At Morning Worship on 18 January 2026, John Sawkins preached on Ephesians 4.4–6, and picked out four things from this passage which he felt still resonate for us as 21st-century Christians. This is some of what he said on the first of these:

“First, remember what unites us. Because sometimes we forget. …

“What unites us, is that we all worship Christ, who is one with God the Father and God the Spirit. The one thing, the only thing, that unites us is Christ. Nothing else.

“We are not one because our churches are organised and run in the same way. We are not one because we all believe in the same things. We are not one because we offer worship in the same way. We are one because we profess Jesus as Lord.

“Throughout the New Testament the idea is expressed in any number of ways; we are all members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), we are all branches of the vine (John 15), we are all members of the household of God (Ephesians 2). We are united in Christ. That is what Paul was saying when he noted: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4.4–6)

“And so remember – when we get hung up about ecclesiastical routines or ways of doing things, or translations of the Bible, or the hymn tunes chosen, or whether we kneel or sit or stand to pray, or whether we ask forgiveness for our trespasses, our sins or our debts, or if candles are lit, or what the colour of the preacher’s tie is – remember that these things ultimately do not matter. What matters is our profession that Jesus is Lord.

“That, ultimately, is what unites those of us who are part of a church, and what unites churches across the world. Our profession that Jesus is Lord.”

To find out what John’s other points were, read his whole sermon, available at this link.

Our picture of a group of people standing on top of a sandy beach was taken by James Lee and made available on Unsplash.