'Church life' Tagged Posts
Annual Family Meeting: An Invitation
This Sunday at 5 p.m. we will have our annual all-church Family Meeting. I am asking as many of you as possible to attend this gathering time. What is the big deal about an annual church meeting? We will affirm new LifeWay elders. Over the last few months, three new names were submitted as possible elders. An interview team has independently vetted these three candidates and is now recommending their acceptance into the Council of Elders. The three recommended…
Breaking Bread, Sharing a Table
There are times when I like to read the Bible slowly, and even in a repetitive fashion. Now, of course I read chapters of the Bible most of time in the same fashion we all read—rather quickly. But I like slow reading, too, as I will go back and review a verse or two over and over again, thinking carefully about why certain words or phrases were used the way they were. This is true of the short passage in…
Let’s Start the Walk
This Sunday, we will be continuing in our series through “The Postcard Epistle.” Last week, we started by diving deep into the first three verses. That whole sermon was definitely more on the head knowledge side of things, but I hope that you found it helpful in understanding just how rich scripture is and how much is there. In understanding the context of the book we saw that, most likely, the Elder was John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee,…
Why Does a Church Membership Matter?
I was talking with Heather this week about how, when Christians think of church membership, many think it is necessary mainly because it gives them the right to vote on church matters. In most churches as in LifeWay, only ballots of members can be counted as legitimate. Church membership is necessary also for those who aspire to hold official church leadership positions. From this, many conclude that church membership is necessary mostly for organizational reasons. Other than that, Christians usually…
Discipline in the Church
Today, I am going to talk about something no one likes to talk about: Discipline. No one likes to receive discipline or to give discipline. We don’t even like to talk about it. What’s even worse than discipline is church discipline. It is very sensitive, and demands wisdom and prayer. But it is also very necessary because God takes sin seriously. Matthew 18 lays out the steps as good as anywhere in the Bible, how to discipline an individual within…
Missions: The Third Pillar of Christian Living
The Three Pillars of Christian living are community, discipleship, and missions. When one is a part of a LifeGroup, then he or she brings to reality in the 21st century the three essential things 1st-century Christians set out to do soon after our Lord Christ Jesus ascended into heaven.
Community: The First Pillar of Christian Living
If it was essential to the Christians to live close lives with each other in the 1st century as they went and made disciples of all nations, and I do believe it was, it is and should be essential for you and me today.