One Church under Jesus the King

Two Sundays ago we celebrated the feast of Christ the King.

If he is really a King what does that mean for us?  

        What are the political ramifications?

        What does this mean for race relations?

        What about the splits between                                 denominations?

            Finally, what about the most obvious split in humanity—that between the sexes?  

If Jesus is King then all these difference fade in importance don’t they?  I am blessed to have you join me and many others to pray for unity and reconciliation in the church.  My sense is that if the church doesn’t do the work of reconciliation under Jesus now, then we will have a much harder work to do later.  

So, for the four weeks of Advent we invite you to pray and reflect, journal and respond to this post.  We will be happy to have you share what you hear and think and how you are praying with each other.  Simply respond in the comments section to this post below. 

We recognize and understand that race can be a challenging topic, especially in today's divided environment. This discussion is meant to be an open forum whereby all can share thoughts feelings and fears in order to grow and edify the Kingdom of God and Christ's Church. Please feel free to speak openly and freely, with respect to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ

First week:  Praying to Overcome the Racial Divide.

It is clear that Jesus intended for us to be one across racial lines:  he came for the Jews and the Greeks.  Jesus said we must be born again and Paul wrote that we should:  

put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.  Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Col 3:10-11)

Do you know that you have a new self?  Does it sometimes fight with the old one?

How have you been hurt by folks of other races?  

How is that similar or different when hurt by people of your own race?

How have you hurt others of a different race?  

How does Jesus’ command to forgive inform, or not inform, your treatment of people different than you?

Has racial fear ever overcome your faith?

How about overcoming the power of the church in your experience? 

How has the Lord’s command to “be not afraid” informed, or not informed, your relations with those of other races?

All of our natural markers of identity fall short of telling us who we are:  only our creator, the Word of God, Jesus can truly define us.  Respond:

How can we at His Church Anglican work to overcome the alienation between races in our city?