A Prayer For His Own (pt. 2)

Amen. Thank you, Treg.

Please take your Bibles and open them up to John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

John chapter 17. We're continuing this prayer of Christ in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention John 17 · chapter mention

And this morning we'll finish up the chapter. I'll read John 17 verses 20 through 26.

John 17:20–26

And I do ask, as I always do, have your Bibles open.

I want you to see it with your own eyes, hold it in your own hands, in your lap, the Word of God.

As we walk through this passage together.

And when you found it, John 17 verses 20 through 26,

John 17:20–26

if you would please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

Jesus prays, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

That they may all be one.

Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

The glory that you have given me, I have given to them,

that they may be one, even as we are one.

I in them and you in me,

that they may become perfectly one,

so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them,

even as you loved me.

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me,

may be with me where I am,

to see my glory that you have given me,

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you,

I know you,

and these know that you have sent me.

I made known to them your name,

and I will continue to make it known,

that the love with which you have loved me may be in them,

and I in them.

This is the word of God.

Let's pray once more.

Father, we thank you for this word.

We thank you for this prayer of Christ,

and we pray, Father,

that it would be answered right here in this church.

God, would you make us one,

even as you are one, Lord.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

What does Jesus want?

That's the question that we've been asking

as we've walked through this prayer here in John chapter 17 together.

John 17 · chapter mention

We saw that in verses 1 through 5,

he prayed for himself.

Glory.

Father, glorify me in your own presence

with the glory that I had before the world existed.

We saw last week in verses 6 through 19,

he prayed for these 11 men,

these 11 disciples.

So many precious gifts that he prayed for them.

He prayed for their perseverance,

that they might have his joy.

He prayed for their protection.

He prayed for their holiness.

And now, here at the end of this prayer,

in verses 20 through 26,

we see he's praying for all those

who will believe in him

through the word of his disciples.

This is a prayer for the global,

universal church.

It is a prayer for all believers

from this point forward.

This is a prayer for the Apostle Paul,

soon to be Apostle Paul.

This is a prayer for Lois,

and her daughter Eunice,

and her grandson Timothy.

It is a prayer for Ignatius,

and Polycarp,

for Athanasius,

and St. Augustine.

It is a prayer for Martin Luther,

and for John Wesley.

It is a prayer for Amy Carmichael,

and Adoniram Judson,

for Lemuel Haynes,

and for Brother Yoon.

It is a prayer for Pastor Chad Moore,

at Life Park Church,

for John Payne,

at Christ Church PCA.

It is a prayer for me,

and if you believe the gospel,

church,

this is a prayer for you.

What do we learn about what Jesus wants for you

in this prayer?

What does this passage teach us

about what Jesus wants for all of his people?

Well, to answer it in just one word, church,

Jesus wants for his people to experience unity.

To say it another way,

here's the main point of this prayer,

this is the main point of this message,

is that the gospel produces

supernatural unity

in all who believe it.

The gospel produces

supernatural unity

in all who believe it.

And I want us to see this

in two ways this morning.

This will be our outline this morning

if you're following along.

The gospel produces unity

both vertically and horizontally.

Vertically and horizontally.

Jesus wants you to experience unity

both vertically and horizontally.

First,

Jesus wants you

to experience

vertical unity

with God.

Now look with me

starting in verse 20

to our passage again.

Jesus says,

again,

I'm not praying for the whole world.

I have a particular people in mind here.

I'm praying for those

whom the Father has given me

out of the world.

Now I've prayed

for these 11 disciples

and now,

now I'm praying

for all those

who will believe in me

through their words.

See,

Christ is on the road

to the cross.

He is getting ready

to die in the place of sinners.

He's preparing

to rise from the grave.

And then,

He's going to send

His disciples out

to go talk about this.

To go tell everybody

they come in contact with

that there is a Savior

who's come to the world

that any who turn

from their sins

and trust in Him

can be saved.

They will be His witnesses,

we're told in Acts 1.8.

Witnesses of the glory of Christ

in Jerusalem

and in Judea

and in all Samaria.

They will be commissioned,

Matthew 28,

commissioned to go

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe

all that I have commanded you.

And Jesus knows

that as these disciples

go out preaching the Word,

scattering seed of the Word,

guess what's going to happen?

Men and women,

boys and girls

from all over the globe,

from Jerusalem

all the way here

to all in all South Carolina,

will hear that message

and believe.

So He prays here

for all those

who will believe in Him

through their Word.

And what does He pray?

What does He pray

for these future believers?

What does He pray for us?

Well, He prays

that they might know

deep, profound,

personal, supernatural unity

with God Himself.

Think about this.

This is what it means

to be a Christian.

You believe the Gospel

and the Gospel creates

supernatural unity

vertically between you and God.

Well, what does this look like?

Think with me

as we walk through this passage

about all that that means

for you, Christian.

To be one with God

means that

in a way that's beyond

our comprehension,

you are in Him

and He is in you.

To be a Christian,

to be united vertically with God

through faith in Christ

means that you are in God

and God is in you.

Look there to verse 21.

Jesus prays for all

who will believe

that just as you, Father,

are in me

and I in you

that they,

these believers,

may be in us.

He says in verse 23,

I in them

and you in me.

What He's praying for

is this deep,

personal unity with God

through faith in Christ.

You know,

being a Christian

is a lot more

than just believing

a few key doctrines,

right?

You believe

a few key doctrines,

you check off the boxes

of what you know

you believe.

There's a depth here

that goes beyond

intellectual acknowledgement

of the truth.

This is personal inclusion

in God Himself.

When you believe

the truth of the gospel,

you are brought

into union with God.

You're not made God,

of course,

that's impossible,

but you are brought

into unity with God,

joined together with Him.

When you trust in Christ

by faith in what He's done,

that the sin

that has separated us

from God

is done away with

and now,

in Christ,

everything that Christ has done,

He's now done

on your behalf.

So we can say,

as we witnessed last week

with Bailey's baptism,

we can say that,

truly,

we have been buried

with Christ in baptism.

His baptism is ours.

His death is ours.

And we've been raised

to walk in newness of life.

His resurrection is ours.

His new life is ours.

His victory is ours

by faith in Christ.

You are included in Him

and He in us.

Church,

this is at the very core

of what it means

to be a Christian.

Now,

I want us to understand this

because this isn't

the only place

that the Bible speaks

about this deep unity

between God

and His people.

John 14, 20,

we saw,

Jesus said,

in that day,

you will know

that I am in my Father

and you in me

and I in you.

You hear this union language?

John 15,

we heard Him say,

abide in me

and I in you.

2 Corinthians 5, 17,

if anyone is in Christ,

He is a new creation.

The old has gone.

Behold,

the new has come

if anyone is in Christ.

Galatians 2, 20,

Paul says,

I've been crucified with Christ,

therefore I no longer live.

Jesus Christ now lives in me.

The life that I live

in the flesh,

I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave Himself for me.

I'm dead and gone.

I died with Christ.

Here I am living

in Christ.

Romans 8, 9-11,

anyone who does not have

the Spirit of God,

Spirit of Christ,

does not belong to Him.

But,

if Christ is in you,

although the body is dead

because of sin,

the Spirit is life

because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of Him

who raised Jesus from the dead

dwells in you,

He who raised Christ Jesus

from the dead

will also give life

to your mortal bodies

through His Spirit

who dwells in you.

Church,

we should marvel

at this.

Amen?

If you have believed

the gospel,

you are now united

to God Himself

in Christ.

He is in you.

You are in Him.

Not only this,

but to be a Christian,

to be united with God,

means that

you have received

the glory

of Christ.

Christ.

You have received

the glory

of Christ.

He tells us,

verse 22,

He says,

the glory that you

have given me,

I have given

them.

You remember last week

from chapter 17,

verse 6,

He says,

I have manifested

your name

to the people

you gave me

out of the world.

This manifestation

of the glorious

name of God

so that

it might be

seen

and enjoyed

and believed

and trusted

and worshipped.

That's what Jesus

came to do.

And how did He do it?

Verse 8,

you remember last week,

For I have given them

the words

that you gave to me.

The words.

And they have received them

and have come to know

in truth

that I came from you

and they have believed

that you sent me.

He manifested

the glorious

name of God

through words.

And so it is

with us.

God's people

are made God's people.

If you're a Christian,

it's because somewhere

along the way,

somehow,

the glory of Christ

was manifested

to you

through words.

What does Romans 10, 17

tell us?

Faith comes through

hearing

and hearing

through the word.

Word of Christ.

Yes.

The glory of God

and the gospel

of Jesus Christ

was shared

with you

and by God's grace

you heard it

and by God's grace

you were given eyes

to see His glory.

By God's grace

you received it.

You were given

a new heart

to receive it,

to love it,

to trust it.

By God's grace

you believed it.

You received

the glory of God

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

So now what does that mean?

Now,

what that means

is that you personally

by faith in Christ

you personally

are now partakers

of His life.

This is eternal life.

That they know you

the only true God

and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

You have received

His eternal life

by faith in Christ.

Now,

right now,

we are partakers

of His joy

by faith in the gospel.

These things

I speak in the world

that they may have

my joy fulfilled

in themselves.

Verse 13

Right now,

we are partakers

of His peace

through faith

in Christ.

My peace

I leave with you.

My peace

I give to you.

The list goes on

and on and on.

By faith in the gospel

we are partakers,

enjoyers,

recipients

of the glory

of Christ

right now.

But you know,

as wonderful

as that is,

all of that

is just a small taste

of the glory

that's to come.

Can you believe that?

To be one with God,

to be a Christian

means that

you have the hope

of the glory

of Christ.

Now in part,

but then in full.

Look there

to verse 24.

Verse 24.

He prays,

Father,

I desire that they also

whom you have given me

may be with me

where I am

to see my glory

that you have given me

because you loved me

before the foundation

of the world.

Did you hear that prayer?

Father,

I pray,

I desire that

they would be

with me

where I am

and that they would

see the fullness

of my glory.

What a hope

that lies ahead of us,

church.

You know,

when I was younger,

to be honest with you,

when I was a kid,

when I would think

about eternity,

when I would think

about what

in the world

heaven would be like,

I would get

my mind going

and eventually

if I thought

long and hard enough,

I would get to a point

where I would be

bored out of my mind.

Right?

Am I the only one?

You think about eternity,

what in the world

am I going to do

with eternity?

What am I going

to fill my days with?

What am I going

to fill my time with?

It sounded boring to me.

Let me tell you something,

church.

Every single joy,

every single treasure,

every single bit

of glory

on this side

of eternity

eventually

will get boring.

Either it will run dry

or you will get tired

of it.

But the glory

of Christ

will never

get boring.

And our enjoyment

of the glory

of Christ

in eternity

will be never ending.

There's more

to enjoy

in His glory

than all eternity

can fill.

We have all

of eternity

to spend

drinking ourselves

full of the glory

of God

and the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

That's what lies

ahead of all

who are united

to Christ

by faith.

The invitation

of the gospel

to our non-believing

friends

is to turn away

from all of these

false,

passing,

fading joys

and come

find true,

lasting life

and joy

in the presence

of Christ

now

and into eternity.

What a gift.

What a gift.

Church,

you know,

gifts like this

we know

are not given

flippantly.

This is a gift

of divine love.

Last one here

on this first point.

Last one.

To be a Christian,

to be made

one with God

is to enter

into

and to be

personally

loved

by God

Himself.

verse 26.

He says,

I made known

to them

your name

and I will

continue to

make it known.

Why?

To what end?

That the love

with which

you loved

me

may be

in them

and I

in

them.

To know

Jesus

by faith

is to

know

personally

know

the love

of God.

To be

a Christian

is to

enter

into

and to

receive

the very

love

that God

the Father

has

for His

own

Son.

Are you not

blown away

by that?

That ought

to drive

us to our

knees

in worship,

church.

To know

that we're

loved

by God.

It makes

sense that

God loves

His own

Son.

He's

perfect.

He's

flawless.

He's

eternal.

He's

God

Himself.

But to

know

that God

loves

sinners

with that

very same

love

ought to

drop us

to our

knees.

But that's

what it

means to

be a

Christian.

We are

loved

by God,

united

to Christ,

adopted

into His

family.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

In love

He

predestined

us for

adoption

to Himself

as sons

through Jesus

Christ,

according to

the purpose

of His

will,

to the

praise of

His

glorious

grace,

with which

He has

blessed

us in

the

beloved.

In

Him,

do you

hear that?

In

Him we

have

redemption

through

His

blood,

the

forgiveness

of our

trespasses

according

to the

riches

of His

grace,

which He

lavished

upon us

in all

wisdom

and insight,

making

known to

us the

mystery of

His

will according

to His

purpose,

which He

set forth

in Christ

as a plan

for the

fullness

of time

to unite

all things

in Him,

things in

heaven,

and things

on earth.

Our union

with God

the Father

is not

just a legal

formality.

Our union

with God

the Father

in Jesus

Christ

is the

realization

of a

divine

plan

of

divine

love.

We are

loved

in the

beloved.

We are

sons

in the

Son.

Church,

this is

what it

means to

be a

Christian.

We are

united

to God

Himself

in

Christ

Jesus.

What a

glorious

gift our

salvation

is.

But sadly,

for many

believers,

this is

where it

ends

for them.

Sadly,

for many

believers,

this

personal,

vertical,

one-on-one

relationship

with God

is where

it ends

for them.

But what I

want us to

see here in

our second

point in

the rest of

this passage

together this

morning,

is that if

you can

believe it,

Jesus wants

even more

than that

for His

people.

The aim

of the

cross of

Christ is

not just

vertical

union with

God,

although that

is primary.

The aim

of the

cross of

Christ is

also

horizontal

unity with

all of

God's

people.

Let me

say that

again.

The aim

of the

cross of

Christ is

not just

your

personal,

individual,

vertical

union with

God.

It's that

that union

would spill

over and

produce

horizontal

unity

amongst

God's

people.

Let's see

this in our

second point

this morning.

Second,

Jesus wants

you to

experience

horizontal

unity

with His

people.

people.

Now,

this is

supernatural,

isn't it?

Right?

It may be

easier for

some of you

to believe

that God

can unite

Himself to

one sinner,

that a

sinner can

be united

to God

Himself

through faith

in Christ.

It may be

easier for

you to

believe that

than that

one sinner

could be

united to

another

sinner

horizontally,

much less

one sinner

to a whole

group of

sinners.

That sounds

almost

impossible.

And I

gotta confess

to you

that often

the way

the church

behaves

and speaks

and acts

makes it seem

like this

prayer just

went up

and hit

the ceiling.

But Jesus

Himself,

He lived,

He died,

He rose,

not just to

make us

one with

God,

but I think

it's clear

in this

passage,

He did

this to

make us

one with

one another.

Perfectly

one.

He prays

for it

here,

it is

clear,

this is

His

desire,

and yet,

church,

you know

this,

don't?

I'm not

telling you

anything you

don't know.

Churches

often struggle

with this

unity thing,

don't we?

This isn't

a new

problem,

by the way.

You read

through your

New Testament,

you'll notice

there has

never been

a church

without issues

here.

This is

why Paul

instructs us,

if you

bite and

devour

one another,

watch out

that you

don't consume

one another,

he tells

the church

in Galatia.

Pursue

what makes

for peace

and mutual

upbuilding,

he tells

the church

in Rome.

Bear with

one another,

he tells

the church

in Colossae.

If one

has a

complaint

against

one another,

forgive

one another,

as the

Lord has

forgiven you,

so you

also must

forgive.

bear with

one another,

again,

he tells

the church

in Ephesus,

be eager

to maintain

the unity,

he commands

the churches,

instructs us,

maintain it,

protect it,

guard it,

work for it,

uphold it,

pursue it,

why?

Because

sinners do

not naturally

drift towards

unity with

one another.

It is

supernaturally

purchased for

the church,

and it

must be

supernaturally

pursued

by the

church.

True

unity

is not

natural.

All of

these commands,

they assume

two things,

don't they?

One,

it assumes

that the

church

will struggle

to experience

unity,

amen?

The church

will struggle,

this will be

difficult,

why else

would he

have to

tell us

to bear

with one

another?

There's

going to

be opportunities

if you

get close

enough to

other

Christians,

if you

rub shoulders

enough with

other

sinners,

there's

going to

be plenty

of

opportunity

to obey

these commands,

to be

patient,

to forgive,

to bear

with one

another,

to pursue

peace,

to love

one another,

but you

know what

it also

assumes?

It assumes

that it's

worth it.

It assumes

that that

hard work

of pursuing

unity in

the church,

this man-to-man

woman-to-woman,

horizontal unity

is worth

the effort.

For Jesus,

it was worth

dying for.

I'd be willing

to bet

most of you

in the room,

if I asked you

to raise your

hands,

and I won't

ask you to

raise your

hands,

if I asked

you to

raise your

hands,

most of you

in the room,

I would be

willing to

bet have

at least

one story,

probably more,

one story

where you

have seen

people in

the church

go after

one another,

and maybe

you have

been personally

harmed and

hurt and

affected by

Christians.

I know I

have.

You can't be

a shepherd

without getting

bit by a few

sheep.

You can't be

a shepherd

without defending

against a few

wolves,

right?

But I

know members,

the church,

this is not

uncommon to

be engaged

in this

disunity

that so

plagues

the church,

and it

makes us

say things

like,

well,

I love

God,

but I

got a

hard time

with his

people,

right?

I love

Jesus,

but I

don't really

like his

people.

I don't

really love

the church,

and I

want you

to know

that if

that is

how you

feel,

it's okay

to acknowledge

that.

It's okay

to acknowledge

the harm

that's come

upon you.

It's okay

to acknowledge

some of the

barriers that

you might have

to this

horizontal unity,

but we

also have

to acknowledge

that if

that's how

we feel,

then our

heart is

out of

alignment

with the

heart of

Christ in

this area.

It's the

work of the

Holy Spirit

to take our

heart and

to make it

align with

the heart

of Christ.

And so if

that's you

where you say,

I just want

me and God,

I don't want

these other

people,

I would

invite you

to pray.

Lord,

would you

change my

heart to

look like

the heart

of Christ

so that I

might know

the unity

you've purchased

for me

on the cross.

Listen again

to what Jesus

prays here,

verse 20.

He said,

I do not

ask for these

only,

but also for

those who

will believe

in me

through their

word,

that they

may all

be one,

just as

you,

Father,

are in me

and I

in you,

that they

also may

be in

us.

Verse 22,

the glory

that you

have given

me,

I have

given to

them.

Why?

That they

may be

one,

even as

we are

one,

I in

them,

and you

in me,

that they

may become

perfectly

one.

How close

do I have

to get to

these people?

I don't

know,

how close

is God

the Son

to God

the Father?

Let's

start there.

Jesus

says,

pursue

that

type

of

perfect

unity

in the

church.

And you

know what

will happen

when the

church

begins to

look like

that?

The world

will see

and the

world will

know that

God

himself

must have

done that

work.

Look at

verse 21.

Look at

verse 21.

He prays

that they

may be

one just

as you

father are

in me

and I

in you

that they

may also

be in

us so

that what

the world

may believe

that you

have sent

me.

Verse 23,

I in

them and

you in

me that

they may

become

perfectly

one.

Why?

So that

the world

may know

that you

sent me

and loved

them even

as you

loved

me.

now I

want to

spend some

time as

we close

asking the

question what

does that

look like

practically for

you, for

us?

Maybe you've

attended church

all your life

and you've

never thought

about church

in this way.

Maybe church

for you has

just been an

event that

you attend

on your

calendar and

you've never

really thought

about this

horizontal

unity that

Christ wants

you to

experience.

I want to

talk about

four applications

here.

I think I'm

going to have

four.

I had like

20 this

week but I'm

trying to trim

it down this

morning for

your sake to

just four.

Okay?

Number one is

to ask

yourself.

I want all

of you to ask

yourself this

question.

Am I

connected with

other Christians

Christians in

such a way

that is only

explainable by

a work of

God?

Am I

connected with

other Christians

in such a way

that is only

explainable by

a work of

God?

Is my

connection to

other believers

unapologetic for

the existence and

the work of

God?

Is my connection

to other

Christians an

easy on-ramp

to conversations

with my

non-believing

friends about

the glory of

God and the

gospel of

Jesus Christ?

Do other

non-believers

in my circle

say and wonder

to see how

they love

one another?

That's a quote

from a man

named Tertullian.

He's not from

around here.

Tertullian.

He was an

early church

theologian in

North Africa

and he wrote

an apologetic

against the

pagans in the

area.

how distinct

the church

ought to be

and he

imagined what

the pagans

might say

as they look

in on the

church and

marveling to

see how they

love one

another while

all of us out

here hate one

another.

To see how

they're willing

to die for

each other while

we're killing

each other out

here.

The love of

the church for

one another ought

to be an

apologetic for

the glory of

God and the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

one point of

difference between

the love in the

church and those

outside of the

church might be

that you have

deep love for

others who are

not exactly like

you.

Birds of a

feather flock

together.

That's very

natural.

That's very

worldly.

But in the

church,

the world talks

a lot about

diversity.

It talks a lot

about unity.

They have no

clue what they're

talking about.

In the church,

we ought to have

a true picture of

unity in

diversity.

We're not

gathered together

because we all

look alike.

We're not

gathered together

because we're all

the same age,

because we have

all the same

preferences,

because we belong

to the same

socioeconomic class.

We are gathered

together because

we are belonging

to Jesus Christ

as Lord.

We are in

Christ,

vertical unity,

and that unity

spills over to

produce horizontal

unity amongst

every tribe,

tongue,

and nation.

All who are in

Christ by faith

in the gospel.

Application

number two.

Application

number two.

Speak well

of other

Christians.

Speak well

of other

Christians.

Let no

corrupting talk

come out of

your mouths,

but only such

as is good

for building

up as fits

the occasion

that it may

give grace

to those who

hear.

Ephesians 4

19.

Speak well

of other

Christians.

If our unity

is meant to be

an apologetic

for the truth

of the gospel,

what does it

say to the

world when we

tear each other

down with our

speech?

And this

applies both

inside our

own local

church here

as well as

outside towards

all other

Christians.

Speak well

of those who

are brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

Now the early

church,

again,

the early

church had a

saying.

They said,

in essentials

unity,

in non-essentials

diversity,

in all things

charity.

Have you heard

that before?

In essentials

unity,

in non-essentials

diversity,

in all things

charity.

We need to

understand what

the essentials

are that unite

all Christians

across the globe,

what makes us

brothers and

sisters in Christ,

those essential

core tenets of

the faith,

the divinity

of Christ,

the sufficiency

of the scriptures,

the trinity,

salvation in

Christ alone,

by faith alone,

for example.

If you agree

on the essential

doctrines of

Christianity,

the apostles'

creed that

spells it out

for us,

we can disagree

and we will

disagree on

a thousand other

things,

but we are

family,

like it or not.

You are not

my enemy.

We share a

common enemy

and we serve

His cause

when we hit

one another

with friendly

fire.

We need to

understand what

the core

essential doctrines

are of the

faith that unite

all of God's

people and we

need to also

understand and

remember not

everything is a

core issue.

Not everything

is an essential

issue.

Not everything

is worth dividing

over.

There are issues

worth dying for,

there are issues

worth dividing

for,

there are issues

worth deciding

for,

and there are

issues that

don't really

matter at all.

Worth discussing

for.

And the good

news is,

of course,

when we make

it to glory,

all of this

will become

perfectly clear,

we're going to

be perfectly

one,

partially because

all of us

are going to

be corrected

in all the

many ways

we're all

wrong.

But until

we get

there,

we remain

united in the

essentials of

the faith,

but know

that we

won't be

perfectly

united in

every matter

of faith

and practice.

That's why

different churches

exist.

That's not a

bad thing.

What's bad

is when these

different churches

that are brothers

and sisters

attack one

another,

bring shame

upon the

cross of

Christ in

the way that

we hate

one another

and speak

about one

another and

cancel each

other over

some article

written ten

years ago

that we

disagree with.

I'm going

to pick on

my Presbyterian

brothers for

a minute,

but only

because I

hope you

know I

love them

deeply.

In our

theology,

we're about

95% overlap.

Even our

own statement

of faith in

this church,

we have 18

articles in

our statement

of faith.

That's what

our membership

agrees to

believe.

There's only

two of

those 18

that I know

our Presbyterian

brothers would

disagree with.