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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our LORD Jesus Christ. Sunday, May 11, the sermon text comes from Revelation 7:9-17. We see the church gathered as one around the throne of God. We are invited to envision the scene of a great crowd too vast to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. There is unity and equality in God's throne room, in our worship, despite our diversity. There is equality because we are all sinners in need of God's grace. There is diversity in who we are, where we come from, and how we communicate. There is unity because we all boldly come before God's throne of grace in worship and praise because of the lamb that was slain. Before diversity, equality, and inclusion were political hot button issues, God through Christ is breaking down those barriers. The movement of worship is one of diversity, equality and inclusion. We can't get to this scene in Revelation if it's not. Philippians 2:10-11 proclaims, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father." It doesn't get any more inclusive than all of creation. 


Who is this diverse group of people? They're the ones that made it through the great tribulation. (see Matthew 24). This section of Revelation is a vision of the church. A diverse gathering of people, equally in need of God's grace, unified in their praise around the throne. The church has faithfully carried the light of Christ through the darkness of the great tribulation. This vision of the church paints a picture of who we should be as the church. We gather around God's throne of grace in worship and praise of what Christ has done, and we scatter into the world’s great suffering to shine the light of Christ. Join us on Sunday at 11:00 to learn more.