C4 Connextion Corner

  Psalm 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant  it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2  It is  like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. 3  It is  like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the  Lord  commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.   Dwell Together in Unity! If I told you of a sure-fire way to be blessed, would you listen?  If I told you how to have the anointing of the Lord be upon you, would you be interested?   Learn to Live together, Learn to Love together, Psalm 133 tells us it is pleasant for brethren to dwell together in unity!   Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  This simple command is the very thing the devil hates and fights against the most among believers. This simple command is the very thing Christians sometimes struggle with doing.  Unity in the household of faith takes prayer and work. What hinders believers from unity? The sin of

  Being a Brother 101  by: Steward Sydnei Bethea   “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.” Psalm 133:1 NLT   “I need you, you need me, we’re all a part of God’s body…” *sways and sings with Hezekiah and choir* We’re taught general behaviors with siblings, cousins, and classmates to ‘share, play nice, work together.’ As early as adolescence, we struggle as contention arises when things do not go our way. Despite our never-ending challenges, the principles of Christianity instill morals which advise us as a brotherhood to love, forgive, unite, pray, and spread the Gospel to others. There is no greater example of brotherhood than Christ’s life: As no other brother would, He gave up divine privileges and humbled Himself. Christ literally yielded His life for us. Even after, He still responds to the destitute and intercedes when we do not know the words. Like a school project, seldom few volunteer to do all of the work, and typically, they do it fo

What do you think of when you hear “unity”? Military soldiers in formation, a colony of ants, Rihanna’s back up dancers tearing up the stage during the Super Bowl halftime performance? What about a group of black men and women arms crossed, holding hands and swaying side to side singing “we shall overcome”? What does that word make you feel? Are you empowered? Does it make you lose a sense of self? Or does it trigger you to focus on yourself? Unity reminds me of science class. 4 random students to a table assigned to be lab partners. The challenge for the individual is to trust three other people’s ideas while trying to mesh with different personalities. 4 students who barely know one another have to count on each other to earn a good grade. Ultimately striving towards a common goal. It is putting yourself aside and deciding to work towards something that is bigger than you. On youth and young adult Sundays, there’s many different elements uniting together to ensure that service is

                                                                                          Our House Rules   Matthew 12: 25 (NIV) Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them,  “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.   Good leads the way…no that extra o in good is not a typo—rather the slogan of United Airlines. A company geared toward uniting people. Well, church it’s adequate to say, the only way we blood-bought believers can be united is if God leads the way.   Ask yourself, what is unity? Go ahead I’ll wait as you think (cue the Jeopardy music). But all joking aside, teamwork, togetherness, and uniformity are words that probably entered your mind. No doubt we have sat in (or conducted) seminars discussing this very topic. And as followers of Christ, we should have deduced, that without obeying God’s sovereign guidance, we cannot build nor maintain true (biblical) unity.   Like sanctification, u