It is no accident that this chapter on the diversity of gifts and abilities continues into the infamous love chapter often read at weddings.  The love Paul references, while certainly applicable to any relationship, was originally meant to speak into communal living.  To truly value the diverse body God has given us, part of what must hold us together, even in moments of disagreement, is a love that is kind, compassionate, forgiving, and honest.  Otherwise we are just a noisy gong or clanging cymbal, rather than a community in harmony, with yes, some occasional dissonance.  And so we name in our core values that in order to truly build community we must engage conflict, knowing that where there is diversity of needs, wants, and opinions, there will certainly be conflict.  But as a family, sisters and brothers united together as children of the living God, we hold more in common than that which separates us.  Our differences, and by extension our conflict, can be an opportunity for God to change our hearts and lead us further on the path of our spiritual journeys.

Download link: https://www.oaktonbrethren.org/wp-content/uploads/sermons/2019/10/Sermon-2019-10-27.mp3