We are starting a brand new series – Won’t You Be My Neighbour? Fewer and fewer people today know their neighbours, and with social media, high mobility and a busy pace of life, it’s natural to question if our neighbours matter – whether they are in the next house, cubicle, GO Train four-seater or beyond.
In this series, we’ll be looking at following through on what Jesus said was one of the most important things: Loving God and Loving our Neighbours.
What would you most like to learn in this series? Tell us in the comments form below!
The daily challenges explore one new idea each week on how to live as a follow of Jesus in today’s busy, commuting lifestyle. Please don’t do the challenges alone for long – share it with someone from the train, bus, carpool or neighbourhood, and grow a small discussion group from there.
It all starts September 9th, when you’ll find the first few days posted here.
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Yesterday, we explored how a church community is meant to be a gathering, sometimes even just for fun and fellowship.
You might think church has always meant a religious gathering of Christians on Sunday morning. But in the Bible’s Greek language, church had another meaning before that. The Greek word for church is ekklesia which literally means “an assembly” or “gathering of people”. But not just for its own good. It’s called out to be and do something specific. This week’s passage says gathering together is not just for encouragement to love, but for encouragement to good works.
We are meant to be a preview of the world as God wants it to be. We are meant to make people say wow. Unlike the church I described yesterday, people are supposed to look at our community (even at its business meetings) and say, “Wow! That’s how we are supposed to relate with each other, and our world, and God. I can see it now!” They are meant to see the Kingdom of God in us.
Aristides was a philosopher in Athens in the second century and he observed the first Christians, the early church, and this is what he recorded about them in 125 AD.
“They walk in humility and kindness, and falsehood is not found among them. They love one another. He that has distributes liberally to him that does not have. If they see a stranger they bring him under their own roof and rejoice over him as if he were their own brother.”
Aristides looked at that first church, that earliest gathering of Christians and he said WOW.
Have you ever looked at a team, group or organization and said, wow? Why? Think of the Snowbirds, or a great dance troupe.
Our church today meant to make people say wow…because of our generosity and love of one another, that spills over to the lives of others near us.
We’re intending to becoming this kind of church through our discussion groups first, and also when our discussion groups come together as one community for celebration.
Challenge: If you’re not already meeting with a group, please do. What act of generosity and service can you do with your discussion group, or family, that will make others in your life say wow? Think of one thing internal to your group that you do for each other, and one thing your group does for others.
Reminder: Last week we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.
This series looks at becoming “like family” with others learning to follow Jesus. We're exploring how the church is not a building, institution or event, but a community of people. It's important that explore what church means as we prepare to launch a new church in Ajax in 2014.
We are starting a brand new series – Won’t You Be My Neighbour? Fewer and fewer people today know their neighbours, and with social media, high mobility and a busy pace of life, it’s natural to question if our neighbours matter – whether they are in the next house, cubicle, GO Train four-seater or beyond.