Who are your neighbors? Do you know their names? Their story? Their beliefs? Evaluate your relationships with them. Are you close? Distant? Would they say you care about them? What about your co-workers? Your friends? Your classmates? What does it mean to have godly relationships with the various people in your life? Are we justContinue reading “Are you a quality friend? A good member of your community? – Relationships: In your community, Preview”
Tag Archives: bible
How not to leave a church – Relationships: In the Church, Part 5
Did you know that when a pastor leaves a church, anecdotal evidence suggests that 25% of the congregation will also leave the church as a result? Not a guaranteed stat. It could be way less. Could be more. But it should be zero, of course depending on the situation. What I am referring to isContinue reading “How not to leave a church – Relationships: In the Church, Part 5”
Why dying to self and rising again are the way to have healthy… – Relationships: In the Church, Part 4
We continue the story of Jesus to see how his birth, life, death and resurrection is instructive for church family relationships. We celebrate Jesus coming in the flesh at Christmas. We must also consider Good Friday, as Paul reminds us in Philippians 2 that God, who was willing to take on human flesh, also tookContinue reading “Why dying to self and rising again are the way to have healthy… – Relationships: In the Church, Part 4”
The model for healthy church families – Relationships: In the Church, Part 3
In Acts 2:42-27, we read about the marks of church family relationships. First, the earliest Christians were devoted to the Apostle’s teaching. This is the beauty of having the apostles’ teachings preserved in Scripture. Church family relationships are guided by the teaching of the Bible. We, too, even though we live 2000 years later, canContinue reading “The model for healthy church families – Relationships: In the Church, Part 3”
Why churches large or little need small groups – Relationships: In the church, Part 2
From time to time, people have communicated to me that there are cliques in Faith Church, as if our church family should be one big close family. We are about 100 people. There is just no way that 100 people can be equally and deeply close with one another. To believe everyone in a groupContinue reading “Why churches large or little need small groups – Relationships: In the church, Part 2”
The surprising beginning of the first church family – Relationships: In a church, Part 1
Calling the people in a local church congregation a “family” is pretty normal in Christian circles. In fact one of the most common ways that the New Testament writers refer to the people in a church congregation is by using the terms “brothers” and “sisters”. We are siblings in Christ. I wonder if that soundsContinue reading “The surprising beginning of the first church family – Relationships: In a church, Part 1”
Can the people in a local church be a family? – Relationships: In the Church, Preview
Just about all our Faith Church emails start with that same line “Hi Family of Faith Church.” Are we really a family? Next week on the blog, we continue our five week topical series about relationships, next studying what God’s word has to say about the people who make up a local church. There areContinue reading “Can the people in a local church be a family? – Relationships: In the Church, Preview”
Sometimes healthy relationships need boundaries – Relationships: Family, Part 5
Sometimes family relationships need boundaries. As a family grows, we simply cannot care for everyone deeply, and frankly some people don’t want to be cared for. Worse, some people are toxic. Some are abusive. When people behave badly, it is okay to impose boundaries on theme. We place boundaries on relationships to stop the hurt,Continue reading “Sometimes healthy relationships need boundaries – Relationships: Family, Part 5”
Sibling rivalry and the Fruit of the Spirit – Relationships: Family, Part 4
We’re talking about relationships, and this is part 4 in our five-part series on family relationships. We’ve looked at husbands and wives, singles and then parents and children. In this post, we’ll discover what the Bible has to say about siblings. We parents earnestly desire that our kids will be close friends. Sibling rivalry, however,Continue reading “Sibling rivalry and the Fruit of the Spirit – Relationships: Family, Part 4”
How the Fruit of the Spirit helps us be healthy parents – Relationships: Family, Part 3
One of the unique ways that married people can serve the Lord is by choosing to grow their family by adding children. Not all married couples will have children, and we would do well to pay attention to the couples who want to have children but wrestle with infertility. We reach out to them withContinue reading “How the Fruit of the Spirit helps us be healthy parents – Relationships: Family, Part 3”
Engaging Scripture 