Go into All the World and Make Friends
Body
“Paul didn’t only give the gospel to local believers; he shared his life with them (1 Thess. 2:8). He didn’t limit himself to ministry relationships or even task-focused partnerships.” - TGC
The Priceless Friendship of Jesus
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“What could be better than for Him to not only love us so much that He would die for us, but to actually call us His friends, and not just servants?… (John 15:15).” - Randy Alcorn
Discussion
“Not many habits communicate love more powerfully than listening.”
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“Consider 12 ways to improve your listening and make others feel heard. (My advice: Pick one or two to apply in your next interaction. Once you’ve done that, return to this article and pick another one or two to add.)” - TGC
Discussion
Book Review – David Brooks’ How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
Body
“David writes, ‘As a society, we have failed to teach the skills and cultivate the inclination to treat each other with kindness, generosity, and respect.’” - TGC
Discussion
Intellectual Friendship: Why It Matters
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“it is not enough just to describe what intellectual friendship might look like: robust conversation, charitable questioning, and civil disagreement among friends who are committed to truth-seeking. We also need to explain why it matters” - Public Discourse
Discussion
A majority of Americans have a friend of a different religion
Body
“(61%) report having at least some friends whose religion differs from their own….That includes 43% who say only some of their friends have the same religion they do and another 18% who say hardly any or none of their friends do.” -Pew
Discussion
On Fellowship, Part 5: Covering Both the Bases
Read the series.
Biblical fellowship is a two-sided coin, or a two-edged sword, or a two-way street, or something. (The title of this post strongly implies that I don’t know anything at all about baseball.)
Discussion
On Fellowship, Part 4: Measuring Success
Read the series.
Last time we considered a passage from Ephesians 5 that provided some basic principles to underlie our exercise of fellowship. This time I’d like to consider a different Pauline passage, one that helps us recognize when we’re succeeding.
In the opening paragraph of Philippians 2, Paul exhorts the church to live out their unity in Christ in several specific ways—
Discussion
On Fellowship, Part 3: Getting There
Read the series.
It’s time to look a little more closely at what we’re actually doing as we minister our gifts to one another in the church.
A passage I find helpful in this regard is the opening paragraph of Ephesians 5, which is just one sentence with two main verbs that point us to how we conduct our relationships in the church.
Discussion
On Fellowship, Part 2: What It’s For
Last time we noted that from the beginning we’ve been designed for fellowship, for interpersonal relationships—and that for our time in history, the church is a significant part of God’s plan for that. He even commands us to keep at it.
OK, if God says I’m supposed to fellowship, then I will.
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