John 17:20-21 NLT
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
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Definition of Unity: the state of being united or joined as a whole.
Why is Unity so Important?
Unity Requires Alignment
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1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT
13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
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Ephesians 4:3-6 NLT
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
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Unity Requires Relationship
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John 5:30 NLT
30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.
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John 8:29 NIV
29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
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Unity Requires Love
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John 15:9-10 NLT
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
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John 15:12 NLT
12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
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Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. – A.W. Tozer
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Tune Your Life to the Cross
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