Print this page

Return to Sermon Page

Food for Thought

For the week of June 6, 2010
(Questions and Scriptures for further study)

1. This weekend Larry mentioned that there are over 30 “one another” commands in the New Testament that are nearly impossible to fulfill without being in relationship with other people.  Here are a few of them. After reading each verse below, identify the “one another” command in each one.
  
John 13:34-35
    "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." _^[NIV] 

Romans 12:10
    Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. _^[NIV] 

Romans 12:16
    Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. _^[NIV]

Romans 14:13
    Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. _^[NIV] 

Romans 15:7
    Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. _^[NIV] 

Romans 15:14
    I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. _^[NIV] 

Colossians 3:16
    Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. _^[NIV] 

1 Corinthians 12:25
    so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. _^[NIV] 

Galatians 5:13
    You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. _^[NIV] 

Ephesians 4:32
    Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. _^[NIV] 

Ephesians 5:21
    Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. _^[NIV] 

Colossians 3:9
    Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices _^[NIV] 

1 Thesssalonians 5:15
    Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. _^[NIV] 

Hebrews 3:13
    But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. _^[NIV] 

Hebrews 10:24
    And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. _^[NIV] 

Hebrews 10:25
    Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. _^[NIV] 

James 4:11
    Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. _^[NIV] 

James 5:16
    Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. _^[NIV] 

Looking back on these verses as a whole, what general observations can you make about them?

Which one or two of them do you sense the need to work on in your life right now?

2.  We heard this weekend that the church is the body of Christ, a living organism made up of a variety of people each with a role to play.  In Ephesians 4:1-16, the Apostle Paul captures the balance between the unity we share as the body of Christ and the diversity we have as members with differing gifts.
  
Ephesians 4:1-16
    As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism; [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
    [7] But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. [8] This is why it says:

    "When he ascended on high,
        he led captives in his train
        and gave gifts to men."
 
[9] (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? [10] He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) [11] It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, [12] to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
    [14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. _^[NIV] 

What does Paul say is the goal of the unity in diversity that he writes about in this passage?

What do you see as your part in helping North Coast become mature?