Isaiah 9.1-4    
1 Corinthians 1.10-18 
The Epistle Reading in the Lectionary for today places Paul’s call for unity before the Corinthian Church.  The Corinthian Church was divided!  In our text, the divisions fall along the lines of various leaders in the church: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, “Christ.”  Later in this Epistle, we see the church divided along the lines of spiritual gifts and ethnicity.  Even with regard to the Lord’s Supper, the church is divided along the lines of social class and wealth.  And so, after his initial address to this congregation, and a reminder of all God’s blessings, the very first thing he addresses is this matter of unity.  “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”  Unity is of utmost priority in the church, and thus, it must be ours as well here at Grace Church.