I recently found a website that has 40 years of content and everything is free. Seems pretty awesome.

jesuslifetogether.com/With-You-Now BibleStoriesOnline.com SystemOrEcosystem.com

Have you ever thought about the fact that the nature of the Church is that if I don’t love and have a relationship with Jesus, then I don’t have a basis of existing in the Church? There’s no other way IN to Jesus’ Church than a relationship with Jesus or at least a hunger for Jesus. There has to at least be some desire to please Jesus because of this Person – Jesus of Nazareth. That’s so different than “I think I’ll become a Christian, or I think I’ll attend this church.” The very basis of our relationships together in the Church is centered around our Love of Jesus.

When we miss that, and we institutionalize ourselves in any way, it creates these other avenues in…things other than this Love of Jesus. And once we’re institutionalized, we can’t tell who loves Jesus and who doesn’t anymore.

When one man stands in a pulpit and is the official presenter of all Truth, you have no idea what’s in anyone else’s heart. Not only does it disobey scripture, which says, “When the second has revelation, let the first one sit down.” Not only does it disobey – flat, plain and simple – a simple command of the scriptures, but the reason that command is there is because God intends that the motives of the heart would be laid bare.

The beauty of an Organic Church is that it strangles the carnal man. People who want to “have church” on their “own time” and in their own way? People who want to know “what time the meeting will be over” so that they can have “THEIR day” back? People who love their lives…won’t want it.

God has designed things the way He has with no props. The same way that Jesus lived with the twelve. The same way the twelve lived with the three thousand without any props, without anything to hold onto, without any official designated thingamabobs 🙂 He designed it that way so that people who don’t really love Jesus feel some sort of tension there. There’s something that is exposing about it.

The only way you’ll ever know if someone else loves Jesus is by what a person does when the Shepherd’s voice is applied to their LIFE and heart on a daily basis. That’s the only way you’ll ever know. And this can only really be walked out in an organic environment. You can’t tell it from a pulpit. You can’t tell in a Bible class. You can’t tell in a series of “house church” or “cell group” or “organic church” meetings. If it’s an institutional environment, it’s hopeless. It’s totally hopeless. In a Sunday morning, Wednesday Night, Friday Night small groups existence, you can’t tell who loves Jesus. You can’t even tell if the preacher loves Jesus on Sunday morning – because all you hear is words. There’s no way to tell who loves Jesus outside of organic, devoted relationships with one another – the body of Christ being knit together and needing each other, living for each other, glorying in each other’s gifts rather than just their own, and receiving each other’s gifts rather than fearing the lack of their own.

What they could get away with for forty years in a Sunday, Wednesday environment with a clergyman they can’t get away with day in and day out in an organic environment. And our assumption is, of course, that they don’t want to get away with it. They don’t want to be dull. They don’t want to be cut off from Jesus. They don’t want to be disConnected from the Head. They want to have a love affair with the Master Teacher. Our assumption is that everybody, if they really knew what that was, would want that. And so our job then as the Church looking at things from the helicopter is to have such a climate or such an environment that if I’m not doing well – there’s a Nathan some place close by to say, “You are that man.” There’s somebody right there around me. “Admonish one another daily so that none are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” And “as long as it’s called Today” make it happen. That’s God plan for building his Family and keeping us from being hardened and deceived, which is such a common situation in just about any generation.

In an institution, in an organization, what happens is that the traditions of men blind us so that we’re not grieved when the Spirit’s grieved. If something is grieving the Spirit, doesn’t it make sense that it would also be grieving the Church? If the Spirit of God lives in the Church and a person is grieving the Spirit in their personal life, doesn’t it make sense that it would also grieve the Church, if the Church is really in tune? Is that all fair and reasonable?

We’re supposed to be the pillar and foundation of Truth – the Household of God – according to Paul and yet we’re misrepresenting God or under – representing God. We make people feel comfortable even though their lives are very grievous to God on a personal level. Do they want to be grievous to God on a personal level? If you asked them I think they’d say no. Most people, I think, want to be in a place of pleasing God and living for Him and serving Him. I mean, we can make that assumption, but they’re not getting the help they need because the environment does not provide the food they need. “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” There’s a famine in hearing the word. These are very old themes of God that “without revelation the people perish. They cast off restraint.” If the revelation of God is not before God’s people, then they’re going to perish. They’re going to wander. They’re going to go astray. They’re going to be wounded and their wounds are going to become infected rather than bound and healed.

I’m not really interested in giving details and specifying tremendous amounts of things. It’s just paramount that we keep sifting and sorting. Where does it end? It doesn’t. It never will end. There’s always going to be things that we’re relying on because of our flesh, because of our blindness from the past, because of our fears, because of our lack of revelation. We’re going to keep finding things as the days go by that are not like Jesus – that are not part of the Son of man and the Son of God’s way to approach the Father and to approach other people. I just want to give you the flavor so you can taste the difference between Ishmael and Isaac, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, the Spirit and the flesh, and facilitating our own needs and desires and propping up our flesh to protect us and all of that. I just want you to see the difference between that and a vulnerability before God that allows us to not need any props, to not fear anything, to not fear our memories, to not fear what people may think – which I’m afraid to say drives a whole lot of things in our world.

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The House Church Life by Bill Wagner can best be described using his own words. “These pages capture the kinds of conversations we had, the lessons we learned, and the values that quietly shaped our community – discipleship, accountability, responsibility, restraint, worship, love, and life lived in the presence of others.” The excerpt below is about love.

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Jesus did not say the world would recognize His disciples by their correctness, their volume, their arguments, their political alignment, or even their moral clarity. He said they would be known by their love.

That should stop us in our tracks.

I once asked a congregation a simple question: When do Christians retire? The better question is this: When do Christians retire from a God-given call?

A calling comes from God, and a calling ends only when God releases us. As long as we have breath, influence, and opportunity, we are called to love, to serve, and to reflect Christ. There is no retirement from obedience.

But many believers misunderstand what a calling actually looks like. A calling is the place where love meets obedience, expressed through the gifts God has placed in you.

“A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7

Spiritual gifts are not trophies; they are tools. They are given so that love can become visible, practical, and effective in the lives of others.

I remember a sixth-grader named Ben who went on a mission trip to Mexico with much older students. When asked what gift he used to serve God, he answered without hesitation: “I like to play.“

So that’s what he did. He played with children. And through something entirely natural to him, joy spread, relationships formed, and Christ was quietly made visible.

Love does not always look impressive. It looks faithful, consistent, and ordinary.

Many believers want to declare love, but Jesus calls us to demonstrate it.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Love is proven over time-by patience, restraint, humility, and how we treat people when we do not get our way.

That includes how we respond to frustration. That includes how we speak when misunderstood. That includes how we treat those who oppose us.

“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you.” Luke 6:27

We are allowed to be angry. Scripture acknowledges that. But how we express anger reveals whether love still governs us.

“Be angry and do not sin, Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” Ephesians 4:26

Uncontrolled anger, sarcasm, contempt, and public shaming may feel justified, but they erode our witness. They do not advance the kingdom of God.

I once witnessed a situation where hostility was met-not with force, not with defensiveness-but with calm, respect, and patience. No one “won” the argument. But peace prevailed. Accusation lost its power because love left nothing to attack.

“When possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ” Romans 12:18

Love does not mean agreement. It means restraint, clarity, and self control under pressure.

Jesus said the world would recognize His followers by their love. That means people are measuring us-whether we like it or not.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

The question is not Are we right? The question is Are we recognizable as Christ’s? If people leave our presence feeling belittled, dismissed, or dehumanized, then regardless of our position, God was not honored in that exchange.

The early church did not conquer governments. They conquered hearts. They loved one another visibly. They cared for the sick. They protected the vulnerable. They adopted the orphan. They fed the po0r.

And the world took notice.

“See how they love one another,” the world observed–not because Christians were dominant, but because they were different.

Jesus did not command His followers to win culture wars. He commanded them to make disciples.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20

The battlefield is not coercion. The battlefield is public witness through love.

Truth without love hardens hearts. Love without truth lacks direction. But truth expressed through love transforms lives.

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

The world will not be changed by louder Christians. It will be changed by holier, kinder, steadfast ones.

Let us return to what Christ made unmistakable:

Love one another. Not selectively. Not conditionally. Not strategically. Just as He loved us.

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The excerpt below is from A Meal With Jesus by Tim Chester.

Hospitality involves welcoming, creating space, listening, paying attention, and providing. Meals slow things down. Some of us don’t like that. We like to get things done. But meals force you to be people oriented instead of task oriented. Sharing a meal is not the only way to build relationships, but it is number one on the list.

It’s possible to remain at a distance from someone in public gatherings – even in a Bible study. Meals bring you close. You see people in situ, in life, as they are. You connect and communicate. Novelist Barbara Kingsolver describes dinnertime as “the cornerstone of our family’s mental health.” “If I had to quantify it,” she says, “I’d say 75 percent of my crucial parenting effort has taken place during or surrounding the time our family convenes for our evening meal.” Generous hospitality leads to reconciliation. It expresses forgiveness. Unresolved conflict can’t be ignored when we gather round the meal table; you can’t eat in silence without realizing there’s an issue to address. Paul uses hospitality as a metaphor for reconciliation when he says to the Corinthians: Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one…” (2 Cor. 7:2). Hospitality can be a kind of sacrament of forgiveness.

Marzipan cake. That’s how my friend Chris knew his mother-in-law had finally accepted him into the family. Now every cake she bakes for him is a reaffirmation of that acceptance. It makes the cake doubly sweet. That’s how food so often works. We enjoy food not just because of the taste, but because of the companionship and welcome it expresses. Indeed sometimes we enjoy food despite the taste because of the love in which it’s packaged. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Prov. 15:17).

Many people love the idea of the church as a community. But when we eat together, we encounter not some theoretical community but real people with all their problems and quirks. The meal table is an opportunity to give up our proud ideals by which we judge others and accept in their place the real community created by the cross of Christ, with all its brokenness. It’s easy to love people in some abstract sense and preach the virtues of love. But we’re called to love the real individuals sitting around the table.

“Those who dream of this idealized community,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer warns, “demand that it be fulfilled by God, by others, and by themselves. They enter the community of Christians with their demands, set up their own law, and judge one another and even God accordingly.” But, Bonhoeffer says, “Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” So “we enter into that life together with other Christians, not as those who make demands, but as those who thankfully receive…. We do not complain about what God does not give us; rather we are thankful for what God does give us daily.” This means that the disillusionment we experience when we encounter real people with their problems is a reminder that we “can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ.”

Hospitality will lead to “collateral damage.” Food will be spilled on your carpet. You’ll be left with clearing up. Your pantry may be decimated. But remember that God is welcoming you into his home through the blood of his own Son. The hospitality of God embodied in the table fellowship of Jesus is a celebration and sign of his grace and generosity. And we’re to imitate that generosity.

Meals also have the power to shape and reshape community. A person to whom we may have related in one role becomes a person to whom we relate as friend. Serving another changes the dynamics of a relationship. The leader who serves at table is no longer aloof.

Meals indicate social status, and they thereby allow us to transform social status. They’re a microcosm of social reality that we can manipulate. “Food is a social substance and currency. What one is able (and chooses) to serve expresses one’s own position and helps define one’s relationship to others. What you, the guest, are offered is a measure of your standing in the eyes of society and your host.” This is what Jesus is doing in eating with the marginalızed. The marginalized cease to be marginal when they’re included around a meal table. The lonely cease to be lonely. The alien ceases to be alien. Strangers become friends.

We live in a graceless culture. Not a graceless world: every bird-song, every kindness, and every meal is a sign of God’s ongoing grace toward his creation. But we live in a graceless culture of competition in which we’re all trying to get ahead. It’s a culture of insecurity in which we’re all trying to prove ourselves. We hold grudges, envy success, protect ourselves. In the race to the top you either tread on the competition or they will tread on you. In contrast to the God of Exodus 34:6-7, we’re unforgiving and quick to anger. We measure out our love, hold grudges, and get away with whatever we can. Look into the faces of the people on the subway and see the toll the rat race takes on its victims.

In this culture our shared meals offer a moment of grace. A sign of something different. A pointer to God’s coming world. “Life in the kingdom…demands that we adopt a new set of table manners, and as we observe this etiquette, we become increasingly civilized according to the codes of the city of God.” Around the table we offer friendship and celebrate life. Our meals offer a divine moment, an opportunity for people to be seduced by grace into a better life, a truer life, and a more human existence.

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This excerpt is from a small book entitled The One Thing: Christ in You The Hope of Glory by Milt Rodriguez.

Singular vision is important. In the Song of Songs, it talks about having dove’s eyes. A dove has peculiar eyes; a dove can only focus on one thing at a time. And doves, by the way, mate for life. They have one mate for the rest of their lives. Whenever you see a dove, you’ll always see another dove. They’re always together. And they have singular vision. That’s why in the Song of Songs it talks so much about the dove and the dove’s eyes. Singleness of vision, singleness of focus.

One focus means no distractions. When you’re focused on one thing, it’s easy to focus on it. If I’m looking at one person, then I can’t look anywhere else. If I look anywhere else, I’m distracted, right? And the way our minds work, they can only focus on one thing at a time anyway. Do you realize this? You can try little exercises to test this. Start by counting in your mind. It doesn’t take much effort, it’s almost automatic, right? Then, while you are still counting, have someone ask you a question. See if you can answer their question and still keep counting. You can’t do it. Our minds are made to focus on one thing at a time. God made us that way for a reason, didn’t He?

One spirit. One mind. One purpose. One heart. One goal. One focus. One vision. The one thing.

Oneness and togetherness are very important in the Lord’s house. All of the parts of the body must depend upon each other in order that Christ would have His suitable expression. These parts flow together in the spirit by something called “agape love.” That is, by laying down their lives for one another. This “one anothering” is one of the pillars of body life. Being the body of Christ is a way of life.

Functioning as the body of Christ is not attending a meeting once per week. It is not going to a building once a week and listening to a sermon, singing a few songs, and then going home until next week. Can you imagine the following scene? Once or twice a week your physical body disassembles, and all the parts of your body go to different buildings in different parts of town. Can you imagine what that would be like? That’s not a real body at all. That’s just body parts scattered all over town trying to be spiritual.

True spirituality is based upon the Spirit of God, and He would never separate and be so dysfunctional. It’s way past time for us to get a powerful revelation and vision of God’s eternal purpose: That He would be expressed through a body of people who are all living and functioning as His body under His direct headship.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For, in fact, the body is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:12-14). From here, Paul goes into describing the other parts of the body and how they all need one another and should care for one another. Then he goes into describing the different giftings and how they complement one another and need one another.

Speaking very clearly and boldly here: How can anyone read Paul’s description in 1 Corinthians 12 and claim that he is describing a bunch of people sitting in pews in a building with one person up front
doing all the functioning? Paul is describing something totally different. He is describing a body made up of humans who have the living Christ inside of them. Each of them is both spiritually and practically the body of the living Christ. Is this glorious or what? Is this awesome or what? Is this really rare on the earth or what?

One spirit. One mind. One purpose. One heart. One goal. One vision. One focus. One body. The one thing.

The true ekklesia of God that we read about in our New Testament is nothing like what we now see around us in the present religious system. It’s none of the following: a physical building, an organization or business, a “service” or meeting of some kind, a hierarchical system whereby there is some kind of chain-of-command, where you submit to someone and they submit to someone else, hence, an authoritarian system. Let me be clear: There is no such thing as a “church building.” There is no such thing as a “sacred building.” The ekklesia is not anything conceived or constructed by humankind. Unfortunately, the true ekklesia of God that we read about in our New Testament is nothing like what we now see around us in the present religious system.

As I mentioned before, the word ekklesia in the Greek means an assembly or gathering. Of course, in the first century they had many kinds of gatherings for many different purposes. There were assemblies for family gatherings, governmental meetings, political meetings, educational gatherings, business meetings, and on it goes. There were also gatherings of the people of God.

These gatherings, the ekklesia of God, were built and are being built together into one house for the Lord. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints [God’s holy people] and are members of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Chief Cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues to increase growing into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him and in fellowship with one another, you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).

The ekklesia of God is built together into one house for God. When Jesus and the apostles spoke and wrote about ekklesia, they were referring to a spiritual, Godly, and heavenly type of meeting. Even though these gatherings were happening on earth, there was much more happening in the heavenly realms. That is the kingdom of heaven happening on this earth.

One spirit. One mind. One purpose. One heart. One goal. One vision. One focus. One body. One house. The one thing.

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Excellent textbook on the early church. Rediscovering The New Testament Church by Anthony Jacomb-Hood is a 300 page work with ample footnotes and appendices. Not for the casual reader, this is an in-depth work. The excerpt below is about leadership in the New Testament church.

The most profound teachings about leadership in the New Testament are implicit in the most general commands to all believers as to how we should treat one another. The most important of these is the commandment that Jesus identified as the second greatest commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself” (NIV). Jesus also expressed this command in Matthew 7:12 as “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets,” and the parallel passage in Luke 6:31 says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (NIV). Similarly in Philippians 2:3-4 Paul says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It is wonderful when Christian leaders live out these commands. Almost all spiritual abuse results from disobedience to these commands.

Another closely related group of commands includes Ephesians 5:21 where Paul commands all believers to move in mutual submission. This means that Christian leaders need to submit to all believers. Similarly in Luke 22:25-27 Jesus says that Christian leaders should be like servants and not “lord it over” their followers. The parallel passages in Matthew and Mark not only say that Christian leaders should not “lord it over” their followers, but also make the point that the path to greatness and being first in the kingdom of God is to first become a servant or slave. Peter uses the same phrase in 1 Peter 5:1-3 “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder,..not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (NIV). In 2 Corinthians 1:24 Paul also uses this phrase to describe his relationship with the Corinthians. The essence of mutual submission in the context of Christian ministry is for groups of individuals working together to make jointly decisions relevant to their joint ministry. In my opinion it is only the individuals who are involved in a particular ministry who participate in the consensus decision-making process for that ministry. Others may of course provide advice.

The link Jesus makes in Matthew 20:25-28 between Christian leadership and service/being a servant is a recurring theme throughout the New Testament. Several passages make clear that Christian leaders are expected to serve other believers. Several other passages teach that Christian leaders (like all believers) are servants of Jesus.

The word “ministry” is often used to translate the Greek word diakonia. It has become so widely used as a word describing the work of Christian leaders that it is easy to forget that the root meaning of the Greek word is serving. Similarly, the modern term “minister” which is often used to translate the Greek word diakonos, is so commonly used as a title for a Christian worker that it is easy to forget that the root meaning of this word is “servant.”

The Greek word doulos (slave or servant) is also widely used of Christian leaders. In several passages this word is used to describe Christian leaders as the slave or servant of other believers. In many passages this word is used to describe Christian leaders as the slave or servant of God. In other passages this word is used to describe all believers as slaves or servants to God. In Philippians 2:7 we are told that Jesus became a slave and that this is an example for all believers to follow.

It is implicit in the command for leaders to “not lord it over” other believers and in the use of the words servant and slave to describe leaders, that Christian leadership is not about organizing and directing ministry. Servants and slaves do not tell others what to do, nor do they have special rights. Leaders are expected to state clearly what the Bible teaches on moral and doctrinal matters. This teaching may include training for ministry.

Paul commands leaders to be gentle when dealing with those who oppose them. For example, in a personal conflict where Paul had been unjustly criticized he chose to “entreat…by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” However, sometimes it is appropriate for a Christian (either a leader or an individual who is not a leader) to rebuke another believer. Paul also expects leaders to lead in humility. Humility and gentleness are key to Christian unity.

Christian leadership is not defined by certain roles and responsibilities that may only be performed by the leader. Believers who do not serve in a formal leadership role are free to contribute and lead in the same ways as identified leaders (e.g., elders). All believers, including leaders, are expected to contribute to church assembly meetings and to participate in other ministry as Jesus leads them. As individuals do this, they often end up providing leadership to a portion of an assembly meeting (e.g., by teaching or by leading the assembly into worship using a particular song) or they may provide leadership to ministry outside of assembly meetings. Being a Christian leader is about watching out for the spiritual community and encouraging and helping individuals to walk closely with Jesus so that they are available to be used by Him.

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The first half of You Are The Church by Steve Lorch covers the fundamentals of how to study the Bible. The second half explores fellowship, communion, prayer, evangelism, baptism and church leadership. The excerpt below focuses on fellowship. This book is an easy read and highly recommended.

There is perhaps no greater statement regarding Christian fellowship than that which was made by Christ Himself: “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20) We are instructed not to “forsake our own assembling together” (Hebrews 10:25) for in some profound, divinely inexplicable way, as we come into the presence of our brethren, we come into the presence of God. However, true Christian fellowship differs greatly from mere social interaction. It is more intentional, genuine, and purposeful. Biblical fellowship is practiced through authentic relationships and service. It is something that must be experienced rather than explained.

Let us be perfectly clear that “going to church on Sunday” is not the Biblical requirement or definition of fellowship. The truth is, fellowship occurs whenever and wherever “two or three have gathered in (His) name.” Size and/or formality have nothing to do with it. When referring to fellowship, the Bible uses the Greek word “koinonia,” meaning “mutual participation, community, and intimacy.” In short, it means sharing life together through mutual encouragement, support, accountability, and service. Consistent fellowship with other believers is a vital and necessary part of our own personal spiritual growth. Fellowship is essential for the building up of the body of Christ and none of us can (nor should) go it alone.

All Christian fellowship should exhibit certain fundamental characteristics if it is to be effective. First, we must be committed to sharing life together in a very real and tangible way. The early Church “who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.” (Acts 2:44-46) We need to ask ourselves the question, “Are these people truly our friends and family?” Do we get together and share meals with each other on a regular basis? Do we share good times, bad times, family moments, or holidays with each other? Would we let each other borrow our money or our most prized possessions? Could we spend a month in each other’s homes if we have to? If any of these questions make us uncomfortable, then we still have some room to grow in our concept of fellowship.

Second, we need to be completely honest with God, with ourselves, and with each other, especially when it comes to our transparent confession of sin. “What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:3-9) “Therefore, confess your sins to one another…” (James 5:16) Being open enough to confess our sin to each other requires a great deal of trust. To break that trust is to violate the very body of Christ. There is absolutely no room for gossip of any kind. What is said within the fellowship stays within the fellowship.

Third, Christian fellowship involves sacrificial service to one another. “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11) “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

On a final note, there is an appropriate time for us to discontinue fellowship with another believer in the exercise of Church discipline. This is a necessary function within the body of Christ and we cannot afford to be neutral or complacent about it. Church discipline must be conducted Biblically and with a great deal of prayer. Our motivation should always be out of love, and our goal should always be for the reconciliation of the backslider. The Bible lays down very clear guidelines for the exercise of Church discipline. Jesus said, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17) Paul reinforced this teaching by instructing us “not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a swindler – not even to eat with such a one…Do you not judge those who are within the church?…Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 5:11- 13) Church discipline is never comfortable, but it does have positive results. When the backslidden brother or sister shows genuine repentance, then we must show them genuine forgiveness and welcome them back into fellowship. “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)

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I recently spent some time with David Dyer, author of a book I really enjoyed entitled Let My People Go! You can read an excerpt here. David also completed The Father’s Life, a translation of the New Testament. You can obtain a copy at no cost by requesting it at www.agrainofwheat.com.

(From David Dyer) This version of the New Testament was written to clarify an essential truth of the gospel message. This is the concept of eternal life. Many, if not most believers, think that receiving eternal life means that their human life has now been extended forever. This, however, is not true.

Much misunderstanding about this important truth comes from the inadequate translation of the word “life” in the New Testament. While in English we have one word “life” which encompasses a vast spectrum of meaning, the ancient Greek is much more specific. They used at least three words.

One of their words “BIOS” essentially means biological/physical life. The second word “PSUCHÊ” refers to our soul life or psychological life. The third word “ZOE” was chosen by the writers of the New Testament to refer to the uncreated life of God.

When we believe into Jesus, it is this ever-existing life which is born into us. We are actually “born of God” (John 1:12) and become his sons and daughters. What the new birth is not is our old soul-life receiving permission to live forever. Instead, it is the life of a Divine being (God
himself) being implanted within our human spirit (John 3:6). So we see that gaining “eternal life” is actually getting the life of an eternal being which comes to live within us. It is not our own life living forever.

So this translation of the New Testament was undertaken to try to clarify this truth for the benefit of all believers in Jesus Christ. As you might imagine, this truth has many ramifications and benefits which this translation also attempts to convey in a clear way.

(From John 5) “Furthermore, the Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has committed all judgment to the Son so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t revere the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and is believing the One who sent me has the Father’s eternal life and will not receive the sentence of condemnation, but has crossed over from death into the Father’s immortal life.

“Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming and, in fact, has now come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who understand it will receive God’s life. For as the Father has his life in himself, even so also he granted to the Son to have this same life in himself.

“Furthermore, he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is a son of man. Don’t be astonished at this because the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out: those who have done good to the resurrection of the Father’s life, and those who lived a careless life to the resurrection of judgment. “I am able to do nothing which originates with myself. As I hear from the Father, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I don’t seek my own will but the will of him who sent me.

(From 1 Corinthians 14) If then the whole group of called-out ones is assembled together and everyone speaks with an unknown language and some people who are uneducated or unbelieving come in, won’t they say that you are crazy? But if everyone prophesies and someone unbelieving or uneducated enters, he is reproved by all and he is judged by all since the secrets of his heart are being revealed. And so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

What is the proper way to conduct your meetings then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a psalm; has a teaching; has a revelation; has a message in an unknown language; has an interpretation. Let everything be done for building up the others.

If anyone speaks in an unknown language, it should be done by two, or at the most three people, with each taking their turn. And someone should interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep quiet in the gathering of the called-out ones. Let him speak to himself and to God.

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