Let me go ahead and open us in prayer. Lord God, we're so thankful to be here, to be here on this first day of the week. We're thankful for both the privileges that are ours in Jesus, including most significantly that we have union with Christ by faith and therefore fellowship with you, our God. We've been reconciled, our sins have been forgiven. And none of that can change because of Christ's perfect sacrifice. And with all of that in mind, we rejoice as well in our communion together in Jesus. We're thankful for time together to consider your word and your promises and your commandments, and even to gather a little bit later in worship. Lord, would you bless our day, strengthen us in faith. And we pray all of these things in the name of Jesus. Amen. So our topic this morning, it might sound a little bit strange to start with, and I'm hoping we can make it very practical and useful. But I think the title that was in the announcements last week was Ecumenicity Since the Reformation, which the title alone maybe brings up questions like what is ecumenicity? And so we're going to wrestle through that a little bit. But also, why are we saying ecumenicity since the Reformation, other than that it's Reformation Day? Is there, like, more to it than that? And so we're going to try to grapple with all of that this morning. But let me just start with the most basic question. What is ecumenicity, or what does it mean to be ecumenical? Right. Yeah. So we're talking about our union together as believers, not just in our particular church or our denomination or however you think about such things, but what it means to be one church of Jesus Christ. And I really want us to spend some time this morning looking at scripture, even looking at our confessional statements and thinking through what it means to be one church. But let's think about the second part of that title, ecumenicity since the Reformation. Like why that title? Why are we grappling with that? And here's just a question for us to think out loud. There's lots of answers to this, but one I think in particular relates very clearly to our topic. What are some, if you think about those who would critique or even criticize the Reformation and even Protestantism, What are some of the most common criticisms of the results of the Reformation Protestantism? Say that a little bit louder. Yeah, schismatic. What does that mean, schismatic? Yeah, rebellion broke away from the one true church. There's this, and I'm going to say it pretty clearly right here, there's this fiction that before the Reformation there was a complete unity in the one church which was the Roman Catholic Church. Now why do I say that's a fiction? Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean there's all sorts of historical examples, but all you have to do is look up, I did this yesterday, I googled more than one Pope. And it gave all the years throughout the history of the Roman Catholic Church that there existed more than one Pope. So in other words, part of the critique is there was one church, it was united under one Pope. And that was true for over a hundred years and the Reformation came and just split everything up. And then you read the history of the Roman Catholic Church, including a particular period during what was called the Western Schism, when there were over decades, two or sometimes three different popes with their own set of bishops and cardinals. a completely divided church. And of course there's been, what, two Vatican's now and there's churches of First Vatican and Second Vatican and Pre-Vatican and there's Latin Catholic churches. So in other words, I guess what I want us to wrestle with is the fact that disunity in the church It's not a good thing, I'm not going to suggest that, but it's part of our human existence. It's part of how sin has infected the church. So I don't want to celebrate the division of the church into all sorts of denominations, but I just want us to understand that's something of what the history of the church is, and it's not good. I really want us to understand that. So here's what I'd like to do. I want to start in the Westminster Confession of Faith. It maybe sounds backwards to do this. I'm going to start with our secondary standard, because I think it gives us some clear instruction, but then I want to go to the scriptures, our primary standard, secondly. So let's start in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 25. You can find that, by the way, in the Psalter hymnals that are in front of you there. Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 25 is on page 935 in the back of those hymnals. And I just want to read through relatively quickly, but we'll stop at a few points. Read through Chapter 25 and portion of Chapter 26. And what I want us to notice, there's all sorts of great doctrine, you know, chapter 25 of the Confession is one that I turn to a lot, just as a reminder of who we are and what we should aspire to as the church of Jesus Christ. But I especially want you to notice how many times in different ways it talks about the unity of the church and of one church. It's just all through this chapter. So first of all, it begins that way, the Catholic or universal church. So we confess this in creeds that there's one holy Catholic church. And I actually heard a visitor last week ask the question, what do you guys mean by one holy Catholic church? And the question was kind of, are you suggesting Roman Catholicism is the true religion? You know, those kind of things. That's not what it means. in this particular context, it means that there's one church. We'll see that very clearly. We're gonna look later at Ephesians, and we'll see that in John chapter 17, and see just kind of both the fact of that and the goal to see one Catholic and universal church. It goes on to say that the Catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect. So everyone who was chosen by God before the foundation of the world. That's what it's talking about in this first paragraph. The Catholic or Universal Church consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one. In other words, one church under Christ, the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that fills all in all. Notice it's like just all through that paragraph, it's just a reminder, one church, it's one body under one head, it's one spouse, the fullness of him that fills all in all. And so we have here, sometimes what we describe as the invisible church. because you can't always see it. We can't see the elect who aren't born yet, but they're part of this invisible, Catholic, universal church. But notice, we have the same kind of language in the next paragraph that's now talking not about the invisible church, but the visible church, which is easily described in this way. It's what you can see. It's the church that we can see right now at this moment in history. The visible church, notice it says it right away, which is also Catholic or universal under the gospel. And then it describes that more, not confined to one nation as before under the law, consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion and of their children, and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation. Now, we could do like a whole quarter of Sunday school classes on that paragraph. It's full and beautiful, but just notice that it begins by saying, the visible church is also Catholic or universal. So in other words, the visible church is one church under the gospel. All those who profess the true gospel in every nation and every language is one church. And just because every time I read this paragraph, I feel like I have to stop and say this. Notice the big promise in the second half of that paragraph. This visible church, don't miss that, this visible church, that's what this paragraph is about, is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just leave that there for you to maybe think about and meditate on. That's a big promise. We're gonna hear this morning a sermon from the book of Colossians that's written to a church in a house, the house of Philemon. And we're going to see something of the big promises that are given to the church. And in that letter, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is saying that's true of of that church in that house. all these promises, including that it's the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God. It goes on to say in paragraph three, unto this Catholic visible church, so again we're talking about visible not invisible, one holy Catholic universal church, this visible church, to it Christ has given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God for the gathering and perfecting of the saints in this life, to the end of the world and doth by his own presence and spirit according to his promise make them effectual there unto. Just a little piece to grab from this. This should give us a high view of the dignity of other churches. In other words, any church that proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ filled with people who by faith are trusting in Jesus, have the ministry, the oracles and ordinances, they have the privilege of participating in the gathering and perfecting of the saints, and they have the Spirit. And so we should have a great appreciation for other churches that also hold true to the same gospel. Yeah, Bob. Okay. Yeah, yeah, okay. So that means that the general way that God works, the typical way that God works, is that people are saved through the ministry of the church. Yeah, so it means that not all evangelistic ministry is necessarily confined to the church. That there are people who are saved through personal witness and not through the church. You can think about even like the thief on the cross. He never attended a worship service, but by the grace of God and the sovereignty of God, he was killed right next to Jesus, and Jesus saved him. Yeah. But it does remind us of the dignity of the visible church, too. This is typically, through the visible church, the way that God convinces and converts sinners. Yeah, yeah. I think it's part of the church and we don't want to like parse too much of that paragraph. I think a lot of times what the confessional statements are doing is they never want to make an absolute statement. So they're not saying there is never a possibility of salvation outside of the work of the church, but ordinarily that's where it happens. So they're allowing for exceptions because they're not going to suggest that they can confine where God is at work. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so Eric Watkins, who was here last month to lead an evangelism conference, he was converted on the back of a bus because his sister handed him a Bible before he took the bus across the country. You know, as he tells the story, he was following the Grateful Dead, he was playing his guitar, his fingers got tired, and he was bored. He wasn't going to read the Bible. He picked it up, looked in the table of contents, and his brother's name is Mark. And so he said, I'll read the book named after my brother. And God saved him. That wasn't through the ministry of the church. Just to kind of confirm what Lewis is saying. But it's saying, ordinarily, this is how God works, through the visible church. Paragraph four, and this is where things get complicated. This Catholic church, and again, we're talking about the visible, as we'll see, this Catholic universal church has been sometimes more, sometimes less visible. You know, today is Reformation Sunday. If you think about even the history of the Reformation, part of what was happening is that there were places in the Roman Catholic church where the gospel was more visible and less visible. the teaching was more faithful or less faithful. And what this paragraph is acknowledging is that in the history of the world, in the history of the church, the faithfulness of the church ebbs and flows. There's high points and low points. And invisible congregations. So in other words, in every visible gathering of people who follow Jesus, some of those visible gatherings are more faithful and some are less faithful. It's very human, right? If you think about, I come back to this hymn all the time. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. I mean, doesn't that resonate with all of us? It's one of the reasons that hymn is so poignant for us is because we think, oh yeah, that's not just about somebody else, that's about me. I'm prone to wander, I'm prone to leave the God who's loved me before the foundation of the world. It's true of people and it's true of churches because churches are filled with people who are prone to wander. It goes on to say particular church and particular churches which are members thereof. In other words, congregations which are clearly members of the visible church. And therefore the universal and Catholic Church are more or less pure. According as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered in public worship performed more or less purely in them. And then, just to keep moving on, because I think paragraph five protects us from being judgmental and arrogant about what just happened in paragraph four. So in other words, we don't just look outward and say, yeah, that's true of them. and therefore have a critical spirit toward other churches, it says the purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error. And just think about the New Testament and the church in Ephesus, which in many ways is a model church that Paul loves. I mean, their pastors were, you know, Paul, John, and Timothy. This was a church that had much to commend it. And you know, what do we read in Revelation? They've lost their first love. And there's a threat that the lamp stand could be taken from them. So the purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error, and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ but synagogues of Satan. We're not going to dig real far into there, but you know the context. They're in particular saying the Roman Catholic. church. And I want us to be careful about that, but it's important to know the context. That's in particular what they're referring to in this particular paragraph. Nevertheless, there shall always be a church on earth to worship God according to His will. And then that last paragraph, just because we need to hear it, this is why there's one united universal Catholic church, because there's no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's never divided. There's no disunity in Jesus, and he's king and head of the church. So, just a little bit further into chapter 26, and then I want to look at the scriptures. Chapters 25 and 26, we should almost just always read them together. Because it's talking about the reality of the institution in chapter 5. But now it's the reality of what it means if you're a member of Jesus' church. This is the reality in your own life. And so in some sense it becomes more personal, if you will, in chapter 26. All saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head by his spirit and by faith So just understand what we just read in chapter 25. He's saying in other words all those who are members of the invisible church And and hopefully because of that are participating in a visible church So they're by grace and by the spirit through Jesus Christ. They're members of that one catholic and universal church have fellowship with him, so it begins there, our union with Christ, fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory, and being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other's gifts and graces, and So there was the privilege, but now the obligation, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outer man. It goes on in paragraph two to talk about saints by profession being bound to maintain a holy fellowship in communion, in worship, in service, etc. So that's what our confession says. This is the confession that our church holds to, and it holds before us in every single one of those paragraphs. The unity of the church, the union of the church in Jesus, and that it's both a privilege and it has with it obligations to love, to serve, to enjoy the fellowship of all believers. That's what's underneath here. And so if I could come back to then one of those criticisms of the Reformation that it introduced division into the church. It's there's both some truth and some falsehood of that statement in that it didn't divide a completely united church. Because the church was struggling with sin in a variety of ways. And we're united in particular in truth. We'll come to that in John 17. And yet, it should grieve us that there are literally thousands of denominations all over the world and probably thousands in our own country. And that should be something that causes us sorrow and that we should not just be sorrowful about, but we should think about how can I be an agent of unity? Not just in my own church, although we need to be that, but in the church as a whole. And I want us to think a little bit more about that. But first of all, let's now turn to the scriptures. I'm just going to look at two different places. First of all, turn to the book of Ephesians. So I want to hear the description in the first half of Ephesians, the call in the second half of Ephesians, and then after that we'll go to John 17. So we're gonna look at Ephesians 2, beginning in verse 11. Just understand that what is happening here is he's, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is describing for us the work of Jesus, his reconciling work through the blood of his cross. And notice that that reconciling work doesn't just have to do with reconciling us with God, but with other human beings, believers, men, and women, and that's the vision of the gospel that we're given here in Ephesians 2. So I'm just going to read verses 11 through 22. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ. So there's alienation from God, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise. There's alienation with men and women. And then it returns to God having no hope and without God in the world. But now, In Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a, and I think we could say one, holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a one dwelling place for God by the Spirit. We don't have a lot of time to dig into that whole passage, but just notice what's happening. First of all, he's writing to Gentiles, primarily, who understandably feel alienated from the people of God, in many ways considered enemies by the people of Israel, and feel hostility in both directions. And in part, what happens in the gospel is Jesus not only reconciles us to God, but he reconciles us to one another. And he brings peace, not just with God, but with one another by the blood of his cross. And then it just gives these beautiful images. You can almost imagine when it talks about being built into one temple, you can imagine the Samaritan woman, right? Do we worship on this mountain or that mountain? No, we're one. We worship together. We're one holy temple, one structure, one dwelling place for God by the Spirit. That's the promise of the gospel. But then notice how it becomes an obligation in chapter 4. So if you know the book of Ephesians, it's almost exactly divided. First three chapters are the reality of what Christ has done, and then chapters 4 through 6 are how we should live because of that reality. And notice how he begins, chapter 4. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. And then notice this, eager to maintain the unity of the spirits in the bond of peace. And then he piles up things. There is one body, one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. This is the reality of what it should be to live in the church of Jesus Christ. Walking in a manner worthy of the calling, worthy of the gospel involves, first of all, because we need to hear this, humility and gentleness and patience. bearing with one another in love, and maintaining unity in peace. And it piles on all those ones. One body, one spirit. A lot to grapple with there. One baptism is one to really grapple with. One faith. There's, in particular, I think a call to the truth of the gospel. And one God. So again, I just give that to you to really think about, and I think it's right for us to grieve what's happened over 2,000 years in the one church of Jesus Christ. That it's very divided and not united, and we should own that. We should own it in particular, and this is where I want to look at John 17. This is... Jesus in the upper room with his apostles, he knows that he's going to the cross. They sort of know, but they haven't quite gathered it yet. And he's giving them kind of final instructions before his death and resurrection. And it ends with this prayer. If we think of prayers offering up our desires unto God, this is Jesus. the eternal son of God offering up his desires to the heavenly father. But notice what it says toward the end of that prayer. John 17, verse 20. I do not ask for these only, in other words, those who've already believed, those who are already here and following me. I don't ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. So those who will be converted but are not yet converted, but they already are elect and chosen by God. So I'm asking for this for those who are already here, for those who will come. And I think, by the way, we can hear in that prayer. You can hear if you're following Jesus, you. He is praying this for you. That they may all be one. just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us. That's the kind of unity, the kind of unity that reflects models and finds its source in the perfect unity that exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He wants to see that kind of love and peace and bearing one another's burdens and patience and gentleness and love and grace and mercy, you could build a list. He wants to see that on display in his church by how they love one another, what he said early on in this discussion with his apostles in chapter 13. But then notice the significance of unity within the church, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Do you long to see the world come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Do you long to see friends and family members who are outside of Christ and without hope and with God in the world to come and know that Jesus is Lord and Savior? One of the ways that you participate in that is by pursuing and displaying unity. And again, shouldn't that cause us to grieve? So much disunity in the life of the church. So I'm gonna stop there for a minute and see if there are any questions or comments before I talk about some practical steps that are being taken and even to think about us as a church, practical steps that we could take to pursue that kind of unity. But any questions or comments? Yeah, Carl. Yeah. Yeah. Man, if I could answer that question, I could solve a lot of problems in the life of the church. The question was that a lot of the division and different denominations has to do with honest disagreement about doctrine. And I do, you know, I've been heavy on the kind of weight that requires some kind of repentance. But I also, I was probably going to say this at some point, but I might have forgotten, because again, I left all my notes at home. But this is a good reminder. I don't necessarily think that one denomination is the goal or the answer. There are genuine disagreements and there's ways for us to express unity and participation in the ministry of the kingdom while maintaining those distinctions. And so this isn't so much an anti-denominational conversation, it's just what are all the best ways that we can express unity in how we do ministry, even across those differences. So we'll get to the very end and just talk about some practical applications and maybe some challenges for us to think about. But, you know, weeks, maybe four weeks ago we talked about the benefit of confessions. And I think one of the benefits of confessions, confessional statements, is that we can, we know exactly where we disagree and where we agree. And most confessions agree on like 90 and 95%. which should encourage us to unity and say we can work together even if governmentally we have different denominations. So that's a start down that path. It's a good question, Carl. Yeah, Caden. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to pick one, not because it's the biggest, but because it's an example. So, you know, one of the biggest kind of divisions denominationally is over who should be baptized. I mean, it's just a significant thing that leads to different denominations. And in most Orthodox Presbyterian churches, so that's the world that I live in and the world our church is in, most but not all, there are times when families are received who aren't ready or willing to have their children baptized. There are other times when, for the sake of the family, it's probably not best for them to do that, and so it takes a lot of wisdom, getting to know people, asking questions, you know, if it's going to be a point of frustration, where every time a child's baptized, they go home frustrated and angry? That's different than if they say, well, we're not gonna have our children baptized, but we're okay, but other people are. I didn't pick that example because it's the most important, but I think it's maybe the easiest for most of us to wrap our mind around as an example. And so, you know, in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and most evangelical churches, the membership vows that you take, don't include a vow that you agree with every piece of doctrine that the church holds to. So for instance, in our church, the five membership vows have to deal with the basics of the gospel and Christian living. So who God is as one God in three persons, who Jesus is uniquely as both God and man and savior, what it means for me to live a godly life and how I do that, and then submission to the government of the church. But if you become an officer, Then you take vows that say, I agree with the confession and the catechisms. Not just I'm willing to live with them, but I agree with them. And I agree to follow the form of government that governs how we function as a church. And so there's a difference between member and officer, and I think it's an expression actually of one of the ways that we can, you know, agree even though we have some disagreements in doctrine. Does that help? Alright, let's move forward a little bit and just think about some small steps that our denomination takes toward this end, and maybe even we'll talk about the application in our local congregation. And then maybe some things for us to think about. How do we live in light of things like John 17 and Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 4. This is where, you know, for some of you who are like church government junkies, there aren't a lot of you, like some of this is really exciting. Maybe some of you are just going to have to bear with me for a little bit. But I do want to describe some of the steps that we take as a denomination. So the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is part of two different organizations that connect a variety of church denominations. One is in North America, so it's, the abbreviation is NAPARC, North American Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. I should have looked up how many denominations are part of it. I don't know, it's something like 20 or 25 denominations that are part of this organization. We have representatives from our churches that meet together every year. We have particular agreements about how we're gonna do work together and acknowledge and respect each other's jurisdiction and authority. So for example, if somebody wants to join Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and they're currently a member of one of those denominations, but they're under discipline, We're not going to receive them until they go through the process with the church that they're coming from. In fact, we communicate with those churches. So we find out, oh, you're a member of that church. We're going to communicate with that church and make sure that everything's in good standing so that we respect their authority and their discipline. We have agreements about church planting. There's something called the comedy agreement where all the churches in this organization, NAPARC, agree that if we're considering planting a church within 10 miles of a church in one of those other denominations, that we're gonna communicate with them before we take those steps and make sure that we're all on the same page, that if there's any concern about it, we're gonna meet with them and listen to them and decide, do we still go forward with this church plant? And so that's actually something that we'll probably be doing at some point as we look at church planting. If there's, in particular in Columbus, the PCA Presbyterian Church in America, if there's one of those churches within congregations within 10 miles of where we're thinking about planting, we're going to reach out to them and sit down with their session and ask them and explain to them what we're thinking about doing. So that's one particular expression of unity and honoring other denominations. The other organization we're part of is, I think it's ICRC, I think it's International Confederation of Reformed Churches. Am I getting that right? It's something like that. This was, NAPARC was founded in 1975. The OPC was one of the founding denominations of it. And the ICRC was founded in the 1980s. And these are churches all over the world. So there's like 50 or 60 denominations that are part of this organization. We visit them periodically and try to encourage them. We pray for them when they need help. We provide help. Some of our diaconal ministry overseas is when one of those churches faces a significant diaconal issue. For instance, in Japan, when the tsunami came through, however long ago that was now, yeah, 13? I knew it was over a decade. We and a bunch of other churches that were part of ICRC provided help. We sent people, we sent resources and money and materials to help them care for folks in their denomination. And I should say this because we've actually had tangible connections in this way with churches in the ICRC even this year. So the Wu's, David and Yvonne, they're a transfer from a reformed Presbyterian church in China that we have relations with. And so we got a letter from their church in China confirming their membership and their faithfulness in the Lord. They kindly sent it to us in two languages so we could actually read it. And we even received from David a baptism certificate of when he was converted and became a Christian from The church, I think, in Shanghai, am I getting that right? And Enrique, from the Presbyterian Church in Brazil, another church that we have a relationship with. And so when he transferred, we communicated with his church. He got us a letter of transfer from his church, again, hopefully in two different languages, so we could actually read it. Those are tangible expressions, and they're real, and they're good. And I think we should rejoice in those kinds of things. And through those relationships then there are various projects we're working on. So one of them is sitting right in front of you. This Psalter Hymnal is a joint project between the OPC and the United Reformed Churches in North America. They work together, a committee from each, to collect psalm tunes and hymns and all those things. That's why you find in the back of the hymnal the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism. Those are the confession and catechism of the United Reformed Churches in North America. And, interestingly enough, it's sold by Great Commission Publication, which is a joint venture between the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America. you that not only prints and produces and sells that hymnal, but the Sunday school materials we use in our children's Sunday school ministry. Those are joint projects serving multiple churches. And we participate together on the mission field. So our mission work in Haiti, now our OPC missionaries haven't been able to go back yet because of the violence and things, but we're working with the PCA in the planting of a church in Haiti. Our mission in Uganda has had, I'm not gonna remember all the different denominations, but Presbyterian Church in America, United Reformed Churches in North America, the Reformed Church of New Zealand. I forget, a few other denominations throughout the world that have sent missionaries to work at the OPC mission in Uganda. And the theological college there, Knox Theological College, serves Reformed churches all over Africa. Maggie's going to be able to come back and tell you some of those stories, but when we were there last summer, Anne and I visited there and I did a little bit of teaching at the Theological College. There were students from maybe like 10 different African countries, all from different denominations who come there and receive their theological training. And I need to mention this because we love the RPCNA and we're thankful for them, but the work in Sudan And our work in Uganda and our work that we had done in Kenya have all participated in different ways in mutual training and encouragement. Some of the new pastors in the South Sudan were trained at Knox Theological College. at the OPC college there. So those are pictures, those are good things, and I think we should celebrate them. I'm sure I've forgotten some, but some of the ways that we tangibly work together with some other churches and display something of the unity that's described here. Here's where I'd like us to end. We might finish a little bit early, but that's okay. What is this call in Ephesians 2 and 4 and John 17 and even in our confession of faith? This biblical call toward unity, how should that change how we think about life in the church here at Grace OPC and even individually, how we live with friends and neighbors. I just want to give a couple things to think about. One of them, if I can encourage you in this way, I'm never going to kind of beat you over the head about coming to evening worship, so I would love for you to come to evening worship every week, because I think it's useful to begin and end the day in worship. But this evening, we have a Reformation service, and a couple other Orthodox Presbyterian churches are joining us. The service will be led by three different OPC pastors who are each taking a portion of the service. and afterwards we're gonna have a time for fellowship where we can spend some time with folks from other churches. That's a simple, tangible expression of our union together in Christ. And if I could encourage you in this way as well in thinking about that, some churches like the United Reformed Church, it's actually the United Reformed Churches of North America, but the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is intentionally the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and not churches. In other words, we recognize a union and communion and fellowship between our congregations where we're all one church. Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America is the same thing. And this is one way for us to tangibly express that by being here tonight for worship. But here's what I'd like you to think about, first of all, as individuals. Part of what's happened in 2,000 years of church history, and even I think in a unique way in American church history, is a suspicion that we're prone to about people who are different or think differently than we think. And so we look sideways at other churches because they disagree with us on this doctrine. Or they express their faith in this way and we don't really like that. That's not how we would choose to express our faith. So I'd like to encourage you in this way. First of all, this is very much just kind of experiential without even thinking about the tangible outworkings yet. to really love your brothers and sisters in Christ in such a way that you don't look sideways at them for being different than you, for different doctrinal beliefs, as long as they don't cut at the heart of the gospel. To even be willing to ask questions, why do you do it that way? And think, what can I learn from how they express their Christian faith, and even how can I grow in my understanding of the scriptures by being challenged by doctrinal differences without being frustrated? That's a big step, right? That's not always easy, but it's important. Secondly, I think we should think about ways to encourage people outside of our church in their Christian faith and walk. and participate with them as we have opportunity. So there are ways already in the life of our church that that's happening. New Path, Prenacy Resource Center, Created Equal, you know, different groups that we have people in our church who are employed by those organizations where people from all different Christian faith backgrounds join together. Abraham Kuyper, some of you know who Abraham Kuyper was. He often talked about being co-belligerents. Who are people I can stand together with in the gospel of Jesus Christ, where I might not be part of the same denomination, but we have the same gospel commitments that work out in faith and life in the same way. Where can I find common ground where I can stand with them in the work of and for the sake of the kingdom? Look for those opportunities. to do that. And then as a church, we need to think about this more. I'm not sure. I'm new enough still. I can't really play the new guy card anymore, but I'm new enough to kind of have this question in my head, like, are there ways that we've thought about or even done diaconal ministry with other churches, outreach with other churches. So one of the things that we did in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I was a church planner, we had a Bible study for international students. We were very close to the University of Minnesota. It was kind of a bilingual, in other words, we were helping them with English, teaching them the Bible, teaching them some skills, helping them acclimate to a new country and a new area. And over the seven years that I was pastor there, over 100 students came through that program in our little mission work. At the end of the seven years, we'd have 110 people in worship on a Sunday morning, but we had a ministry to over 100 international folks, most of whom didn't attend our church. And what was beautiful, we did have several baptisms in our church through that particular outreach, but there were literally dozens of people who came through that ministry, heard the gospel, God saved them, and they were baptized in other churches. And people from our church would go to their baptism at their church and be thankful for what the Lord was doing, even though it didn't add to our numbers. There's something significant about recognizing that the kingdom is way bigger, way bigger, praise God, way bigger than our congregation. And I would love for us to just think, and if you have ideas you wanna bring to us and say, here's something I know about that would be a good way to serve the kingdom with other churches, we just should always be thinking in that way. Because the kingdom of God that we're gonna hear about in Colossians 1, is way bigger than us and God's doing so many things even in Columbus, Ohio. Before I close in prayer, any questions or comments? Yep. Yep. All right, why don't I go ahead and close this in prayer. Lord God, we're thankful for our one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and thankful, Lord, that he came to die for, to save, to redeem his church. Lord, we're able to rejoice in the blood of his cross by which he brings peace. Lord, would you give us bigger eyes, bigger vision to see how you're at work all around us? And Lord, make us quick to look for opportunities to enjoy and to display the unity of the church by how we live and how we work. We pray now as we prepare to go to worship that you would make us ready to hear your word, to respond in faith and obedience. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.