This month at Covenant-First Pres, we’re flying international flags in our sanctuary.  Here’s the text of my September newsletter article that explains why:

International Flags at New Wilmington Mission Conference

Every month, when we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we remember that just as we receive the bread which is Christ’s body, so are we made together into the living body of Christ on earth.

But how big is the body of Christ? Certainly it includes all who call upon Him as Lord and Savior. Paul makes this clear in his letter to the Galatian churches when he writes “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)

We are all one great big family of faith. Every Christian on this planet is our brother or sister. Whether from Sudan or Switzerland, from Australia or Argentina, from Laos or Lichtenstein – all who claim the name of Christ are a part of his body and are our kith and kin in the faith.

On the first Sunday of October, churches across the world celebrate this truth by observing World Communion Sunday. It’s a time for us to remember that, though we may have vastly different cultures and customs, we share a much deeper bond in Christ.

To help us get in the spirit of World Communion Sunday, we’ll be displaying flags of the nations in our sanctuary through September and the first part of October. This is a way of proclaiming that the Lord is the Lord of all nations, as it says in Psalm 47: “For God is king of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God, he is greatly exalted.” (Psalm 47:7-8)

Obviously we won’t be able to display the flags of the 195 officially recognized nations, so we’ve selected a few flags of nations that have personal connection with Covenant-First, either through people who are a part of our congregation or through our extended family of missionaries. We will have a brochure available that gives more information about each flag and a little bit about the Christian church in that country. I hope you’ll have a little fun trying to tease out what the connection to Covenant-First is for each of these flags. Of course, the flag of the United States will be right there in the mix, for this land is the field of mission to which God has called us.

So let’s rejoice that we are part of a truly worldwide family of God!

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell