Isn’t it amazing how a minor disagreement can grow into something bigger than you would have thought possible? And maybe even hurt more people than you would have thought possible? Maybe you've met someone who said about a friend or a spouse, “I don’t know exactly when it started. We both got so irritated with each other, and it just grew and grew. We never thought it would end like this.” But it did. When someone hurts us, our natural response is to get defensive—build a wall. But then there’s war and far-reaching consequences. There's another way. Today, in our worship series “You Need a Friend,” we’ll learn from two early church leaders with feet of clay (like ours): Paul and Barnabas. Here’s our prayer: Lord, help me to be friend when we disagree.
"Why can't we all just get along?" You've heard that or even said it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could? Because of the world we live in and the condition of human nature, it won't always happen. You will be attacked by sickness, Satan, and, possibly, even friends. What then? You'll need a friend. Today, may the Lord bless you as you learn from two characters in the Bible, David and Jonathon, about the importance of friendship… especially when you're attacked. We’re glad you’ve joined us to worship the greatest friend imaginable, Jesus, and receive from him the greatest gift possible: grace.
Public health journals are filled with studies demonstrating the importance of friendships for a person's well-being. A recent survey (The American Perspectives Survey) finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support. It's one thing for us to imagine why that is; it's something else for us to value friendship for what it is: a gift from God. Who gives the gift of friendship to you? To whom are you giving the gift of friendship? This weekend we begin a three-week series on friendship. Each week we'll ask the Spirit to teach us through biblical models of friendship and determine how we might put what we learn into effect in our lives. This week: You need a friend when you're depressed.
Our celebration of the Reformation this weekend is less about lauding Martin Luther and company and more about maintaining God's Word as is. We thank God for preserving his message of free salvation by grace through faith. The "re-" in "reformation" tells us that we are doing something again or going back to something. With God's Word, we never need anything new; we only need to go back to it and read it again and again.