Unity at the Table
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.
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
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
Beyond Borders 