Bulletin Thought

Nov. 6, 2016

A Thought from Pastor Bryson,

Thankfully, a “brutal” campaign and election season is finally coming to a close. One has to wonder though, given all the hostility between the candidates and their followers, how healthy will we be as a nation after the election?

As I think of the health of the nation, I also think of the health of the church. How healthy are we as a church? I’m not thinking of health in terms of how many people attend or how much money the church has or gives out; I’m thinking of health as it relates to our relationship with one another. Granted, attendance and dollars do matter, but if the relationship between the members is not healthy it does not speak well of our being good witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Consider the following passages as they relate to church health:

John 13:34-35 NKJV = “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples.”

John 17:20-21 NKJV = I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

I Cor. 12:20-21 NKJV = But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

Eph. 4:1-3 NKJV = I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV = And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling or ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Indeed, our nation may be divided, but may we the church, the body of Christ, live together in love and harmony, exemplifying the presence of the Savior in us, always remembering He’s coming again.