Children’s Lesson 22

TEAMWORK WITH UNITY

Unity means:  Oneness, agreement, togetherness, cooperation.

Do you want unity and teamwork, or do you want to have your way?

God places an extremely high value on teamwork and unity. We see that there is complete unity within God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three parts, but still God. We call this the Trinity.  Itā€™s like an egg.  The egg is made of three parts:  The shell, the yolk and the albumin/white part.   Yet itā€™s an egg.  God is three parts. All are equal, all are God.

When all of us come together in unity with a goal or to be on a team, it is a beautiful and powerful thing. 

Jesus says in John 17:11 that He wants us to be ONE.  ā€œI will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father protect them by the power of your nameā€”the name you gave meā€”so that they may be one as we are one.ā€   Jesus is saying that even though there are a lot of us, we can be ONE.  We can and should be unified.

In what way should we be ONE?

Mark 12:30-31, Jesus said, ā€œ30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.ā€™ 31 The second commandment is this, ā€˜You shall love your neighbor as yourself.ā€™ There is no other commandment greater than these.ā€ 

We need to be one in loving God and loving Others.  We need to care about OTHERS.  God loves everyone and we should love everyone also.  Yes, even people who donā€™t love us or who mistreat us.  Love doesnā€™t mean you agree with the bad ways they act, it just means that you see them as someone Jesus died for and if Jesus died for them, they must have value and we must love them enough to want them to know Jesus and His salvation.  Love doesnā€™t even mean you like them as a person.  Love means you care about their eternal spiritual condition enough to do all you can to help them find Jesus.  Sometimes all we can do is pray for people, but sometimes God uses us to SHOW them Jesus in the way we live our lives, or by us talking to them about Jesus.

We are commanded to love others; we are commanded to show our love to EVERYONE.

Someone once said that ā€œto love those who love you is human, but to love those who donā€™t love you is Godly.ā€™ā€™

We will never have unity with others or be a good team member if we donā€™t practice these two great commandments. Love God, Love Others.

Psalm 133:1 says ā€œBehold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers/Christians to dwell together in unity.ā€

When we donā€™t live in unity it is anything but good and pleasant.  Remember Unity means:  Oneness, agreement, togetherness, cooperation.

So, disunity, not being in unity, would be the opposite: disagreement, separation, everyone doing their own thing their own way.

Disunity sounds like chaos, and confusion.  1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not a God of confusion or disorder.  God wants us to be in agreement and cooperation and togethernessā€¦.One.

How are you going to choose to live and serve God?  How are you going to serve in the Body of Christ, the Church?   

If you decide to come together in unity, we know this;  it will be good and pleasant according to Psalm 133:1. 

We should all seek unity. Even though someone else is given the mission or the leadership role, we should still cooperate as a team to accomplish what God is leading us to do as the Body of Christ/the Church.  

Loving God is the easy part.

Let us ask God to help us to be unified: in agreement, cooperation, together.  We need to agree together to seek the good of others first. Love others.

Treat people the way you would want to be treated. Remember itā€™s not about you. It is about getting along with others even when you may disagree with them. 

Do you want unity and teamwork, or do you want to have your way?

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication