One Thing
“The Power of Unity”
John 17

If you wanted to destroy the Church, what would you do? Divide it.

The night before Jesus died on the cross, He prayed for unity.

“… that they may be one …” –Jesus, John 17:22

One = Unity 

John 17

What is the one thing that pleases God? Faith.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him …” –Hebrews 11:6

Is God pleased with your faith?

Faith
Trusts the reality of God
Acts with boldness 
Unites the people of God

Unity is not …
Uniformity – agreeing about everything 
Relativism – everyone being right about everything 
Apostatizing – refusing to take clear stands on anything 
Tokenism – giving lip service to diversity 
Nebbish – ignoring conflict or division 

Unity is …
God-given to all believers – John 17:11, John 17:21, Ephesians 4:1-3
Grounded in Truth – John 17:14-17, John 8:32; Ephesians 4:15
What gives credibility to our faith for unbelievers – John 17:21
A relational commitment to love each other – John 17:24, John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:31-32

“Unity is having the same conviction about the gospel and the same understanding about its importance and then attempting to think about everything else in line with that.” –J.D. Greear 

How do we maintain unity? – Ephesians 4

“I … urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” –Ephesians 4:1-3

How do we maintain unity?
Choose humility 
Fight for peace 
Protect relationships 
Stay close to Jesus 

Unity
The world will notice the gospel through our love, our lived truth, and the hope it brings.