Dear Members and Friends of IBCZ,
This Sunday we will be having our Fellowship Meal together following our worship service. The Wallisellen Home Group is sponsoring this one, but of course, it would be appreciated if you could bring some food to share also. As a church, we are so spread out over the greater Zurich area, and so our monthly meals offer us about our only time to spend together as the church for deepening our relationships with each other.
As I’m sure you know, Scripture places a great deal of importance on our life together. In fact, our very witness to the world is dependent on the depth and quality of our relationships with each other. In the prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17, Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers throughout all generations. Jesus even prayed that we would be one even as He and the Father are one. That speaks of an incredible depth of love and unity that is to mark the church.
Furthermore, out of that unity comes our witness to the world. After praying that we would be brought into complete unity, Jesus prayed in vs. 23, “Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” Jesus makes it clear that one way the world will know that He was sent into the world to be the Savior is as the world observes the unity of His people. When the world sees ordinary people from many different backgrounds, with various personalities and diverse views, loving each other and putting our differences aside for the sake of the unity of the church, the world will know that such unity is not of human origin. It could only come about by the presence of the living God.
In addition, this unity leads to more than our witness to the world; it also encouraging for us as we experience the love and support of one another.
Such unity involves more than just having a meal together, but that is a good starting point! So please plan to stay for the meal after worship.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bob