What is the importance of Christian unity?

January 18, 2023 by Bellshill Central, posted in Other News, Weekly Church News

Shortly before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed for unity among His followers: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:11).

Later in the same prayer, Jesus asked “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us. . . . I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:21–23). Obviously, Christian unity is important to our Lord.

Jesus not only prayed for unity, but He gave the reasons that Christian unity is important: He asked that all believers may be in the Father and the Son, “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). And then Jesus prayed for “complete unity” so that “the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (verse 23). When Christians are united in Christ, the world sees two things clearly: Jesus was sent by the Father, and Jesus loves His church.

In Romans 15:5–6, we see another, more general reason that Christian unity is important: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). The bottom line is God’s glory. God’s people should be speaking with one voice in glorifying God.

Christian unity comes with Christian maturity, and it is always something that we strive to attain. Paul instructs us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Helping us toward that unity are the gifts of the Spirit. God has given each Christian different gifts, and their exercise in the edification of the church leads to more and more unity. One purpose of the gifts is that “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

To promote Christian unity, God presents the church in 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 as a living body. The body has many members, each with specialized work to do, but all the parts are united in the Head of the Body, which is Christ (see Ephesians 4:15).

Christians naturally form local communities in which no one needs to rejoice or suffer alone (Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 12:26). Christians from many different backgrounds working in unity display the power of the gospel and the universality of its saving message (Galatians 3:26–28). Christians bring honor to God’s name by pursuing unity in the power of the Holy Spirit who brings us together as one through faith in Christ.

Christian unity is a virtue, but there are some things that can and should limit unity. We don’t pursue unity simply for the sake of unity; it is Christ and His truth that unite us. Scripturally, we are to separate from professed brothers and sisters in Christ who live in persistent, unrepentant sin (Matthew 18:15–17; 1 Corinthians 5:1–2) and from those who teach false doctrine (Revelation 2:14–15). “Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them” (Romans 16:17).

As Ephesians 4:13 intimates, we won’t reach full Christian unity until we attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” So we probably won’t fully realize Christian unity in this world. But we strive for it. The unity that faith in Christ brings extends God’s love on earth and demonstrates the truth of who Jesus is. Unity in the church also foreshadows the worship in heaven, where a great multitude “from every nation, tribe, people and language” stands before God and cries out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9–10).

Christian Unity is anyone interested ?

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023 by Bellshill Central, posted in Other News, Weekly Church News

Christian Unity….. is anyone actually interested? As Christians it is important that we put aside petty differences and share in our common belief of God, our common belief in the power of prayer and the good that it can do.

Bellshill Central Church is hosting a service for ALL on Sunday 22nd January at 3pm. This is an ecumenical service for all faiths.

All Churches have been invited. Please come along and make sure your church is represented.

Follow this link for our Facebook event https://facebook.com/events/s/service-for-week-of-prayer-for/835798537494293/

A message of solidarity for Ukraine

January 13, 2023 by Bellshill Central, posted in Other News, Prayer items, Weekly Church News

In Ukraine, the fighting has intensified, but the church remains a symbol of hope for many. Join us as we reflect on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s words after visiting local partners and persist in our prayers for peace.

Since the conflict began, Tear Fund’s local church partners have been able to reach tens of thousands of people in need – inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. Alongside providing shelter, food and trauma support, they are also running art therapy classes and children’s groups.

Just before Christmas, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, visited one of the local partners to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to see what more could be done to support people.

During his trip, the Archbishop met with church leaders, as well as people who had fled the violence, so he could hear firsthand what people were going through. He also went to Irpin and Bucha to see the devastation caused by the fighting there last spring.

‘We stand with you’

The Archbishop referred to his visit as ‘a tiny gesture of solidarity with a suffering yet courageous people. It was about saying to them, you’re not forgotten; we pray for you, we support you, we stand with you, and we’ll advocate for you.

‘Five to six hundred years before Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesied that justice and peace will come at some point, that weapons will be turned into ploughshares (Isaiah 2:4). And yet we stand amidst godless leaders ruling by violence and fear, with armies struggling by night. At the time of Isaiah, people were living in a similar world, in the shadow of death, in darkness, exile, suffering, famine, and torture.

‘Just think of that: Jesus was recognised after his resurrection most often by the scars on his hands and feet and side; the church is not a place of retreating from the world… Ukraine spoke deeply to me, passionately, of a church enduring with the people who endured — not separate, not privileged, not special, but full of love and the grace of God…

‘The revolution that came at Christmas — of light in the world — is alive now in churches shining into the darkness.’

Peter Pan silent movie night with organ!

December 13, 2022 by Bellshill Central, posted in Christmas, Other News, Weekly Church News

This Friday at 7pm, we’re pleased to be showing Peter Pan (1924) on the big screen. Juice and popcorn included. Aaron Hawthorn will accompany on our mighty church organ. Tickets/entry £10/£5. All welcome for this fantastic movie.

Biography

Aaron is a freelance musician based in Lanarkshire, Scotland (UK) and has a Master of Arts (with Honours) degree from the University of Glasgow. Aaron frequently performs recitals, concerts and silent film accompaniments across the UK as well as in mainland Europe and the USA.

After starting his career as an organist in Motherwell Cathedral, Aaron went on to be the principal organist at St Bride’s Roman Catholic Church, Cambuslang for five years and after a family trip to the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool in his early teens, discovered his love for theatre/cinema organs.

Following his 2019 performance at the American Theatre Organ Society’s annual convention in Rochester, New York, Aaron received the ‘ultimate honour’ for a young organist by winning the international Young Theatre Organist competition, having won the UK title two years before. Only a few months later, Aaron was awarded the Ian Sutherland Award by the Cinema Organ Society, an award given “directly to a player who displays outstanding talent and promise as a theatre organist.” Aaron has been active as a committee member for the Cinema Organ Society and the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust.

Also acclaimed as a choral conductor, Aaron has conducted various ensembles, including a three-year reign with the University of Glasgow Chamber Choir. He spends a large proportion of his week working as an arts facilitator and practitioner for North Lanarkshire Arts, a role in which he works with community groups, including youth and adult choirs, dementia-friendly sessions and all-ability arts projects.

Throughout the Autumn of 2021, Aaron joined a soprano on a UK tour featuring their semi-improvised accompaniment to the 1925 silent horror, The Phantom of the Opera. Their performances have been critically acclaimed and the shows successfully engaged new audiences with the worlds of silent film and pipe organs. He is embarking on another silent film tour in Autumn of 2022 with Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922).

Aaron is a house organist at Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow, where he plays for the daily organ recital series, and makes regular appearances playing the Compton Cinema Organ at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge and the 3/21 Wurlitzer organ of Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, Glasgow.