One key element of our worship at Grace Fellowship Church is a pastoral prayer, in which one of the elders prays for the church and on behalf of the church. Every now and again I like to share one of those prayers. This prayer was prayed last Sunday by Paul, the senior pastor.

Lord Jesus, your greatest treasure is Your Father. Thus you could say, “I and the Father are one.” And since Your life was all about service and generosity, it is no wonder You prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” And we admit to being startled by this request, Jesus. Would you have us be as unified and loving toward one another as that oneness that exists between You and Your Father?
How glad we are you prayed even further. “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…” Lord Jesus, if it was this unity that took up your last prayers on earth, then we are sure of three things: This matters to You; We must need a lot of help to live this way; It will happen. For no prayer of Yours goes unanswered.
So, even though we are aware of all the ways we mess this up, we are all here now and looking to You and saying, “Please intercede on our behalf before the Father to answer this prayer.” Make us one. Not a group of people that all dress alike, think alike, talk alike, raise our kids alike, spend our money alike, but a bunch of people who look at all the ways we differ, and even all the ways we offend and sin against each other, and say, “I choose to be one with you.” This is our prayer for true fellowship, Lord.
And to do this, make us a more honest church, able to say what we mean and mean what we say to one another. Please crucify all pretension, hidden agendas, passive-aggressiveness, veiled meanings and every sniff of dishonesty. Give us the courage to be authentic with one another. And then balance that authenticity with thoughtful love. We don’t need to say everything we think. And we don’t need to confront everybody who has sinned against us. Grant us that long-suffering, believing-the-best-of-the-other kind of love for our fellow members. A love that endures social awkwardness, bears minor offences, hopes for the best outcomes and displays the Holy Spirit’s enabling grace of patience.
Christ, every thought of you encourages us. Your great love comforts us. We have fellowship with Your Holy Spirit. You have been so affectionate and sympathetic toward us. How could we not do everything we can, to be of the same mind. To hold each other in the same love. To seek to do everything as part of the same team and with the same spiritual objectives in mind.
Forgive us, for when we have thought more about how everyone else has failed us, rather than how we have failed them. Forgive us, for getting cranky that we have to serve again, instead of believing it is more blessed to give than to receive. Forgive us for holding grudges — how could we ever do that, when You have forgiven us ALL of our sins! Forgive us for being easily offended — make it our joy to overlook an offence. Lord, please bring to Your mind all the things that might hinder our fellowship, and give corresponding grace. All those obstacles and interferences that are unique to our church.
Most of us do not live close to one another. Some of us are very introverted. Others have perhaps gotten off to a rough start meeting fellow members. Many of us are relationally weary, very aware of the kind of turnover an urban church like ours experiences. There are perhaps a few here who are just in some kind of weird spiritual funk and are just looking for some way to be offended or hurt.
Lord, look on us. Our church. The members of Grace Fellowship Church, and give us the exact grace we need. Grace to overcome our sins. Grace to compensate for our natural inhibitions. Grace to turn from sin and selfishness and to make it our goal to “in love serve one another.” Make us very mindful of our members who are shut in or providentially removed from us. Help us get to know fellow members that are really different from us. Give us a concerned eye to keep watch for members who are struggling, drifting or turning in bad directions. Help us to fulfil our responsibilities to one another.
Build our unity and love for one another in order that Your very real prayer would be answered here with us, “that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” For, indeed, Father… You have loved us even as You loved Your Son. And people who have been loved like this… well, they live differently. They live with the kind of inner fortitude and spiritual strength, not just to love one another, but to love… love … their enemies.
O God, fill our church with that kind of love. Real love. Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered, God-glorifying love. We join with the Baptist and say, “We must decrease, You must increase.” Revive the fellowship in Grace Fellowship Church. Do that through Your Word as it is preached today by Patrick. Do that in our care for the marginalized and forgotten, such as all those we could serve at the Guidelight Retreat a few weeks ago. Do that for sister churches like, Fellowship Church Rouge Park in Scarborough. And do that for us. We mean it, Lord.
We are willing to do whatever it takes to glorify You in this way. So, please help us. Show us where to change and what to do. And please, Lord, glorify Your Name and Your love in our little church. This we ask in the Name of the One who prayed it first, Jesus Christ. Amen.

When I enrolled in university, I quickly learned that it was considered wise to take one or two “bird courses” as they were called back then—courses that were known to be an easy credit. These would counter-balance the much more difficult courses I was taking like Greek and French. One of the easy options was “comparative religion.” Though it did turn out to be an easy credit, it also proved to be a near-complete waste of time. The professor didn’t seem to understand the different religions all that well and was convinced they were all pretty much the same at heart. While he brought in clergy members to represent each of the faiths, they must have been carefully chosen because they were as wishy-washy as he was and were equally committed to explaining that all religions are really just different paths to the same destination. But at least I got my easy credit and also passed Greek and French.

Despite that negative experience, I do still think there is value in knowing the tenets of different faiths. After all, we live in a pluralistic society and we do not need to look far to find representatives of any of the other major religions. It can be good and helpful to know what they believe so we can better befriend them and present the gospel to them. We can avoid unintentional blunders and needless offense if we have some senes of what these people believe and why they believe it. (So, for example, we would know not to invite a Hindu neighbour over for burgers or offer a Muslim friend a glass of wine.) Not only that, but world religions have a way of being folded into ostensibly secular worldviews—witness the popularity of yoga, the rise of mindfulness, and the importance of meditation amongst those who would claim to be entirely non-religious. Yet each of these elements has been drawn from eastern religions. Religion is alive and well even in the hearts and minds of your secular or atheist friends.
Douglas Groothuis has made a long and careful study of the world’s major religions and brings his knowledge to bear in a new book titled World Religions in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. The “gimmick” behind the book is providing a single sentence that can stand in as a summary of that religion’s most significant or unique teaching. This sentence is drawn from either the religion’s scriptures or one of its notable teachers. And I think it proves to be quite a successful way to understand the faiths.
So, for example, when he discusses atheism (which, rightly, he considers a religion unto itself) he turns to Nietzsche’s infamous “God is dead.” For Judaism he goes with “I Am who I Am” and for Hinduism “You are that.” Buddhism he summarizes with “life is suffering” and Daoism with “the doa that can be spoken is not the eternal dao.” For Islam he goes with the obvious choice of “there is one god and Mohammad is his prophet” and, for Christianity, “Before Abraham was, I Am” (which, of course, perfectly complements his choice for Judaism).
Groothuis has no interest in attempting to prove that all religions are equally valid or that they lead by different paths to the same destination. Neither does he mean to see what benefit he can glean from each of them as if God has distributed truth throughout the faiths of the world. Rather, he means to do his best to explain what these religions actually believe and why, and then to interpret them on the basis of his own Christian convictions. That makes this a distinctly Christian approach to the world’s other major religions. And it makes it a remarkably effective one.
I can think of several reasons to read this book. The first is simply for the sake of knowledge. Knowledge is good and this book will increase your understanding of several of the world’s major religions—religions that form a significant part of the worldview of the majority of the world’s population. The second is for the sake of evangelism. By understanding these different faiths you will better understand how to approach those who hold to them and how to present the gospel in the most effective way. The third is the for sake of sanctification. Speaking personally, I find it interesting to study other religions because it better helps me love my own Christian faith and have confidence that Jesus Christ truly does represent the way, the truth, and the life. Never am I more thankful to know and love Jesus than when I see the faiths are people are bound by and captive to.
World Religions in Seven Sentences does just what the title promises and does it well. I’m glad I read it and equally glad to recommend it.
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I was once told the story of a child who had been invited to spend a sunny summer day playing with his friends. He lived in a rural area and it took him a good bit of time to make the trek. But the child made his way toward his friends as they made their way toward him and eventually they came upon one another halfway. Soon they were climbing trees and jumping creeks and skipping rocks and generally having the time of their lives.

Around dusk, the boy realized he should begin his return journey. But just as he was about to say his farewells, one of the other lads began to tell a story. The child, once drawn in, couldn’t force himself away. He sat in rapt attention as the story progressed, as the action waxed and waned, as the hero faced peril and emerged victorious.
By the time the story was complete, the sun had dipped behind the distant horizon. Now the boy gazed into the gathering darkness and realized he was afraid to set out by himself. He asked his friends to come with him, but they all needed to return in the opposite direction. As the boy dawdled and tried to work up his courage, the sun’s last rays disappeared from the sky. He fretted about his family, wondering if they were concerned about what had become of him.
The night grew darker still as clouds rolled in and began to blanket the moon and the stars. At last he decided he must stop procrastinating and set out. But just as he stood to his feet, a blinding flash of lightning shot from the sky and it was soon followed by a mighty crack of thunder. His courage failed him altogether.
Yet just as he was about to sink into utter despair, his eye spotted a flicker of light bobbing in the distance. Curious, he watched as it grew closer, as it grew brighter. And, then, to his delight, he saw that it was his older brother come to fetch him, come to bring him home. And now he quickly said farewell to his friends and boldly stepped into the darkness. He confidently made his way toward his brother who then led him safely home—home where his family threw their arms around him, home where a meal had been laid out for him, home where peace and rest awaited him.
And after the storyteller had said all of this, he paused for a moment. He paused to gather his thoughts and consider his words. And then he spoke once more.
So may it be for you when the night of death comes. So may it be for you when your friends cannot accompany you. So may it be for you when you do not dare to go alone.
On that day, your friend who is closer than a brother, your Savior who is your elder brother, will come to meet you at just the right time. In his hand will be the lantern of all the precious promises he has made, and this will be the lamp to your feet and the light to your path. He will lead you through the dark night and into the brightest day. He will accompany you to the place where your family awaits you and longs to see you, the place where a great supper has been laid out for you, the place where God himself is ready to welcome you home. Never, no never, do you need to fear that you will have to go that way alone.

Inspired by De Witt Talmage