Strength Together

On this Pentecost Sunday, the bulletin contained two independent announcements that emphasise our unity in fellowship.  The flowers were in celebration of a fifth birthday.  A little further down the list was a notice of a 100th birthday.  Few organizations in the secular world would have members at both ends of the age spectrum.  Our inclusivity of all who believe is one of the great strengths of the church.  A point underlined by the reading from Acts 2.  ^"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

I won't try to repeat the sermon here, but I do have a children's story from an anonymous source that illustrates the same point.

The preacher, holding ten to twenty pencils bound with a rubber band, asks the children, "Why do we go to church?"  
He then explains that we go to church to have fellowship with other Christians. Nations are strong because their many people are bonded together.We need to care for one another, love one another

And it is the same in the church. We come together each Sunday, and during the week we support one another, encourage and pray for one another.

Take a pencil - can you break it?

                         two pencils?

                        three pencils?

The more pencils there are together the harder it is to break them.

The same is true for us as Christians. The more we band together the stronger we are. When we group together, share with on another, we find it much easier to live as Christians.  The world today makes it difficult to be Christian, that is why it is so important for us to get together as we do in church.

Happy birthday to all who celebrate this week, old, young, and in-between.  Your Christian family rejoices with you, prays for you, and stands together to keep you strong.