Sermon Tone Analysis

Eduardo Montenegro

QUESTION - What can people hope to experience as a member of a small group?

What is that a picture of on the screen?

If you were alive in Calgary in 1967, you would have noticed this building being built at the centre of the city.

This picture here makes it look fascinating, but confusing at the same time.

You can tell that there is a cement base, you can tell that there is a lot of steel work being done in a circular pattern.

Combined two services to one

Each person on the crew has a job to do, and it is their responsibility to follow the architects plan.

There may even be a plan that they are looking at, and they might know what it is that they are working towards.

But it is going to be an amazing experience for these workers, when the entire building is fully completed, and they get to realize this architects plans as they are fulfilled.

we are together, as one congregation instead of two

If you haven’t guessed yet, this is a picture of the Calgary Tower.

Jesus is building his church, and we are the workers.

We have a picture of what this church will look like in the Bible, it will be the bride of Christ, it will be a people who are righteous, holy, and transformed by the power of God.

But that can’t last.

We have too many people to fit into this service.

It should be that you can invite your friends and family to a service, but right now, if you do, where will they sit?

But today, we are not yet living in that full reality.

Jesus Christ, our architect, has his plan, and we are his workers.

We don’t yet enjoy the church as it will someday be.

But we strive for unity, as Christ’s workers, so that his good, perfect and wonderful plan can be employed through us as we live our lives faithfully.

Today we are talking about Unity for the Cause of Christ.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul gives some very practical instructions on this topic of Unity.

Logistically, the time is coming when having one service will just not make sense.

Our church is here to serve this city with the truth that God can forgive people of their sins and miraculously transform them into Christ followers.

Calgary has 1.2 million people.

Hawkwood, Ranchlands, Arbour Lake are the 3 communities closest to our church, they have a combined population of 29,000 and our church touches far more than 3 communities.

Simply stated, there are people living all around us who need to know about Jesus Christ.

As we are faithful to bring the good news, these people are going to need to be discipled and become healthy church members.

Growth is a necessity.

So Unity must be more than simply meeting together for a single service on a Sunday morning.

People do not come together simply for the sake of coming together, at least not in the long term.

This is especially true in the life of a healthy church.

We have been called by God according to his good purposes.

It would be disappointing for everyone to come together, and not work towards God’s purposes.

Warren Wiersbe says:

“…there is a difference between unity and uniformity.

True spiritual unity comes from within; it is a matter of the heart.

Uniformity is pressure from without.”

We want to gain a Unity in this season, and then guard that unity as we move forward as a church that is faithful to Christ’s great commission to go and make disciples.

We want to have one heart, and one mind about one goal, it is to introduce people to Jesus and together become fully devoted followers.

Instead, we want to gain a Unity in this season, and then guard that unity as we move forward as a church that is faithful to Christ’s great commission to go and make disciples.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul gives some very practical instructions on this topic of Unity.

During our scripture reading today we heard the answer to the question, Why is Unity important?

The Church in Philippi was the first place in Europe that heard about Jesus Christ.

You can read about this in .

In that chapter we meet Lydia,

we here how Paul and Silas are imprisoned for delivering a slave girl from demon possession,

we read about an Earthquake that would free all the prisoners, but instead they stay and the Jailer and his family found salvation in Jesus Christ through that event.

For those of you who enjoy geography, Philippi is located in Northern Greece.

This letter is written to them while Paul is in prison, likely in Ephasus

The letter is in many ways a thank you letter, because the church in Philippi was supplying many of Paul’s needs while he was in prison.

Paul writes from heart of joy and thankfulness, and we see that joy talked about in .

Phil 2:1-

Lets look at verse 1.

If, If, If, If - 4 If’s to start off the chapter.

I will give you two different ways to think about these “if’s”

Phil 2:1

1.

They are open phrases or questions.

Paul already knows the answer.

The church does find encouragement in Christ.

Christians are consoled greatly by the love of God.

We do have a unity and encouraging friendship with the Holy Spirit.

We are absolutely the glad and thankful recipients of the affection and mercy of our amazing God.

Paul is using the if’s as ways of saying, I know that this is true about you, and because this is true of you make my joy complete and then he gives a list of ways to live in unity.

The second way of looking at the four “Ifs” is to say that they are open phrases or questions.

1.

They are open phrases or questions.

The second way of looking at the four “Ifs” is to say that they are open phrases or questions.

I’ll give them to you as paraphrased by J. B. Lightfoot.

If then your experiences in Christ appeal to you with any force, if love exerts any persuasive power upon you, if your fellowship in the Spirit is a living reality, if you have any affectionate yearnings of heart, any tender feelings of compassion, listen and obey.

2. They are foregone conclusions.

Paul already knows the answer.

The church does find encouragement in Christ.

Christians are consoled greatly by the love of God.

We do have a unity and encouraging friendship with the Holy Spirit.

We are absolutely the glad and thankful recipients of the affection and mercy of our amazing God.

Paul is using the if’s as ways of saying, I know that this is true about you, and because this is true of you make my joy complete and then he gives a list of ways to live in unity.

The second way is in fact the correct interpretation.

The “if” is translated from a first-class Greek condition, which means that it speaks of certainties.

And so, maybe the most helpful way to understand this verse in english is to use the word “since”.

Since there is encouragement in Christ, since there is consolation of love, since there is fellowship with the Spirit, and since there is affection and mercy …

This message is for our church.

Yes, it is for you as individual people to apply and to take responsibility for, but the value, the incribible value, comes as we apply this passage to our lives collectively as the church.

But before we get to the second verse, lets stop to consider that this message is for our church corporatly.

Yes, it is for you as individual people to apply and to take responsibility for, but the value, the incredible value, comes as we apply this passage to our lives collectively as the church.

Unity is Ours in Christ

What follows are practical ways that Unity is ours in Christ.

But it has to be lived to be understood.

This is not a sermon whose primary motive is to make us all smarter.

No, these are steps to take to make us one in Christ.

What follows are practical ways that Unity is ours in Christ.

But it has to be lived to be understood.

This is not a sermon whose primary motive is to make us all smarter.

No, these are steps to take to make us one in Christ.

2:1-2

Remember, the letter to this church is one where joy is a constant theme, which is incredible when you consider that Paul wrote it from prison.

He is joyful that this church is growing in Christ, that they are an encouragement to him.

I can imagine him writing this letter in prison, thinking about the people who make up the church, with a constant smile on his face as he considers the amazing things that God is doing for them and through them.

But there is more, and here in he gives 4 ways that they can make his joy complete:

Thinking the same way.

Having the same love.