church

Rejoice!

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Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

The greatest divisions in the church do not usually come from disagreements over doctrine, forms of worship or liturgy. No! The biggest problem most of us face is learning how to get along with the person sitting right next to us in the pew! Though we often think of the early church as being a perfect model of Christian love and fellowship, the Corinthian church in the Apostle Paul’s day was more like us than you might imagine. Their issues included some of the members suing each other, sexual scandals and angrily arguing over who was the best apostle. I wonder if on some days, the Apostle Paul felt like pulling out his hair when he got news of the latest struggle. Maybe the line spoken by Professor Digory in the book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, would have been something Paul would have loved to shout:

“You’re a family!! You might just start acting like one.”

So as Paul closes his letter to these Christians, he lays out a list of practical guidelines for living as God’s family. Today we will just look at the first:

Rejoice – Not just rejoice, as if we won the lottery, got a promotion, or received an unexpected income tax refund. This is a rejoicing together. Think of the joy of planning a surprise birthday party for a friend together. We orchestrate events so that our friend walks into a dark room without the slightest idea of what is going on, then someone flicks on the light, and everyone shouts, “Surprise!” If we can’t think of the last time that we shared that kind of joy in church, then we are missing out on God’s best for us. Now, to pull off a lifestyle of rejoicing, it will take a group effort, but just as the children in the Narnia stories learned to be a family through their struggles, and adventures, we can also learn to be the kinds of brothers and sisters that Jesus intended. Remember, how after he washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus told them that they would have joy if they learned to do the same. Do you know anybody with dirty feet today? It might not seem like it, but finding a way to wash them is the first step to a joyful life together!

Revival Begins With God

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I have often heard that revival must begin with me, and while that sounds good, it is not what the Bible teaches. Over and over the scriptures make it clear, that God’s true revival always begin with Him. When we think of revival, we often mean some scheduled series of meetings, “We are having revival meetings next week.” We tell people. Or, “Pastor Thompson preached at Last year’s revival.” But revival in the Bible is what happened when Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. Yes, Mary and Martha had begged Jesus to come, and we must also earnestly pray. But no one imagined much less scheduled the resurrection of Lazarus. In fact, Lazarus himself had nothing to do with it. He certainly wadn’t exercising faith or interceding. He was dead! Mary and Martha were weeping and their friends mostly just wondered what was going on. But God had something amazing on His schedule that day. Let’s also pray that He would remember us today. May God come and do what only He can do. Revive us again, show mercy and grace to His children and reveal Himself in love and power to those who have not yet met Him. 

O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV

Sunday Meditations

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“He who loves the Lord, loves also the assemblies in which His name is adored.” Charles Spurgeon

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

While we often take these verses of Paul’s letter to be his counsel for our individual lives, they are better and more fully understood when we remember he was writing to the church. What better way to go to church this morning than to carry these words as a treasure in our hearts? Pray always and give thanks together, no matter what we are facing. These two will be the bookends that hold all the rest of our meeting together and are God’s best and highest desire for us as we gather together on His special day.