Andy Stanley preached a three-part series starting January 13 of this year called “Talking Points: The Perfect Blend of Politics and Religion.” I love seeing how God is speaking similar things to various parts of His Church. Stanley’s words certainly sounded familiar. Here are some highlights:

Nothing divides like politics, because nothing divides like fear. Yet Jesus apparently knew this, because the one thing He prayed as He headed to the cross is the exact thing we need – unity. Our goal needs to be to disagree politically, to love unconditionally, and to pray for unity.
Are you willing to evaluate your politics through the filter of our faith, rather than create a version of faith that supports your politics? If you start with a political filter, you can make Jesus sound just like you.
Your candidate will win or lose based on how we vote in November, but the Church will win or lose based on how we behave every day between now and then. And not only will the Church win or lose on that basis, so will the nation.
Why would we as followers of an eternal King allow ourselves to be divided by temporary parties or candidates? Never allow a view to divide you from a “you.” The you beside you is more precious to God than your potentially flawed view.
Anytime you find yourself saying or thinking, “I don’t know how anybody could believe or think or vote that way,” you’re making a true statement about what you don’t know. Everybody’s behavior, viewpoint, and politics makes perfect sense to them. As Sam Harris says, “Pay attention to the frontiers of your ignorance.”
The Kingdom of God will always conflict with the kingdoms of men. As Tony Evans said, “Jesus didn’t come to take sides, He came to take over.”
We can say with absolute certainty that this harmony is God’s will for us and for every congregation, because this is what Jesus prayed for. Jesus essentially prayed, “Father, you and I know that everything rides on their unity.”

You can hear Andy expound on these points and more. All three parts of this series are available for free on YouTube. Check out part one below!