership with MTW and the Diasos!  We would not be where we are today without MTW’s San Diego-Tijuana team!

Prayer at one of our staff meetings - Thank the Lord for these friends!

Prayer at one of our staff meetings – Thank the Lord for these friends!

We have a mutual respect for Harbor led by pastor Stephen Phelan. It’s so good to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. I love ministering in partnership. I think when we do so it reflects the heart of The Lord.

O Lord, I do pray that you will continue to richly bless our partnerships and those that we serve with. Use the little that we have to offer to bring you honor and glory. Use it to see your kingdom expanded on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Worship with Harbor Mid City

Worship with Harbor Mid City

Now that we’ve moved to the border each week we look forward with much anticipation to worshipping with our good friends at Harbor Mid City Church. It’s a wonderful multicultural, bilingual time of worship each Sunday morning.

We sense the Lord’s presence in a very real way during the service. God is both immanent or present and transcendent.

Pastor Stephen Phelan has assembled a great team to minister alongside of him. Stephen is the lead pastor at Harbor Mid City, and Edgardo Avila leads the Spanish-speaking congregation.

Even though we worship in two languages, we are able to start and end each service together. It’s a beautiful sign of the diversity in the church. We conclude most Sunday mornings with communion, The Lord’s Supper, which reminds us of the death of Christ, and that he is coming again. It’s also an equally beautiful display of our unity in Christ.

I wanted to highlight the church this week, because we just launched an upgraded and new looking website. It’s an awesome upgrade, so I figured you’d want to check it out. Here is the website with the weblink: http://www.harbormidcity.org

Pray for the ministry of the church as we reach out to the various cultures represented in City Heights and beyond.  The following two Saturdays we will go down to Tijuana with those from the other Harbor sites to build a church for a new church plant in east TJ.

Our prayer along with Harbor is that the bi-national city of San Diego – Tijuana will be transformed in every way socially, spiritually and culturally by the gospel.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org