Loving Our Neighbor Through Church Discipline

Satan is crafty and sin is deceptive. The book of Proverbs teaches that “there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death” (14:12, 16:25). Like putting makeup on a pig, sin disguises itself so we don’t see its true nature. It slowly lures us to its desired end while making sure the dark path looks clean and pretty. As far as we can tell, everything looks right so we continue moving forward not realizing the trap is laid and we will soon be caught.

The blinding nature of sin is one of the many reasons God has given us the local church. As we do life together, we have an obligation to look out for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Someone may not be able to see the trap ahead, but it’s clear to those around them. Do we love them enough to warn them?

We continue look at marks of a healthy church that are seldom emphasized today. Using 9 Marks of a Healthy Church as our guide, we’ve examined expository preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, a Biblical understanding of conversion, evangelism, and the value of church membership. Today, we’ll look at the next mark: biblical church discipline.

Read it at: http://growingingrace.blog/2019/04/15/loving-our-neighbor-through-church-discipline/

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10 Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes That Taught Us About ‘Life Together’

By Carrie Kintz

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April 9th marks 73 years since Dietrich Bonhoeffer was killed in a Nazi concentration camp. However, through various biographies and writings, his legacy has lived on in church history. Prolific on many subjects relating to Jesus and the church, Bonhoeffer not only wrote about total submission to the will of God, he lived it.

As the church continues to reap from the bounty of his writings, like The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics, there is one particular book that gets lesser attention but is equally important to the church and church leaders.

Life Together is a slim volume, unimpressive in its length, yet deceptively packed full of truth about communal living in the church. In this book. Bonhoeffer not only explores what life together in the body looks like Scripturally, but practically. He shares how Christians can and should interact, the dangers of too much community and being too solitary. His writing on the subject is a must read for any Christian wanting to understand the beautiful tapestry God weaves together through His children, and how one matures in that community.

As we remember the life of Detrich Bonhoeffer and his contribution to the church, here are 10 things he taught us about community in Life Together.

Detrich Bonhoeffer Quotes

1. Accountability is an absolute necessity among brothers and sisters in the body.

“Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from the path of sin.”

Read more: https://churchleaders.com/daily-buzz/277152-10-things-bonhoeffer-taught-us-life-together.html

Making A Difference

#AtoZ Challenge  – Making A Difference

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Romans 14:19

Welcome to Day 15 of the A to Z Challenge.

Continuing the blessing of positivity with encouraging thoughts …..

Somewhere, it’s fun day, Monday humor.

Making a difference, can help motivate, encourage someone. The acrostic is a few ideas…..

The ability to making a difference, in whatsoever state, is another example of the many blessings of positivity.

Abundant blessings and have a marvelous day!

The just shall live by faith. Praise The Lord.

As always, I welcome your thoughts.

©Ann V Friend, afriendofjesus2013Blog, Aug 2013 to present.

How Loving Others Points to God

For a worldview or religion to be compelling you would expect it to nurture good relationships. This is especially true where offence is involved. Where there are relationships, there are hurting people, for people hurt people. We are human. If a worldview or religion is true, we should expect that it will help us relate to one another and navigate the nasty quirks of our humanity.

Does Christianity provide a compelling vision for relationships including a method of dealing with offence? Some would say “no, Christianity is all rules which makes people get all judgemental.” Others would say, “no, Christianity is all forgiveness which turns people into doormats.” So which is it?

Last week we looked at the compelling way God relates to us. To summarize, God’s relationship with us is based on His grace, not our performance. How are we to relate to others?

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

As God relates to us, we relate to others; with love and grace. Consider the following verses:

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. . . .
10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. . . .
16 God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. 1 John 4:7,10,16-21 (NLT)

We are to relate to others in the same manner God relates to us; with love and grace. There are some things we can say about this . . .

Continue reading: https://clarkedixon.wordpress.com/2019/04/11/compelling-grace-part-2-how-loving-others-points-to-god/

The American Church Has Got Talent But What It Really Needs Is…

~ Mike Leake

There are a couple of heroes in the book of Acts that model for us what we need. This couple sat under the preaching of a dynamic speaker. But they realized he was missing something; namely, Jesus. (Or a full understanding of Christian baptism if you want to go that route). So they took him under their wing. They loved him and taught him and then sent him back out.

The dynamic speaker was Apollos. And that precious couple was Priscilla and Aquila.

The American church has got talent but what we really need are more Priscilla and Aquila’s. Think of all the Apollos’ who are leading ministries. Great speakers. Knowledgeable. Passionate. Fervent. Gaining a following. Writing books. Headlining conferences. Missing something vital.

I’m reading an excellent book, The Mentoring Church, by Phil Newton. In the first chapter he outlines the goal of the mentoring relationship: being, doing, believing, teaching. He also outlines the method for doing this: doctrine, praxis, and sending. Do you notice anything there? Doing is connected with praxis. Believing is connected with doctrine. And teaching is connected with sending. BUT there is nothing connected with being.

This isn’t an oversight on Newton’s part. He is correct. Being isn’t something you can teach in a seminary class or necessarily read in a book. It’s only crafted through…being. It’s forged in the context of a life lived out in the local church. You can’t fake it. You can’t test out of this one. It takes another person pouring the life of Christ into another person.

A New or Old Problem?

Continue: http://www.mikeleake.net/2019/04/the-american-church-has-got-talent-but-what-it-really-needs-is.html

What The Bible Says About Judging Others

It’s so easy to judge others and others to judge us, but we can be wrong, and so can they, so here’s what the Bible says about judging.

Judging Others

When Jesus was speaking about judging others, He wasn’t saying we don’t make judgments about people. For example, we make judgments about whether someone would be a good spouse or not by the way they treat their mother, how they are around children and pets, and other situations, and if we see enough red flags (especially about violent tendencies or drug or alcohol abuse), we make a judgment that this person would not be a good spouse, so judging people from this standpoint is not only good…it helps us avoid big trouble down the road. Judging in itself is not a bad thing, but it’s not the same thing as judging someone in a condemning way. This is what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7:1-2, telling us, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Jesus went even further, saying, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). The Apostle Paul put it in no uncertain terms: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things” (Rom 2:1-2). God’s judgment falls on those who practice sinful things…not our judgment. They will not be judged by our words, but by the Word of God. That judges them.

 

Read the rest: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2019/03/08/what-the-bible-says-about-judding-others/

Be An Encourager!

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 ¹⁷ After that,we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Be an encourager. What is it that would encourage us today dear readers? When we’re trying to lose weight or put it on – doesn’t it encourage us when people notice and say something nice to us? When we are trying to change our shape – exercising more or watching what we eat – it is nice when people notice. When you’re trying to change something about yourself – isn’t it nice to hear someone say something nice about that change? Let’s try to notice others and not be so narcissistic – focused on self so much.

Continue reading: https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2019/03/26/be-an-encourager/