Every Church Needs Knowledgeable Elders – The leadership must not stop growing because they are called leaders, they must continue to grow because they are leaders. (2 Peter 3.18)
Every Church Needs Leading Elders – Leaders need to Lead! Just because a title is gained, leadership does not quit. The continual leading of others to a high plain is vital in the development of their lives. Leader must keep leading!
Every Church Needs Seeking Elders – Leaders need to be actively seeking others to develop and step up to take a leadership role. The development of future leaders is a now concept, it cannot wait until a problem arises. The vision cast by the leader needs to take the team to the next level.
Every Church Needs Prepared Elders – If a leader is actively leading, very few problems within in the congregation explode and cause a major dilemma. As long as the leaders are preparing the church, his work and his future, the situations of the future are being grasped and prepared for as well. Be assured that an active leader is one who is getting to know the team and the goals. He is working with them to seek achievement.
Every Church Needs Loving Elders – Without love, leading is worthless. Yes, you can lead a congregation without loving them, but the results will not be one of greatness. Leading out of love allows the leader to practice the Golden Rule – “Do to others what you want done to you.” Leaders leading out of love find a genuine concern and care for those following them. They are able to reach down and pick them up to the next level because they care about the success of the followers!
The church today needs strong leaders.
The church today also needs the sheep to encourage the shepherds.
Schedule Time for Each Other –In the midst of a hurried and mobile society it may seem like an exaggeration to schedule time for your marriage, but consider it for a moment. Many of us are so highly involved in our careers, our children’s school, church activities, coaching sports teams, working out, running and reading we might not have time for our marriages. Well, it is time to make time. Schedule a date night with your spouse or even some time to grab a cup of coffee. Make Time!
Pray for Each Other – You might already do this, but evaluate your prayer life. Stop praying about how God should change your spouse for your benefit and pray that God will change you both for His benefit!
Stop Using the Word “I” – Try an experiment, when you are discussing your marriage, stop using the word “I.” (You may only use the word “I” when you are describing the mistake or fault you have.) Instead of “I” use the word “we”.” This simple change creates an encouragement and unity to build your marriage.
Have a Devotional Together – A devotional does not have to be a theological discussion of the variants of the Greek text; it may be a time where you read a passage and discuss what it means in your relationship.
As I give these tips, I leave out the things I take for granted:
Telling your spouse you love them
Hugging and kissing your spouse
Going to Worship with your spouse
I give these tips in addition to what you do as a couple. Finding time and using that time to grow closer together is a quality many couples talk about, but they are only done when the bottom begins to fall out.
Each week there are a few things followers of Christ do to strengthen their relationship with the Lord and to enhance their relationship with each other. Though the world sees them as simple, the deeper meaning behind each one is the key to a long lasting, strong fellowship.
Each week, Christians meet to commemorate the Lord’s Death on the Cross (Luke 22.19; 1 Corinthians 11.23-26) as the Christians in the first century did (Acts 20.7). It is during this time each person’s mind should reflect on the sacrifice of Christ (1 Corinthians 11.27-32).
Each week, Christians meet to pray together. The Bible speaks of the power of prayer in passages such as James 5.16, “The prayer or a righteous person has great power in its working.” Christians know not only the power of individual prayer, but also the power of united, group prayer (Acts 4.24-31; 12.5; 20:36)
Each week, Christians meet to sing. Passages such as Ephesians 5.19-21 and Colossians 3.16 speak of the singing of Christians. Their singing was to God and each other, but it came as a result of their salvation in Christ. The realization of salvation from sin should be enough to make anyone sing for joy (James 5.13)
Each week, Christians meet to study God’s Word (Acts 20.7). The study of God’s word was a core practice among the early church and not just on the first day of the week, but through the book of Acts, you will find they were constantly studying the Book (Acts 17.11) because they understood it was their inspired guide to salvation (2 Timothy 3.16-17).
Each week, Christians give. When a need arose, the early Christians sought to fill that need for the brethren. Whether it be a famine, hardships or supporting the work of the gospel, the early Christians stepped up to meet the need (1 Corinthians 16.1, 2; Acts 4.34-35; Acts 11.29)
Each week, and throughout the week, the early Christians met together to draw closer to God knowing that, in turn, he would draw closer to them (James 4.8). Their fellowship with each other was greater because of their desire for God and as a result, they found a greater fellowship with each other.
Let us strive together to strengthen our fellowship by drawing closer to God and closer to each other.
By the time you read this another app on your phone or computer will be facing another update. For some, this means nothing, but for others you will understand it will mean an adjustment to learning the new system and all of its bells, whistles and frustrations.
Every new update usually means another set of bumps and issues. Due to the quickly expanding world of technology, many software manufactures try to quickly get their product into the market and as a result, they can complicate something to the point of angered frustration.
After putting up with several technological issues, I am thankful that God made the plan to live with him simple. Take a moment and read Habakkuk 2:2 and see that God wanted His message written plainly.
“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
There is not a technological aspect to the plan God has shown to man through His Son Jesus. God knew man would not be able to save himself, because we were created to make our own choices and in such cases, we choose to leave the foundational principles of the Word of God and make our own path. Salvation through God is simple, but sometimes man creates the problem.
Consider those on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Each person was committed to following God because they had made the journey from other regions to be there for the Pentecost celebration. While celebrating the feast, Peter (along with the 11) became a Spirit-filled spokesman for the Almighty God. The message was personal and pointed. During Peter’s message, the people realize, “What shall we do?” Peter’s answer was simple and pointed.
Peter’s words were…
(1) Repent
(2) Be baptized.
God plan is simple because He wants all me to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
I am glad God’s plan is not technical, but simple.
I hope every member considers one another this morning. There will be someone at services who has had a horrible week and will not tell anyone. They will put on a face of joy, but deep down their heart breaks. I wonder if they will ask their spiritual family to pray for them. (Hebrews 3:13)
I hope someone gets a fresh start this morning. Someone needs a fresh start and Christ provides that in baptism. His blood cleanses each one from sin and allows them to begin as a new person in Christ. (Romans 6)
I hope each member welcomes visitors into our assemblies. It is hard enough visiting, but it can be made harder when no one speaks to you. May our brethren stretch forth their hands to welcome those who visit.
I hope each member understands the brief sermon is presented after countless hours of thoughts, prayers and study. Even though it is over in 30 minutes, the knowledge it contains will reach to eternity.
I hope every minister knows they are loved. Whether it be the outpouring from the brethren or the encouraging words of a visitor, I hope each minister knows God cares for them and will always watch over them.
I hope to see my brethren in services, but if not, I hope they reach out to the ones who are absent; a card, note or call is an uplifting message to those who cannot make it to services.
The constant battle of the “good angel” on one shoulder vs. the “evil angel” on the other is portrayed as the battle each Christian faces in the midst of daily life. Choices arise every day testing our beliefs and some of those choices challenge us more than others.
How should we handle the choices of good and evil?
The answer is simple but the actions are hard.
We should all put the evil out of our lives in order to serve the Almighty God, but the practical application might not be an easy one. Each person has desires and emotions towards things we may know are wrong but we wish to hang onto those a little longer.
God, knowing the deeds and thoughts of man, instructed the Israelites in the Old Testament to purge the evil from the camp. Consider these verse in your study – Deuteronomy 13.5; Deuteronomy 17.7; Deuteronomy 17.12; Deuteronomy 19.13; Deuteronomy 19.19; Deuteronomy 21.9; Deuteronomy 21.21; Deuteronomy 21.22; Deuteronomy 22.24; Deuteronomy 24.7
At least 11 times in the book of Deuteronomy, God wants the Israelites to purge the evil from their midst.
Looking at the above from a historical point, one can see how the relationship the Israelites had with God grew powerful when they listened to His words, then grew apart when the Israelites did not heed the words of God.
As the creator and provider for mankind, God knows and has seen man struggle with the battle of good and evil on a daily basis, hence God’s words to mankind to “purge the evil” from the midst. God wants the best for man so He provided words to hear.
The apostle Paul understood the influence of one person on the congregation of the saints. When dealing with a continual immoral-living person, Paul speaks of their influence when he says, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5.6; ESV). Paul knew that even one person’s example affects the whole group.
As Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 5, he says the leaven must be cleansed. Each person reading this understands that the evil must be purged from the group, because of the influence which will rub off on one another.
While one today may think Paul’s statement to be harsh, the history of purging evil goes back to the Old Law.
When evil is not purged from our lives, we become calloused to the emotions we once felt. To give you a modern day example, several years ago the hit television show, “Leave it to Beaver” was censored for showing a bathroom. Have you seen something worse than a bathroom on television today? Has our viewing of television calloused us to the things of the world once thought of as being appalling?
What do you need to purge from your life? What influences are not what the Lord wants?
