So… our last week of Core Values. I’m going to approach Continuity through the analogy of an island. If you lived on an island with just your family and cut off from civilization, you could avoid a lot of the hassles of being in community. You could set your own schedule, your own guidelines, your…
This Sunday we have our 3rd Core Value of Specificity. Probably the least common of all the 4 key terms. That means some extra explanation of the concept. I’m going to be preaching from 1 Peter 4, especially verse 10. It’s a very nice summary of how God has given each of us a gift for…
I’m going to be teaching from Acts 5 in the Ananias and Sapphira passage. Might seem like a strange passage for this topic, but stay with me. Three times in the book Luke mentions how powerful the work of God was as illustrated by people selling their properties for the common good. Seems this is…
So we start our annual review of Core Values. Simplicity first. This is the sense that while life isn’t easy, it isn’t really complicated. Or it doesn’t have to be. It is possible to focus on just a few things and turn away from the many distractions that call out to us. For the sermon…
Chapter 4 is about endurance in the face of setbacks. Paul feels beaten up in many ways, but also hopeful. His perspective on the great value of the ministry given to him keeps him going even when he’s physically and emotionally exhausted. He focuses on the eternal, not the temporary. So maybe some questions would…
This chapter is mostly about fractured church relationships. This comes up quite a bit in the early church. It was certainly no haven of peace and tranquillity. Paul refers to a situation where the group confronted somebody about something (we’re not sure what- it may or may not be the same guy whose sin they…
