Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Any home that is well
-founded needs a foundation to build upon. And
that foundation sets it so that its walls can
be straight and it can be secure in the way it
is. And so we have been going through a series
in the month of October that we've titled Foundations.
And it's focusing in on our commitments as a
church community, things that we desire to be
founded upon. Now, what are those? The first
one is that we want to be rooted. In God's word.
Kind of like we're doing right now. We want God's
word to be what shapes and forms us. But we recognize
that we need God's power as well. So we want
to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so that's
a second foundation. A third one is that we want
to be fueled in prayer. If you missed any of
those teachings, I want to invite you to go back.
Pastor Pablo gave each of those. Go back online
and you can connect with any of those. To be
fueled in prayer, I want to actually take our
time right now and do that. Father, we ask that
you would be moving and working within us as
we desire that you encounter us through your
word right now. We recognize that they are simply
words on a page unless you, as the author of
these words, inspires and enlightens them into
the very part of who we are that they can transform
us from the inside out. And so, God, we desire
that you would encounter us. Do what you need
to do with each one here. We pray this all in
the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen. Now that you
just comfortably sat down, go ahead and stand
up. Seriously, stand up. Some of you are like,
is he joking? Here's what I'd like us to do.
As we consider the fourth foundation, it's not
actually a written foundation. It's more of an
implicit foundation that we have committed to
here as a community, which is unity in diversity.
And so why do I have you standing up? I want
you to slowly go ahead and turn around. The first
service, I had them do this, and we all turned
at the same time, and then we realized that then
we didn't get to see quite as many people. So
you kind of have to stagger it. But here's the
idea. I want you to take in the diversity in
this room, all the people that are here, right?
So you're just going to 360 degrees. Those of
you who have been out of math, that's one full
circle. But go ahead and turn and just take in
those who are around you. Go for it. All right,
you can go have a seat again. I found some cheaters
in the front that did this. They were like, not
a full turn. We also have the introverts who
just kind of did this. And then the extroverts
that turned around, they're like, people, let
me talk to you, right? A very different way of
engaging. What you just saw was people from over
70 nations. Many more ethnicities represented
in our church community. There are people from...
all different kinds of walks of life. There are
those who have multiple graduate degrees and
those who may never finish high school. We have
those who are running multinational corporations
with hundreds of employees underneath them and
those who are currently in between jobs in very
meager means and struggling. We have people who
have made their lives as professional athletes,
some who struggle to walk on a flat floor. We
have all kinds of people in personalities represented,
introverts. extroverts. We have many denominations
represented in our church family. And here's
what I want us to think about. God has uniquely
placed you in this community at this current
moment. So in between Soy 8 and 10 is this gathering
of us, and yet we are all over the city, right?
But God has placed you within this community
and blessed you. with a diversity that is only
akin to a taste of heaven. Trust me, I have been
in a very small town in North America with 800
people, and there was diversity there, but nothing
like this. This is a huge gift from God. And
so as a church, we are committed to nurturing
and cultivating this community. I want you to
think about what Paul says here. And he says,
walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which
you have been called. You've been called to this.
With all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another in love. Then he says,
make every effort to maintain what? The unity
of the spirit in the bond of peace. We are from
all over the place, different nationalities,
different personalities, different backgrounds.
Our job that we have been called to is to maintain
a unity of peace here. But how do we do this?
Well, God's word gives us a roadmap for what
it looks like to journey forward in this. And
what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you
that roadmap, but I want you to think about what
is your role in cultivating community here? Before
the roadmap, though, I want to give this illustration
of an orchestra. Now think about the way that
an orchestra is designed, right? So many different
instruments represented. There's the viola, the
violin, the cello. They all kind of look the
same, right? But they play very different sounds
that come out of them, and they are designed
for different parts. You have... a clarinet,
you have the percussion, you have different brass
instruments, you have this incredible collection
of diversity there. And then you have all the
people that are playing these instruments. And
then within each subset, so you have like the
violins, you have chair one, chair two, chair
three. These are different skill levels that
play in the orchestra. And then you have the
incredible diversity of the music that can be
written. And you have these master composers
like Bach who put together... things that are
transcendent in the way they capture the diversity.
Now think about all of that difference. What
is needed to bring it all together? A conductor,
and preferably a conductor who has written the
symphony and knows it beyond what any single
player knows, and so he's calling the full community
into an expression of unity in their diversity.
And in a similar way, we are that, but we're
even more so than an orchestra. You know that
feeling of when you see unity and diversity in
action, and you're like, that's amazing. This,
though, is God's prize, a community unified in
diversity. So we hold on to that, and we look
at God's story, and it has three really parts
to it. One is that unity was designed from the
beginning. You and I were designed to be unified
in our diversity. This is part of his design.
But then we recognize that unity was distorted.
Through a rebellion against God, our backs are
turned on him and things begin to fall apart.
Doesn't take us long to look around the world
to see that there's division and hatred and isolation
and loneliness that is happening. Any siblings
in here? Yeah? I just went on a long car ride
and siblings tend to know how to push each other's
buttons, right? We have division that is kind
of funny and then we have wars that actually
take lives and everything in between. But there's
the good news, right? That Christ has stepped
into the mess and he has brought about a restoration
that he is inviting you and I to, to be part
of. This isn't something that just happens to
you when you hold on and wait until heaven comes.
He's actually asked you to be a taste of heaven
on earth. Now, what is heaven? Heaven is a place
where everything that is wrong, all division
is gone. We are unified perfectly together. And
there's this beautiful thing that is captured
in Revelation 21 where it says that the kings
will bring in the glory of their nations. Now,
why is that significant? Heaven is not a place
where our identities as different culture bearers
or different language speakers or whatever is
wiped clean and we're created into one big blob.
It's a place where we are actually reflecting
Kenya and Thailand and Myanmar and Ecuador and
all these different things that somehow get represented
in this new heavens and new earth. So you are
to be a taste of the new heavens and new earth.
And we're going to see that as we continue on
in God's word. So are you ready? I'm going to
go forward with these patterns here. First thing
is that we are created to be unified in our diversity.
Let's go to page one, right? There is so much
in the book of Genesis and the Torah in general
that speaks to our human existence. And look
at this. Then God said, let us, wait, God said,
let us, who's the us, make humankind in our image
according to our likeness. It's kind of a strange
way of putting it. If I was writing it, I'd say,
Phil is going to make something, I'm going to
do this, I, I, I, like that. But this is plural
language that is there. Now, what this does is
it gives us a hint forward of the Trinity. Now,
what is the Trinity? Well, the Trinity is actually
the author of unity and diversity. He is, in
and of himself, eternal unity and diversity.
Now, are you ready for a headache? Yeah. For
those of you who like systematic theology and
actually after first service, I did, I have somebody
come up and this was the part they're like, can
you send me that diagram? Systematic theology.
It's very good. It's helpful to help explain
concepts that are very complicated. Now the Trinity
is a mystery to us. We don't know really what
we're trying to understand it, but God's word
does make some things clear. So let's go ahead
and capture some of this. Is Jesus God? Yes.
Is the father God? Yes. Is the Holy Spirit God?
Yes. Is Jesus the Father? No. Is the Father the
Holy Spirit? No. Is the Holy Spirit Jesus? No.
We can go back around the other way, but that's
going to get a little complicated. Is Jesus in
the Father? Yes. Is the Father in the Holy Spirit?
Yes. Is the Holy Spirit in the Son? Yes. Does
the Holy Spirit glorify the Father? Does the
Father glorify the Son? Yeah, they are all doing
that. Unity, diversity. all smashed together
in something that we can only hope to begin to
comprehend. It's really, really incredible. Do
you have a headache now? So this author of unity
and diversity then does the following. God creates
humankind in his image. In the image of God,
he created them. Now notice he creates humankind
in his image. Then in the image of God, he created
them. Male and female, he created them. So the
author of unity and diversity, the one who your
genes actually flow out of him, your genetics,
not your actual genes, your genetics flow out
of the triune God. And the endless amounts of
diversity that can come out of you comes from
him. as the triune God. But you notice here,
he creates humankind, then that's divided into
two, then the two are called to be one again,
and they are called to multiply that, and then
they do this. And we have humanity here. Our
identity is to be extremely diverse. Our diversity
is not a reason to cause barriers and to ghettoize
ourselves, to move within our own categories.
Our diversity is an expression of the God. who
we serve, the God who loves us deeply. So here's
a way to think about it. Our diversity flows
from God and our unity is found within God. You
take God out of the picture and we've got big
problems because our very identity, our significance
becomes lost in that. We have our significance
from our relationship with God because out of
him, we flow. We are made to reflect the Trinity
as unique individuals designed to form one interdependent
whole. See, we may think you don't actually need
me and I don't actually need you. But the reality
is the Trinity cannot be the Trinity without
one of its members. The Trinity is the Trinity
because the three in one is there. We are image
bearers collectively in imaging who God is. A
good, right, true orchestra is one that has all
the diversity and it's pulled together in unity
by a conductor and a master symphony. But I want
you to imagine for a moment that somehow the
players in this, the musicians in the orchestra
are tricked into thinking that life will be better
without the conductor and without the music.
So they toss out the music and they turn their
chairs with their back towards the conductor.
What is going to happen in that orchestra? Will
it still be as it was designed to be? No, actually
the orchestra will be fundamentally wrong at
that point. It is not what it was designed to
be. And similarly, humanity has turned their
back on God. You and I are recipients of this
and participators in this rebellion where we
have essentially turned our back and thought,
I think I can do this better on my own. And what
happens is really a bunch of chaos ensues. But
think about if our significance comes from God,
if our unity flows from him, if our diversity
is brought together because of him. You take
God out of the picture. I am now fundamentally
wrong. It's not just an action that I do. I am
wrong by not having God. connected intimately
with me. What do we call this? We call it shame.
Shame is something that says there's something
off about me. Knowing something is wrong with
us, we try to regain significance on our own,
and we do this through distorted impulses. So
remember the significance God gave us. We have
spent all our lives learning habits to try to
rebuild that significance. So we're trying all
these different things to rebuild that significance.
But where do we need that significance to come
from? From God alone. So anything we try on our
own distorts the gift of unity and diversity.
It begins to split it apart into two. So we go
forward and we find that these two distorted
ways are actually captured in the book of Genesis.
So let's go back again and see what Adam and
Eve do. So as soon as they rebel against God,
they turn their back on him. We read the following.
Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew
that they were naked. Were they naked before
they rebelled? Yes. But something changed after
they rebelled and they now became aware of the
difference between each other. They knew that
they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together
and they made loincloths for themselves. Adam
on one side, man. Eve on the other side, woman.
They're very different in how God has created
them. Up until the rebellion, those differences
were not what divided them. Those differences
were not what caused them to feel like, there's
something wrong with me. But when they're dealing
with a sense of shame, they begin to look at
one another and they're like, you don't look
like me. I don't look like you. And I have this
feeling that I'm wrong. Perhaps if we figure
out a way to look like each other, unity will
feel better, right? So what do they do? They
cover up their differences to look like one another.
And this is a repeated habit that we do again
and again and again. We cover up, and a way of
thinking about this is we prioritize unity while
sacrificing diversity. Now, I have... lived in
cultures that are extremely collective and I've
lived in cultures that are extremely individualistic.
God created both, but we can distort those gifts
from God and take them to far extremes. Have
you ever heard the saying, if the nail stands
out, what do you do? You pound it in. What is
that picture capturing? God created you in a
different way and you need to conform to the
rest of the group. That's collectivism that is
unhinged. That's collectivism that has been taken
too far, and Christ wants to redeem that back.
It's collectivism that causes uniformity, where
we end up becoming not who God created us to
be in order to fit in. We cover who we are in
order to be accepted. Now think about this in
a relationship with one another. We do this all
the time, right? There's parts of who I am, parts
of who you are, who we may not want to share
with each other because we think if you see those
and you see that we're different, maybe I'm not
going to be accepted and embraced and welcomed
by you. That's one distortion that we find, but
there's another distortion. The other distortion
comes right next in the story. It says, they
heard the sound of Yahweh walking in the garden.
In the time of evening breeze. And the man and
his wife hid themselves from the presence of
Yahweh among the trees of the garden. What's
the second one? We hide. So the first one is
we cover. The second one is we hide. Now what
is hiding? Hiding is isolating ourselves. It's
removing us from one another because I see that
you're different and I see that I'm different.
And unity is really difficult because I'm not
actually made to create unity. Only God can create
unity. So if you and I are different, there's
an option I have. I'm going to go create my own
world, right? And like a mirror that is made
to reflect the full picture of who we are, imagine
shattering that on the ground. Individualism
that has been released to its extremes, it crushes
unity for the sake of diversity. And we isolate
ourselves into our own little worlds. We hide
within those worlds. So these are examples of
that where fragmentation happens in this other
distortion. Now, the invitation for us this morning
is to realize that we all engage in these in
different ways, right? But God has freed us from
them. But I want to ask you two questions this
morning as we think about the distortion that
has happened to us. Are you silencing difference
by demanding your own way? If you realize that
you try to control situations and when you step
into a room, you want everybody to kind of fall
in line with who you are, or you step into a
room and you think, how do I make sure that I
don't stand out? I'm just going to be kind of
a fly on the wall is the way we say it in the
US. You just kind of blend it into whatever is
happening there. That's one way that you can
distort the gift that God has given us of unity
and diversity. Or are you neglecting togetherness
by prioritizing freedom? It is so much easier
to hang out with people who look, act, think,
and behave like you. You know why? Because they
help you to feel that you're okay. But at the
end of the day, you weren't designed for that,
and God calls you to something different. So
there's good news, right? These distortions that
show up in our lives again and again and again,
are not invitations for you to try harder. They're
actually invitations for you to connect with
God again, because he's the author of unity and
diversity. He's the author that comes and renews
this within you and I. And so this good news
breaks into our lives, and that's where we're
going to turn to next. Do you remember the picture
that I had you consider where you turned and
you looked at everybody around you in this community?
Do you have that in your mind still? We're going
to rewind about 2 ,000 years to the early church.
And I'm going to ask you to imagine for a moment
that you are walking in the streets of a region
called Galatia. Galatia is in modern -day Turkey.
And like Bangkok... This area is kind of caught
in between Africa and Europe and Asia, and there's
all these trade routes going through it. And
so what happens with that, like it's happened
here in Bangkok, is the nations end up coming
to this place. And so in Galatia, let's pick
one of the towns. We'll do Lystra as the town,
and we're going to go through imagining what
it's like to journey through there. Now, you
begin to walk into this town, and what you notice
immediately, that there are people from all over.
There are those who obviously have a lot, and
there are those who don't have very much. There's
Macedonians, there's Greeks, there's Jews. You
see people from all around the world in this
space. There's men, there's women. But there's
two things you notice as you walk into this town.
They're either in their own ghettos, meaning
they've kind of isolated themselves, and they're
just kind of in their own spots. Or they're together
because of functional reasons. So malls and airports
are diverse places, right? But they're not unified.
They're there because I need to do something
or I need to get something. And so we come together
in that space. A slave and a master comes together
because there's a functional transaction that
happens there. One gets to choose, the other
doesn't. That's not unity and diversity. And
so you're aware of all of this happening in Lystra,
but at that moment, you hear something coming
from one of the homes. And it's a song. There's
voices singing in unison together. And you're
kind of intrigued and wondering, what's going
on over here? So you make your way towards the
home, and your curiosity is causing you to just
gaze at it. And at that moment, the door opens.
And somebody sees you looking in the home and
they look back at you and they see the curiosity
on your face. And what do they do? They say,
come in. Do you want to come see what's happening
inside? So your curiosity leads into the home
and you come inside and there's around 20 people
representing all the people in the fractions
of society you just saw out there. But they're
all together in one circle. And they're singing
a song of praise to a God in unity together.
And you're kind of intrigued watching this thing
as a master and a slave is sitting there and
you're seeing men and women right next to each
other and you're seeing this incredible diversity
that is there and nobody seems to really be that
concerned about it like they were outside. And
then this guy Paul begins to speak after the
song and he begins to explain that Jesus comes
at great cost and he loves us back into relationship
with God and others. He pays for the price of
shame that we've been trying to get rid of this
whole time. And he says that Jesus, who is God,
he comes to earth to be one of us, one of his
diverse creation. But he's both fully God and
fully man. And then this Jesus called a diverse
community to himself. So on this side, he calls
Matthew the tax collector to himself. Now, who
is Matthew the tax collector? Matthew the tax
collector would have found his entire significance,
his earning, his identity, would have been in
sympathizing with Rome, who is an enemy occupier
of Israel. So he had abandoned his group of people,
and he had taken the job of being a tax collector
in this place to make his own income, right?
You think this guy may make some enemies? Well,
we've got an enemy, and Jesus called the other
enemy. The other enemy is Simon the Zealot. Simon
the Zealot makes his entire identity off of attacking
guys like Matthew and the Romans, really. They're
trying to overthrow the Roman Empire. Do you
think Jesus called these two people by accident?
No. He calls the far extremes into community
with him. Why? Because he is the author of unity
and diversity. And by calling them in and countering
them where they are at, he never leaves them
there. They always get transformed into a new
creature, a new person, which we're going to
get to in just a moment. So Paul is explaining
these things. And then he says, hey, let me tell
you a story that Jesus told. And it's a story
of a father and two sons. And one of the sons
comes to his father at one point and he says,
you know, father, I want my inheritance now because
I want to isolate myself. I want to go live on
my own because I think that's a better way of
living my life. Now, in a culture like the ancient
Near East, this is the same thing as saying,
dad, I want you dead. What does the father do?
He says, okay. I allow this free choice. And
the son walks out, takes the inheritance with
him, and he extravagantly uses it. He spends
it in crazy ways until it's completely gone.
And then what happens? That old enemy of shame
comes back and says, something is wrong with
you. So he turns back and he makes his way towards
his father. And what is he expecting? A father
that's kind of doing this. who may either take
his life or make him a slave. Is that what happens?
Exactly opposite. The father in a thing that
would be shameful for that culture lifts up his
very robe, runs to the son and embraces this
son. And then he goes back and he puts a robe
covering up his shame and he gets a ring and
sandals and he throws the biggest party ever
for this lost son. ECB, that's beautiful news.
And Paul is telling the Galatians that there's
a God who does this for you and for me. That's
worth celebrating, isn't it? Now, the other brother
who is there who looks like he's close to God
and he's got everything together, he won't come
into that party. There's something in his heart
that will not receive the free gift that the
Father has given. And so Paul tells this story,
and you see how the story is moving the people
that are gathered in that room to say, oh, whether
I'm the older or the younger, whether I'm from
this place or that place, that's not as significant.
What makes me significant is that God loves me.
That's what makes me significant. So then Paul
begins to explain three different things that
you and I need to remember as people here at
ECB living in 2025. We are part of a world religion
that is the most diverse group of people in the
entire world. 2 billion plus people. By the way,
Africa just became the continent with the most
followers of Jesus this year. Latin America is
right after them. Guess who's coming up behind
really quickly and is going to probably surpass
them all? Asia, right? God's goodness has covered
the entire world. And these are great things
to remember. So we have this gift of diversity,
but our job is to nurture it and to cultivate
it. And Paul explains to the Galatians how to
do that because in his letter, he's actually
confronting the fact that the good news that
they first took in, they've started to forget
it. And they've started to go back into their
own groups. again. So let's look at those three
things. The first one Paul says is, it is no
longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives
in me. And the life I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. How did I move from
my insignificance back into significance? Was
it anything I did? Absolutely not. It was a gracious
act of God. encountering my humility because
I was broken and a surrender to him that brought
me back into God's family. So yes, we are a people
who speak many different languages. We are a
people who eat food from all kinds of different
places. We are a people who represent different
nationalities, but we have one common language
that brings us together. And what is that? Grace.
Grace is an extravagant way of treating one another.
It doesn't make sense. So don't try to explain
grace. Receive it from God and then be one who
gives it back to others. That's one part that
is necessary for unity and diversity. Then Paul
writes back to the Galatians the following words.
He says, for in Christ Jesus, you are all chosen
of God through faith, children of God through
faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourself with Christ. Okay, that
clothing language again, covering over your shame.
What covers over our shame? Christ himself. So
what makes me special? What makes you special?
Simply that we're in Christ. I can't stand here
and say, well, I'm the pastor and you guys are
sitting down there. Therefore, I'm more significant.
No, you and I are brothers and sisters in Christ
because he is the one who has given me my significance.
That's what unites us together. It doesn't matter
who you are or who I am. We all go through the
same baptism, the same water, Father, Son, and
Spirit. And we come back up because Christ, it's
an image of what Christ has done in us and for
us. So the next one is that Christ is our significance.
Jesus is our significance. Hold on to that tightly.
Then Paul explains the following. Actually, before
that, I want you to hear this. Your failures,
your distortions of living in community are not
reasons to try harder and to build up more shame
upon yourself. Your distortions are invitations
for you to connect with your maker again and
again. So as you realize them coming out and
you see, oh, I'm getting pulled towards isolation,
I'm getting pulled towards uniformity, allow
that to move you to say, Lord, help. I need you.
Would you cover me, remind me that I am your
beloved son, your beloved daughter. The third
one is this. And because you are children, God
has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts,
crying what? Abba, Father. Okay, I turn my back.
I walk away from God. I say, I wish that you
were dead. And what does he do? He not only invites
me back in, but then he gifts me his very spirit
as a power inside me to take what I know here
and to move it into the depths of my heart. And
we have been gifted this Holy Spirit. So you
are no longer slaves, but a child. And if a child,
then also an heir through God. That's great news.
It's such good news. So live by the Spirit. Don't
go back to those ways of living by flesh. It's
easy and there's habits in that, but live by
the Spirit. Do not gratify the desires of the
flesh. The fruit of the Spirit is what? Love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
and self -control. Can you imagine a community
that is flowing in these things? Would that bring
unity? Yeah, absolutely. But it is God's work
in us that comes out to those around us that
is so beautiful. So these three things, we hold
on to God, grace is our common language. We hold
on to Jesus as our significance. And we remember
that the Holy Spirit is the one gifted to us
to empower us towards unity and diversity. And
with that, we come to a very well -known passage.
Would you read it with me? There is no longer
Jew or Greek. There is no longer slave or free.
There is no longer male and female. For all of
you are one in Christ Jesus. Does that mean because
I became a Christian, who I am has just disappeared?
No, absolutely not. What this is saying is, ECB,
you are not significant because of your... nation
that you are from or ethnicity you are from.
God deeply values that, but that is not your
essential identity. That's not your core identity.
It's a part of who you are, but it is not your
core identity. You are significant because you
are one in Christ. Similarly, you are not significant
because of your social status or your economic
standing. How much money you have, what position
you are in your business or anything like that,
how many doctorate degrees you have, any of that
thing. These are all important aspects of who
we are, but they are not your identity. Your
identity is that you are one in Christ. And you're
not significant because you are a male or a female.
You don't keep these as boundaries that keep
people out and in. Instead, you say that you
are one in Christ. That's great news. God desires
that you and I enjoy an increasing measure of
unity and diversity. Now, how do we do this very
practically? I'm going to invite you to very
specific things to do. You ready? So I invite
you to be formed by Jesus. Formed by Jesus. Think
back to your baptism for those who have been
baptized. What is the picture of baptism? It's
in Christ. I went from death and all of the distorted,
broken, shameful things about who I am died with
Christ in that water. And then I was resurrected
to new life in Christ. Now I'm being formed in
that continually, day by day. Be formed in Christ.
Next week, we are going to have baptisms here.
It's one of my favorite Sundays of the week.
Why? Because we see things like this. I told
you, you're going to show up in the service.
Look at the smile on her face. So beautiful,
coming out of the water with this newness of
life expressed in that space. And you know what?
The same baptism that she had is the same baptism
that I had. And we are connected in this way
in all of our diversity. So come next week ready
to be formed by Jesus. Once again, as you hear
these stories, this is a beautiful time of gathering
together. That's one way. Second way is this,
to embody Jesus to others. What does this mean?
If Jesus has loved us back into relationship
with him and he has given us this incredible
gift of grace and the significance that is there,
begin to reach out to others and invite them
back in to the life that is found in him. How
do we do this? Practically speaking, next week,
invite the people who are getting baptized out
for a meal. Get to know them. Hear more of their
stories rather than the minute and a half or
two minute testimony video. That's great. Go
hear more about them. Or right after church.
this Sunday. Invite somebody out to go over to
Terminal 21. Invite them to your home. Make connection.
This is about the gift of community. We are called
to nurture it together and to cultivate it. Embody
Christ to one another. We are to welcome one
another with the same welcome that Jesus Christ
gave us. Why? Jesus prays the following for us
in John 17. He says, may your unity be so perfect
amidst all your diversity. that the world will
know that I was sent by the Father. This becomes
a testimony of who God is and an invitation back
into that heaven. Remember that story that I
asked you to think about of walking into Galatia
in the city of Lystra and you come to this home
and you are intrigued by walking into it? I'm
going to share with you a video of this exact
thing happening here at ECB. And you did this
to them. And you'll see why. Before I show it,
one more thing. Once a year, for those of you
who just joined us or who were not here with
us last year, once a year, our community recognizes
the gift of unity and diversity by having a gathering
where we celebrate all of that through food and
music and culture and all of these different
things. And we display the full diversity of
who God is and the unity of how he's brought
us together. So once a year we do that. And I
want you to see what one of our youth found on
TikTok, okay? Watch the video with me. Come with
me to a Christian church in the center of Bangkok.
Let's go. Now, I'm always amazed at the amount
of people, even in places which are so far from
home, come together and celebrate Christ. Also,
shout out for his t -shirt. The service started
off some praise and worship. You know, I got
my singing. Then they asked who's from the UK
in the building. You know, I had to represent.
I must say, this church had budget. It had, like,
Bibles behind every seat and notepads to take
notes. And also, I just love from all different
races and places, people came together and celebrated
Christ. This wasn't even a start. They had, like,
a food buffet going on outside. Now, if this
is an every week thing for this church in Bangkok,
I may be catching that flight to come back every
week. Because they had it all. I tried. Shout
out these beef tacos. Probably the least fat
in view you'll ever see me eat. Then I had some
Nigerian yam and jollof rice. I was lowkey upset
because they ran out of chicken. And to finish
off my Christian come down with me, I had some
Thai salad and a salad. So if you're ever in
Bangkok and looking for a church, thank you later.
Have a good day. Peace. ECB, look what you did.
You became famous on TikTok. You are significant.
That's beautiful though. This random person comes
on a Sunday morning, happens to come during International
Food Festival and experiences this celebration
that we throw. And so we throw this celebration
for a reason, for a purpose. And it calls people
in and it brings people to a saving faith in
Jesus Christ. The best thing that we can have
about ourselves. So how can you be part of this?
Well, it takes a lot to put together this group,
right? We have dance teams that are there. We
have music teams that are there. We have food
contributors there. We have a decoration team.
We have people ready to share the gospel. We
have all kinds of things coming together in one
space. We even have people who come to eat. So
any of you eat? Okay, make sure to come. This
is going to be a full month from now, right?
I'm serious about this. People who are called
to be united as one body, one of the things we
are going to do is take seriously joining with
Thailand in this period of mourning. And you
will see downstairs where I'm going to call you
to that the tablecloths are black as a recognition
of the mourning that we participate in. But we
also have reason to celebrate who God is, right?
And so we're going to respect that and also consider
the fact that after it ends for the International
Food Festival, we will come together. with what
we usually do, which is to celebrate the unity
and diversity. So if you dance, if you cook good
food, if you sing songs, any of these things,
if you eat food, as I said, I want you to consider
being part of this. How can you do that? There's
going to be tables downstairs right now where
you can go down and you can sign up to contribute
to this, to make sure that if somebody comes
and visits us, They get to experience the beautiful
gift of unity and diversity. Worship team, I'm
going to go ahead and call you back up here.
Brothers and sisters, God has given us a gift.
You are that gift. And that gift is something
that requires us to regularly connect with our
maker in order to nurture and cultivate it and
multiply it. And that is a task worth living
for. That is something worth doing. So I want
to ask you to join me in praying as I just pray
a prayer of blessing that the Holy Spirit would
empower us to be a community of unity and diversity.
Father, I thank you that you have made your self
known to us. You have made your ways known to
us. You have restored us. invited us to being
restored back together with you once again. We're
deeply thankful for that. And we thank you that
you have designed us in very unique ways. And
you knit us together in our mother's womb and
you said, hey, that's exactly who I want this
person to be. And it is good. And I want them
to be very different from the person that is
sitting next to them. And that's good. because
I am a God who infinitely can display the diversity
that is in the unity of the Trinity. Thank you
for that. So Holy Spirit, would you empower us
increasingly to be that church family? We want
to say that we love you because you have loved
us. Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, amen.
Thank you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast.
Whether near or far, if you are looking for community
or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage
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you will find giving options on our website.
And remember to join us next week. God bless
you.