Tag: Church

Love Like Jesus

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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
– John 13:34-35

These verses call us to love like Jesus.

Notice it is a command.  It is not a suggestion for when we feel like it.  We must love one another.  Churches must be places of love for each other.

And it is a new command primarily because it has a new pattern.  We are to love like Jesus.  Go through the entire Old Testament, look at saint after saint, and you will not find a perfect example of love.  But in Jesus, we have that perfect example.  Love like Jesus.

How did Jesus love?  In the context, we could say at least three things.

First, Jesus loved by serving.  At the beginning of John 13, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.  Here was a real need, for their feet were dirty and smelly from walking the dusty roads. 

Love like Jesus.  Serve each other by meeting real needs.  That service might be dirty and messy.  It might be hard.  It might be unpleasant.  Love like Jesus.  What opportunities to serve do you see in your church family?  How might God call you to serve?  In what ways are you already serving?  Love like Jesus – by serving.

Second, Jesus loved by speaking.  You look through John 13-17, and in most of these verses Jesus is speaking. He is going away, and Jesus knows the disciples need instruction.  They need encouragement.  They need prayer.  And so Jesus lovingly speaks words of instruction, words of encouragement, and words of prayer. 

Love like Jesus.  Speak words of instruction – to spur on another Christian to follow Jesus.  Speak words of encouragement – to strengthen another Christian when life is tough.  Speak words of prayer on each other’s behalf – for strength in trial, for growth, for healing, for safety, for victory over temptation.  What words of instruction, encouragement, or prayer do you need to speak?  Love like Jesus – by speaking.

Finally, Jesus loved by sacrificing.  Immediately after that Last Supper, Jesus is arrested, falsely accused, flogged, ridiculed, and hung on cross.  Why does he endure all of this?  Jesus had already told the disciples: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).  Love motivated His sacrifice.  Jesus lovingly sacrificed his life for us, to pay punishment for our sins. He sacrificed Himself so that we might be forgiven. 

Love like Jesus.  Be ready to sacrifice for each other.  How might God call you to sacrifice for your church family?  Maybe your time or some money.  Maybe you will have to sacrifice your comfort or convenience, even sleep.  Love like Jesus – by sacrificing.

And this is how the world will know that we are His disciples – as we obey this command and love like Jesus.  When the world looks at the church, they should see a place of love, a people of love.  A people who genuinely care about each other.  A people who lovingly serve and speak and sacrifice.  This is who Jesus calls us to be.  This is what we are to be known for. 

Love like Jesus

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good pots for your weekend reading:

10 Things You Should Know about Prayer – Donald Whitney (Crossway)
…pray the Bible; that is, to turn the words of Scripture into prayer. The Psalms are ideal for this, but you can also go back and pray through part of your Scripture reading for the day.

The Elusive Trait of Reasonableness – Mark Loughridge (GR)
True wisdom is persuadable or open to reason. It recognizes that we don’t always get it right. That we haven’t necessarily arrived at our final opinion on every matter. That we have our biases, limitations, and blind spots. That situations change and new factors need to be taken into account.  Reasonableness is a practical outworking of our finitude. We don’t have all the answers, we don’t have infinite knowledge, and we are sinners. In short, we can be wrong.

Drained and Depressed by the Internet? Go Outside. – Brett McCracken (TGC)
More than our smallness, nature should remind us of God’s bigness. And that’s ultimately where the “peace” is found—resting in the sovereignty of a God who designed the anthill as well as the Andes, the delicate petals of a rose as well as the sturdy structure of a sycamore tree.

The Small Change That Can Radically Improve Your Church Experience – Aaron Earls (F&T)  I believe one simple change can revolutionize your Sunday morning experience: get there a little early and stay a little late.  Showing up to church 15 minutes before the service starts and hanging around 15 minutes after the service ends can make all the difference. Here’s how….

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church (in whatever way possible)!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Big Thanks for Little Things – Trevin Wax
Grief is good. Lament is appropriate. But gratitude-infused grief and hopeful lament—that’s even better. So, think twice next time you pour that cup of coffee, or slice that delicious pineapple, or open that God-breathed Book on your desk. And give God thanks. He sees you. He loves you. And every good and perfect gift comes from him.

My Gratitude List – Tim Gombis
Each morning I take a very long walk and I begin it by mentally rehearsing my gratitude list. This is important because it reminds me of my identity and the narrative I inhabit. I live in a world of plenty, filled with rich gifts. And I am someone dearly loved by God and I am the recipient of so many good things.

Embracing Fragility – Y. Bonesteele
Have we forgotten that we are not all-powerful? That we are not all-knowing? That we are not in control? Only God is.

Gentleness Amid the Germs – Kristin Pichura
We can and must speak and act with gentleness: with a humble spirit that is strengthened by God’s grace (Heb. 13:9) and motivated by His amazing love that has been poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5).

10 Ways to Thrive in Quarantine – Mark Oden & Stefano Mariotti (TGC)
Here people are finding various ways to survive, but wouldn’t it be good to not only survive, but to redeem it as a gift from a generous heavenly Father?

How to Care for Friends with Anxiety and Depression – Emma Scrivener
“Social distancing” has become the phrase of the day, but what we really need is physical distancing. Socially, we need to be reaching out, more than ever before.

Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You – Brett McCracken (TGC)
In such a precarious and polarizing environment, how can churches move forward in beautiful unity (Ps. 133) rather than ugly division? It won’t be easy. But by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit working to unify us in ways our flesh resists, the opportunity is there for us to be a countercultural model for the rest of the world. 

Hope you have a good Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Uncertainty Is Certain: Trusting God for Every Tomorrow – Marco Silva (DG)

We Never Had Control – Robert Cutillo (TGC)

Don’t Waste Your Ruined Plans – Gaye Clark (TGC)

Normal Again, Thanks to COVID-19 – Ric Rodeheaver (TGC)

It’s Not Often in Life You Get a Do-Over (So Take the Do-Over!) – Tim Challies

Don’t Let Coronavirus Steal Your Corporate Worship – Rob Hill (TGC)

Hope you have a good Lord’s Day gathered as best you can with your local church.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some helpful posts for your weekend reading:

We May Be Confused, but God Isn’t – Paul David Tripp (Crossway)
Today you’ll encounter things that will confuse you, but rest assured the One who rules all those things is not confused.

Locked Down Alone – Tim Challies
But what about those living alone? They are dealing with the lack of physical touch for weeks on end and have no one to keep them company in-person. If you or someone you know is living alone and is about to go into lockdown, you’ll benefit from hearing wise words from those who have been living alone in lockdown for 10 days or more.

Leverage Your Loneliness – Rusty McKie (TGC)
Our first hurdle in the days to come is to choose not to make our lonely places loud places. This moment in history is spoonfeeding us the opportunity to get still and silent with our God. Hidden in this pandemic is an invitation from him to draw near, to be still, and to know that he is God—even though it may feel the whole earth is crashing down around us (Ps. 46).

7 Suggestions for Finding Joy in Isolation – Kimberly Wagner
Breath some fresh air. It’s dangerous to stay cooped up with the Pandemic for too long—I’m not suggesting getting in crowds, but find spaces to safely move outdoors and enjoy the sunshine or rain shower. Listen to the birds, feel a breeze, and take time to thank the Creator for the changing of seasons and spring’s reminder that He makes all things new.

Trusting God In Suffering, Sacrifice, Disease and Death: A Lost Art? – Peter Adam (TGC)
What amazes me most when I read of the lives of Christians who lived before the 1950’s is their positive attitude to suffering, disease, and death. They expected to suffer, they were willing to suffer, and welcomed it as God’s gift. They expected to have diseases, and could welcome them as God’s gifts. And they could welcome death, knowing that ‘to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:22), and looking forward to the joys of eternal life with Christ.

6 Things to Do with Your Anxiety – Justin Taylor
Your mind loses its grip. Fear and anxiety have taken over. Nothing’s safe or certain. Anxiety is a universal human experience, and you need to approach it with a plan.

Why Being Discouraged About Not Gathering as the Church is A Good Sign – Joey Tomlinson  So we are discouraged. We may even be depressed. But here is the good news- your emotions may be telling you, ‘this isn’t how things are meant to be’. So the moment the elders of your church prayerfully decide to open the doors, come. Come and be refreshed by those means the Lord has given us to worship Him and be spiritually built up in Christ. Come with a fresh, biblical perspective on the importance of Lord’s Day corporate worship.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Redeeming the Time in the Days of the Coronavirus – Brent Osterberg (CBCD)
So, let’s consider using this time to do some of the spiritually-enriching things that we frequently say we don’t have enough time for…and let’s pray that these habits stick after we return to more normal life. Consider the following as possibilities…

Everything’s Canceled! Dealing with Disappointment in Pandemic – Abbey Wedgeworth (TGC) It can be hard to know how to deal with personal disappointments, how to feel about our own feels in response to loss. But life in a fallen world is marked by suffering, great and small, and pandemics only highlight what has always been true.  Here are four places the Bible invites you to look as you suffer disappointment…

Come What May: Finding Patience and Joy in a Slow Calamity – David Mathis (DG)
In other words, though the supply lines should fail, and the shelves be bare, and the economy tank, and the virus come to our own city, and street, and even home, yet — even then — this newly humbled prophet will rejoice in the Lord. Will we? Not in our supplies. Not in our health. Not in our own security. Not even in the defeat of the enemy. There is one constant, one unassailable surety, one utter security, one haven for true joy in the most challenging of journeys: God himself. He holds himself out to us as he removes our other joys. Will we lean anew into him?

What Are You Afraid Of? – Michael Horton
As Nebuchadnezzar discovered, we recover our sanity when we lift our eyes to heaven. We’re back in line with reality.  We’re not in charge, and never have been.  We can’t create or save ourselves.  But we have been created and saved by God in Jesus Christ!  Now we can see the needs all around us, our own and those of our neighbors and the creation, as opportunities rather than threats.  We want to play our part in curbing the spread of the virus.  We are called to defend the life of our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable: the unborn, our aging elders, the poor, orphans, widows and all victims of injustice.  We are called to be good stewards of God’s creation.  But this is because we fear God rather than anyone or anything else. 

COVID-19: Living by Probabilities or Providence? – Mike Emlet (CCEF)
Nothing is by chance. Everything comes to us by our Father’s loving and wise hand. Don’t live in these trying times unduly focused on impersonal probabilities, statistics, and risk assessments. They will prove to be an unstable foundation for true hope and reassurance. By all means follow the guidance of your local health authorities, but first and foremost, look to your faithful and loving God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who holds you in the palm of his hand.

How Can We Be the Body When Physically Separated? – Erik Raymond
How can we be the body of Christ when physically separated? While being physically present substantially enhances our fellowship in the body of Christ, it is not the exclusive sphere of our togetherness. In other words, the bond together as a body is not primarily physical but spiritual. This means that we as Christians can still do good to one another, even when we are apart.  Here are five ways we can be the body of Christ, even when we are physically separated.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

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Here are some good posts to help us learn from and respond to the coronavirus situation:

10 Gifts I Pray God Gives The Church Through The Coronavirus – Orion Berridge (FTC)
Today, I am going to pray that these 10 things would happen and I am going to lead his church toward these things because I have fresh hope – a hope like I have never had before!

8 Things the Coronavirus Should Teach Us – Mark Oden (TGC)
The story of the Bible is the story of a God who entered a world infected with this virus. He lived among sick people, not wearing a chemical protective suit but breathing the same air as we do, eating the same food as we do. He died in isolation, excluded from his people, seemingly far from his Father on a cross—all that he might provide this sick world with an antidote to the virus, that he might heal us and give us eternal life.

10 Ways in which this Coronavirus Pandemic Can Be for Our Good – Brian Najapfour
So how can this coronavirus be for our good? Let me suggest ten ways in which this virus can be for our good.

How To Make the Most of Lockdown (Tips from Christians in Italy) – Clay Kannard
So, this is a new, once-in-a-lifetime (I hope) experience and we are learning as we go. What are some of the things we have learned in these past weeks since lockdown began?

9 Ways to Love Your Neighbor in This Pandemic – Justin Whitmel Earley (TGC)
One of the primary postures of a Christian is outward. Our salvation means that the curse of the inward curve of sin is broken, and we’re now free to turn outward—to love God and neighbor.

Hope you have a good Lord’s Day meeting online with your local church!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Everyone is thinking about the coronavirus, and it is important for us to think about it as Christians.  So here are some good posts toward that end:

The FAQs: Coronavirus Explained by an Infectious Disease Expert and Pastor – Miguel Nunez (TGC)
This is a good time for Christians to demonstrate sanity, peace, and hope, recognizing that our lives do not depend on the entry of a micro-organism into our bodies. Instead, it depends on the God who determines the beginning and the end of our history on earth.

Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus? – Todd Wagner (TGC)
Prayer-infused confidence, compassion, and selflessness should mark how we talk about the coronavirus. Why? Because our Savior put on flesh (John 1:14) and stepped into our sickness, sin, and death. He healed the sick and cared for the hurting. We must do likewise.

Anxiety, Waiting and the Coronavirus – Alasdair Groves (CCEF)
A virus is seeping across the world and has reached our shores, and we don’t know how treacherous it’s going to be. God is calling us to continue forward in love of neighbor and service to his kingdom, but all we can see are public surfaces potentially covered in germs and neighbors who may be walking vectors of disease.

Neighbor Love in the Era of COVID-19 – Kathryn Butler (TGC)
The question we should be asking ourselves, isn’t which supplies to stockpile in preparation for an apocalypse, but rather how to support those at real risk for losing their lives to this swiftly moving disease.

Dear Christian, When The Pandemic Hits, This Is Our Time – Akos Balogh  (TGC)
But whatever happens, dear Christian, know this: this is our time. God has raised us up for such a time as this. It’s no accident you’re here.  This is our time to think not about ourselves, but about our neighbours. Many of whom are scared, and will only grow more so as the virus spreads. This is our time to hold out the Word of Life to those around us—and give hope to those who are afraid, and are wondering what’s going to happen. This is our time to trust our God no matter what the future brings. For, unlike our secular neighbours, we know where our hope lies. We know where our security lies. We know where our future lies.

The Best Laid Plans – Matthew Hosier
The world we have created tends to make us very arrogant. We feel we are in control because of the general predictability of our systems and services. But really we are not. CV19 is humbling us.

Ten Things I’ve Loved about the Coronavirus Lockdown – Jonathan Whitman Coronavirus is scary.   Certainly a few important questions come to mind: When will it end?   Will we survive? How will we pay the bills? How will I survive the boredom of being stuck inside with nothing to do?  The good news is that God ordered Israel to stop often…not just once a week. There were good reasons for that. Here are a few tips I have come up with from my first week of lockdown.

You’re Not a Bad Pastor If You Cancel Services Over COVID-19 – Ronnie Martin (FTC)
In the end, you’re not a bad pastor if you cancel services over COVID-19. In this unique season, God will provide you with wisdom and faithfulness as you seek His face. Allow the assurance of Christ and the riches of his gospel to be the death of any guilt, anxiety, or fear that threatens to condemn you. Be reassured by His faithfulness, and rest well.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Guide for Christian Leaders – Andy Crouch (Praxis)
The reason to alter our practices, especially the way we gather (see below), is not self-protection. For one thing, in the case of this particular virus, if individuals are young and healthy, infection may pose not much more threat than the ordinary seasonal flu. The change is needed because our vulnerable neighbors — those of any age with compromised immune systems, and those over 70 years old — are at grave risk. One of the basic axioms of the Christian life is that the “strong” must consider the “weak” (see Rom. 15). We are making these choices not to minimize our own risk, but to protect others from risk.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our hope in the Lord!

Passion Points

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Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

9 Ways to Guard Your Personal Relationship with God – David Murray (Crossway)
Here are some things that have helped me to keep my personal relationship with God personal and avoid falling into the trap of relating to him only through my ministry to others.

Patterns of Providence – Warren Gage (Ligonier)
Like the underside of grandmother’s cross-stitch,the everyday of our lives may look to be knotted and hopelessly tangled. But when we turn the fabric over, we see design and beauty that was there all along but that we never foresaw. Joseph’s life is like that.

5 Habits to Practice the Presence of God at Work – Justin Whitmel Earley (TGC)
Here are my top five habits for practicing the presence of God in busy and tech-driven offices.

Church Should Be Your Excuse for Missing Everything Else – Grayson Gilbert (Patheos)
We convene with the local church each weekend because we are betrothed, not as individuals, but as a body, to our Lord, Jesus Christ. We assemble together because He has assembled us together. We gather while it is still called “today” because we will be gathered together in His great halls with the believers of all time.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

10 Things You Should Know about the Presence of God – J. Ryan Lister (Crossway)
The church has two clear purposes: 1) the church works within itself for the sanctification of its members to prepare God’s people for God’s present and future presence; and 2) the church works externally to share the gospel so that the lost may enjoy God’s presence now and forever as well.

Masters of Self: Cultivating Gentleness in an Age of Outrage – Scott Swain (DG)
When the vice of anger is the spiritual diagnosis, Holy Scripture prescribes the virtue of gentleness or meekness as the spiritual medicine. Gentleness is the spiritual virtue that tempers or moderates the desire for vengeance we experience when we suffer or witness injustice. According to Protestant moral theologian Niels Hemmingsen, gentleness is “the virtue by which minds that have been rashly stirred up toward hatred of someone are restrained by kindness.”

Six Marks of Maturity to Look for in Your Life – Colin Marshall (SA)
So, who are the really mature Christians in your church? What’s the grid that we use to measure maturity?

One of the Church’s Greatest Needs – R. Kent Hughes (Crossway)
The church cannot prosper with deception among its members—and God wanted to make this clear for all time. Deception wounds the body of Christ—makes it dysfunctional—and is a sin against God! This is why Peter cried to Ananias at the moment of his death, “You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:4).

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping the Lord with your local church!