The Church, impartial providers of love and kindness?

The Church should be a place that welcomes all kinds of people from all walks of life. The book of James describes this in detail, James 2:1-6. How do you respond to those who worship with you? Do you show impartial love that treats everyone as a spiritual sibling?

When considering our trials and times of suffering it might be easy to dismiss Jesus' sufferings as something entirely different than what we are experiencing. The good news is that Jesus does understand exactly what you are feeling and relates to your experience as if it were his own (see Hebrews 4:15-16).

Can you belong with God?

One of the great themes of modern life is finding your place, or a place to "belong." Christ invites everyone to join him and find a place of belonging with him and with those who follow him (Rom 1:6). Our belief that we must perform to a certain standard to be with Christ and his church is not only false, but it limits the love God has fro and wants to show to you.

Holey ground

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray to avoid temptation and evil (Matt 6:9-15). As Christians, we sometimes believe that we are not capable of committing "certain sins." However, the Bible makes it clear that any one of us could fall into any sin. What sin do you find so contemptible that you believe you couldn't commit it? Are you judging others for that sin?

Tearing up the debt

As Christians, we have been forgiven all of our sin-debt to God, because of the payment made by our Lord, Jesus Christ. This great gift gives us the model to follow when we consider how we should deal with those who owe a debt to us. Are we able to forgive the way Jesus forgave us? Matt 6:9-16

Saving vs hoarding

While the Bible seems to acknowledge the benefits of a wise saving plan(Gen 41), it warns us against trusting in our savings (Matt 6:19-21).  Could this be the reason God's special provision (manna) had to be gathered daily and could not be stored? This limitation kept the food from being hoarded, or used a currency. Are you wisely saving for the future, or are you hoarding God's gifts?

Give Us, not just Give Me

When Jesus instructed his disciples in prayer, he gave them the famous line, "Give us this day our daily bread."(Matt 6:11) As Christ's disciples, modern Christians might consider the plural in this line. God encourages us to remember those around us while we pray for our very sustenance.