{"id":1326,"date":"2011-01-13T09:15:26","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T15:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2011-01-13T15:37:54","modified_gmt":"2011-01-13T21:37:54","slug":"sermon-follow-up-the-urgency-of-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/2011\/01\/sermon-follow-up-the-urgency-of-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon Follow-up: “The Urgency of Unity”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Sunday’s message, “The Urgency of Unity,<\/a>” we explored Ephesians 4:1-16 to see \u00c2\u00a0that unity is a declaration of the gospel’s power. Unity between diverse peoples is something unnatural to Adam’s race, but not to Christ’s. In Christ, we are a new humanity.<\/p>\n

As those who are\u00c2\u00a0redeemed\u00c2\u00a0to God, but in the process of\u00c2\u00a0begin\u00c2\u00a0redeemed in our practical faithfulness to God, we still need to hear the command to “walk in a manner worth of the calling to which [we] have been called…eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:1-3).<\/p>\n

Paul Tripp, in his book, How People Change<\/em><\/a>, asks a helpful question to encourage us toward unity: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What are some common obstacles that hinder redemptive relationships from developing in our lives?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Here are Tripp’s eight suggestions mentioned in Sunday’s sermon:<\/p>\n