(#1567) Day 13. Our Unity Is Precious (5/10/26)
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our 9-week series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17.
This week, we continue our three-week focus on John 17:6-19, the second section of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, where we will see that genuine Christian fellowship ('One Anothering') is essential to God's vision for our lives and the local church.
To watch this devotional, go to:
Please read John 17:6-19
Many people in our culture approach church rather like going to the theatre or cinema. It's about what I enjoy, what encourages me, or whether my needs are being met. As a result, it has become common for people to move from one church to another simply because they fancy a change or because someone has upset them.
Jesus' prayer presents a very different vision. He teaches us to value the unity of His church and fellowship as He does.
Trevor Hudson, in writing of what it means to live the ‘life’ (Zoe) that Jesus gives to us - a life that looks like Him - writes:
‘A Shared Life: Second, the zoe life is a shared life in which we come to discover our individual calling in God's family. Not only did Jesus spend his life in a close community of friends but by his Spirit he also formed family-like communities of disciples who reached out to their surrounding world with the good news. Jesus knew that, for us to grow in intimacy with God, we would need each other. We cannot journey far into the life that God offers without others. Our relationship with God is personal but never private. There is no solo spirituality in the New Testament. We need sisters and brothers who will encourage us, challenge us, and love us. Hence, when Jesus comes into our lives, he always comes with his arms around his family.’ (Seeking God, Trevor Hudson, Page 27)
1. The Church's Unity Is Precious to God
Throughout this prayer, Jesus repeatedly refers to those, them, and they. His focus is on the community of believers rather than merely on individuals.
For example:
‘“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”’ (John 17:9)
What an extraordinary truth! We have been given by the Father to the Son - we belong to God.
Of course, this is true of each believer personally, but Jesus is emphasising something even bigger: together, we are God's treasured people.
God loves His bride - the church - and so should we.
2. Jesus Prays - and Commands - that We Be One
Jesus' desire for His people is unmistakable:
‘“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, He says:
‘“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. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”’ (John 17:22-23)
Our unity - our oneness - is precious to Jesus.
This unity is expressed through our love for one another. Earlier, Jesus commanded:
‘“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”’ (John 13:34-35)
Jesus not only prays that we would be united; He commands us to love one another. Our unity is not optional. It is central to His purpose for His church and a powerful witness to the world.
No wonder Psalm 133 celebrates this truth:
‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!… For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.’ (Psalm 133:1, 3)
When we treasure one another as Jesus treasures His church, we begin to display the unity for which He prayed and the love by which the world will recognise His disciples.
Moment To Reflect
Jesus wants us to share His vision for a united church, and so treat it as precious.
How do we know that unity within the local church is so precious to Jesus?
As we reflect on our own lives, how is this value of unity being expressed through our commitment to fellowship? Is there any attitude, priority, or behaviour that God is calling us to change in order to strengthen the unity of His church?
Download the booklet
Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:
Community Group Study
(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week, so we’ll be focussing on this during our time together.
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
3. Study and pray together
(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week)
On Sunday, we continued our series, Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer, and continued in our three-week focus on John 17:6-19, the second section of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, where we will see that genuine Christian fellowship (One-another) is essential to God's vision for the local church.
As we think and pray about our mission together, I’m sure we can see that our unity -our loving support of one another - is vital if we are to encourage each other in seeking to reach our community for Jesus.
What is SIV?
SIV stands for Serve, Invest and inVite. This is our very simple strategy to help bring our community to Jesus. We believe that God has placed us in relationships and in specific locations to be 'salt and light.' and to ‘fish for people’. We can effectively bring people to Jesus by:
'Serving' them - Demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways;
'Investing' - Investing in the ‘people of peace’ those whom we feel the Spirit is leading us.
'Inviting' - Inviting them into our homes by showing hospitality and inviting them to church events, to Alpha, and ultimately, inviting them to come to Jesus through the gospel.
In your groups:
Share stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.
Think about practical next steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note below) in your life - those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?
Pray together:
i. Let’s begin by praying for one another regarding our SIV theme:
Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.
Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.
Pray for our Alpha ministry and Phil Mash who heads up this team
Pray for our mission in Roehampton - that He would lead us in reaching that community with the gospel.
ii. General Prayer: Let’s also pray for a three specifics things in our church life:
Gift days: Continue to pray for our 30k target to be met at our upcoming gift days on 11th and 18th October.
Community Groups: In line with Sunday’s theme of unity, continue to pray for our Community Group life to flourish. (for info on groups, go to https://www.communitychurchputney.com/community-groups )
Our 50-hours of prayer: Pray for God to inspire us to pray, speak as we pray, and lead us in powerful prayer together.
General prayer: How do people want prayer at this time?
Comments