How does our community share one another's needs and problems?  How do you share your needs and problems with your church family?

I had just returned from a trip away from the family. The kids were in bed, and I was looking forward to a relaxing evening with the Mrs. As we were winding down for the night, she received a message. Three friends of a friend are stuck in Rome for the night and need a place to stay. Commence: my grumbling as we get three beds ready.

How does our community visibly show godly affection?  How do you show visible affection for your church family? 

Does our community "welcome one another" well?  How have you seen "care for one another" happen?  Can you think of a way to put these passages into practice during the week?

Over the next nine weeks, we will look at nine different practices of a Christian Community found in Scripture.  I'll talk about some of them, but I mainly want you to look up the Scripture passages and answer the application questions.  But...that's just the start.  After answering the application questions, do it.  Put it into practice in our Christian community.

Now and then, you may be asked what you believe about God, Jesus, the church, and the Bible.  Sometimes you may feel compelled to share your faith with another person.  Always, we are to be ready to give a defense for the hope that we have in Jesus.

Too many have told me they were born in the church, so they've always been Christians, not according to God's Word.  The apostle Paul teaches us that we begin spiritually dead.  We were saved from our sin only when Christ came to us and brought us to life.  Until this happens, there is no other hope to which a sinner can cling.

What does genuine concern for the welfare of a church look like?…But should the everyday Christian care about the welfare of his or her church?  If so, what does the Bible have to say to believers and their part in caring for the welfare (health) of their church?

It's been said that it's often easier to tell people about Jesus across an ocean than across your street.  Do you find that to be true?  One of the greatest challenges with living across an ocean can be that we forget we were chosen and sent there by God.  And that the people of that nation, however "backward" they may seem, are not enemies, but sinners like us in need of the message of Jesus.

King David, the psalmist who wrote this, was incredibly transparent about his fears. He was sure he would die either at the hand of the Philistines, or his king, Saul…Even so, he trusted the Lord despite fierce opponents and dire circumstances. But, Why did he trust the Lord?

Maybe you had some extra sleep (maybe not).  Maybe you were able to have some significant conversations with one another.  Maybe you heard something said in one of the sessions that brought comfort or godly conviction and helped you find renewed joy in the Lord.

All too often, church leaders go on offending, even sinning without anyone saying anything until it is far too late...What should you do when a pastor or elder offends, whether they outright sin against you, or merely give you the impression that they don't seem to care about you?

But what is accomplished was the proclaiming of the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.  The gospel of the risen Savior was heard and seen, displayed by his body loving one another and welcoming the stranger. 

Later in Luke 17:22-37, Jesus gives us a picture of his kingdom taking effect during everyday, ordinary life. This text has a view of both an 'end times', but also the present time. He will return one day, but even now, as we live our ordinary lives, he is changing hearts.

When given to sin, our meditation when we are alone "on our beds", will be assailed by plans to carry out the "gratification of the flesh".  Most likely, we are not planning a murder or a bank robbery, but the aim is the same, the self-righteous "me-centered" orientation of planned intentions.

If you asked me how I liked growing up cross-culturally, I would always say, “I LOVED IT!”  And I do.  And I did even then.  But what I didn’t realize until years later was the grief processing that always comes with living an ex-pat life.  

Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Christ, saying that he was not fully God. This is because they do not believe that Jesus is one with the Father according to orthodox Christian belief in the Holy Trinity. Instead, they believe that he is a created being. This belief comes, in part, through a faulty understanding of Colossians 2:15

Paul describes the growth trajectory of believers in a church by using the figurative language of being knit together in love .  Paul wants his struggle on behalf of the believers in Colossae to have a uniting, binding, interweaving effect on them.

…to continue telling others why Jesus is precious to him and why God has placed you 'here, now'.  Because our joy in the gospel is communal, the more we share the gospel, the more joy we'll experience in Christ.

We've all had those moments where something is lost in translation between our native language and the native language of another person. Having a guide that speaks the language, knows the culture, and can help you through is really helpful.