Take Note of How Much He Paid to Reconcile Us!
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The Embassy Church is located in East Denver and we hold our worship gatherings at Cole School of Arts & Sciences Academy. Our mission field is located in the 80205 zip code, which is the twelfth most gentrified zip code in the country. In other words, a community that has been predominately African American for several generations is now experiencing a wave of diversity. But it is not just racial diversity; the community is also culturally, socioeconomically, and generationally diverse. As missionaries to the city we have to ask ourselves a pertinent question. How do we assess, evaluate, and respond to this wave of diversity? As a church we have answered this question and marked it as one of our distinctives. We assess this diversity as God ordained, we evaluate it as virtuous and holy, and we respond by celebrating and nurturing it.
Our affirmation is authoritative in that we sincerely believe that God has always desired a gathering of believers that is comprised of people from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue (Rev. 7:9; Psalm 117). And his plan is that a diverse gathering would celebrate and worship him while using their unique cultural designs to comprise an eclectic choir that joyfully sings the praises of God.
We know how much God values diversity because we know how much he paid for it. We occasionally display a shortsighted view of the Gospel in that we focus entirely on the fact that Jesus’ death is our ticket to heaven. But in doing so we miss the fact that the Gospel is the means by which God has restored everything that is broken. It is true that his death reconciled us to him. We never want to downplay that. But it is also true that his death has reconciled us to one another (Ephesians 2:11-22). Due to the fall of man (Genesis 3) and the impact of Original Sin, there are broken familial relationships that exist between gatherings of different races, cultures, generations, socioeconomic backgrounds, etc. The Apostle Paul has made it clear to us that the death of Christ has paid the price of restoration within the family. Not only does his death restore man’s relationship with God, it also restores man’s relationship with his fellow man (Ephesians 2:13-16). If God valued our reconciliation so much that he was willing to have his Son die for it, then the Body of Christ, the ambassadors and lovers of God, should hold this reconciliation in high regard. If we do not seek this eternal reconciling “peace” (Ephesians 2:14), then who will?
Below you will find a sermon that Pastor Brandon recently preach entitled, “The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation.” It will give insight into our heart on this matter. And it will communicate what we believe to be God’s desire regarding racial reconciliation.
Click Here: The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation
Brandon Washington
The Embassy Church
…making God famous throughout the world.
www.theembassy.org
