As we have been looking at New Testament teachings on being a healthy member of the body of Christ, we have looked at a number of things such as encouraging one another, serving in the body and serving one another, and giving. My hope has been that we all would realize how much we need each other and how much our health as a member of the body of Christ really depends on our involvement in each other’s lives. As we survey the New Testament, there are more than 50 verses that deal directly with our relationships with others, which we see in the English form of “one another.” While there are certainly a few of these that are cultural standards not currently practiced here in America (like greet one another with a holy kiss!), the majority of them apply directly to me and you.
It is interesting to note that around one-third of the one another’s deal directly with our maintaining unity with other believers in the church, Continue Reading →
We’ve all done it (well, at least if you are a parent you have). You finally walk into Sunday Morning Service and fall exhausted into your chair – after a hurried morning and lots of guilt, you are in no place to worship. I would often drop my children off with a plea to behave, but after being rushed and prodded all morning they struggled not to cry. That was almost three years ago and I just had two little ones to get ready in the morning, with the upcoming arrival of our third baby, (then fourth and now fifth). I knew something had to give. Slowly we started to implement the following system to prepare for Sunday Mornings. My goal wasn’t merely timeliness, but holiness. More than anything, I wanted my children to have fond memories of Sunday Mornings and not view Mommy as a fanatical hypocrite.
Over the last few weeks we have been looking at what it means to be a healthy member of the ‘Body of Christ.’ We began by looking at encouraging one another by each other’s faith, which as you might guess, involves community…spending time with one another, whether in ministry or outside of ministry, such as in our homes, coffee shops, or even on vacations. We then looked at serving one another, which again involves community. We, as individual members, collectively make up the body of Christ, and we each have been given a gift to serve one another in the body. The (super)natural byproduct of our serving one another is that the body grows. So you can see that being a Christian, or a healthy member of the body of Christ, requires us to be involved in each other’s lives so that we are able to walk in a manner that reflects what the New Testament teaches. How does ‘giving’ come into this picture of community? 
If missions excites you, then you should rejoice! That should be the heart of everyone who has been redeemed. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is a command to ALL believers to go and make disciples. So if you’re ready and willing to follow this command no matter the cost, this means that you are an obedient Christian. Everyone should be passionate about missions. Wait, you wonder, aren’t some senders and some goers? Regarding physically going overseas, yes. Missions demands a full effort of all believers, senders and goers. And while not everyone should leave America, everyone should be actively making disciples—no exceptions. Therefore, everyone is called to missions.
This month our book cart is featuring several biographies of Christian leaders from the past. They are written for an audience of young readers, especially those in the early elementary grades. However, even the older children will enjoy reading them, and it might even give you a sample taste that will spark a desire for reading more detailed biographies.