Together We Find Peace Series

TOGETHER WE FIND PEACE

Back in 1932 a carpenter from Denmark named Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys. He named his company Lego, which means ‘Play Well’ in Danish. In the late 1940s they started making plastic interlocking bricks. Since then generations have enjoyed Lego blocks. They have resulted in movies, games and even six Legoland amusement parks. A few years ago one advertising firm named Lego as the world’s most recognized brand. It is estimated that, since their beginning, over 600 billion Lego blocks have been produced.

Individually, Legos are just cheap pieces of plastic. I might add that they really hurt when you step on one in your bare feet in the dark on your kid’s bedroom floor. Despite their basic design, the magic is in the way they fit together. Legos are designed to be connected, that is what those little raised circles are for. Together these little pieces can be made into fantastic creations. Full-scale models of castles, cars, airplanes and spaceships have all been built from Legos. If you have ever been to one of the LEGOLAND theme parks, you’ve been treated to scaled replicas of the world’s most famous buildings and landmarks. It seems that Legos can be put together to create almost anything. Individually they are just small pieces of plastic. Together they create something much bigger and better than the sum of their parts.

The church is like Legos. It is a collection of individuals of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Individually, we may not be much to look at, but when we come together the way God intended, we form the Church, which is God’s creation and something much greater than the individual parts. God takes our chaos and, by His design, makes something spectacular and gives us purpose.

We live in a world that is increasingly divided. We come from different nations. We have different backgrounds. We share different customs. There are about a million things that could divide us this morning. Let me give you give you three things that unite us;

Ephesians 2:17-22 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Today we are starting a new series called Together. In the coming week we are going to be looking at the book of Ephesians. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus to remind them of who they were in Christ and therefore to remind them of how they should be living their lives. In this scripture we read today Paul talks about 3 different things that unite us this morning;

1. One Faith - believing

Even though we are a very diverse community, there are some things most of us have in common. We are mostly all Canadians here. I know there are visitors here but we are mostly citizens or residents to Canada. Seeing as you are here today you probably live in the area. However, the main thing that binds most of us here together this morning as a church is that we are all Christians. We are believers in Jesus Christ. At some point in your life you heard the truth and you gave your heart to God. When that happened you received the Holy Spirit within your heart.

Paul reminds us here that as Christians we are united in that we have one Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that is in you is also in me. That Spirit unites us. He tells us;

Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

We believe that Jesus Christ paid for our sins on the cross and because of that we all have access to God the Father. We share that common belief.

Mike Murdoch makes this observation, "Look at those who surrounded Jesus: A tax collector, a physician, fishermen, a woman who was a prostitute and at one time possessed with seven demons. Some were poor. Some were wealthy. Some were very energetic, while others were passive. Some were explosive like Peter. Others, like James, were logical"

The first followers were all very different. What they had in common was their connection with Jesus. Likewise, the church in Ephesus was a very diverse bunch. Not as diverse as this church is today, but it was made up of Jews and Gentiles from all over the Roman world who had made Ephesus their home. Paul wrote to them saying;