Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 To resolve conflict, it's important to get to the heart of the matter.  People are encouraged to actively listen to each other and understand where each person is coming from.  But if that's to be successful, we need to understand not only the heart of the matter, but what's in our hearts. Strife and conflict.  We see it in families, in the work place, at school, in the political arena and even in churches.  It's nothing new.  As long as there have been human beings, there have been disagreements, feuds, broken relationships and war.  We even find it in the pages of the Bible. In his letters to the Corinthians, Paul is writing to the Body of Christ in conflict.  These early gentile Christians were struggling with how to live a new life as followers of Jesus.  Arguments and conflict abounded.  In the thirteenth chapter of Corinthians, Paul told them that it's not about who's right and who's wrong.  What mattered was what was in the

"...  and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds...  " --  Hebrews 10:24  ( Amplified Bible) "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."  -- I Thessalonians 5:11 (NRSV)       To encourage means to:   give support, confidence, or hope to someone; give support and advice to someone to help them do or continue to do something; thelp stiulate development.  Encourage and building each other up go hand in hand.  Here are some ways we can encourage and build each other up which will in turn help us become healthy, thriving churches. 1.  Have high regards, great respect and favorable thoughts for each other. 2.  Be thoughtful and intentional when you speak.  Consider where someone is coming from and choose wisely your words. 3.  Be gracious.  When someone makes a mistake, be quick to forgive.  There's grace enough for everyone. 4.  Be understanding. "

Colossians 3:12-27 For ten years, fashion consultants, Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, helped people change their lives by changing what they wore on the TLC program, “What Not to Wear.” The participants were required to bring in their clothing which the hosts of the show went through and threw out all the items of clothing that didn’t belong in their new wardrobe. Galatians 3:27 tells us that when we are baptized we put on Christ. So, the question today is, what belongs in our spiritual wardrobe and what doesn’t? MESSAGE If you went to your closet and picked out an outfit that describes who you are today, what would it be? Maybe like me, you’ve got clothing that you’ve kept too long. Maybe it doesn’t fit anymore. Perhaps you look at it and wonder, “Why did I ever buy that” or maybe you’ve held on to it for sentimental reasons or are hoping it will come back into style. Stacy and Clinton and many others would advice us to get rid of t

Luke 3:15-1, 21-22 But now thus says the  Lord , he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.   (Isaiah 43:1) Remember your baptism and be thankful. The people of Israel had been watching and waiting for generation upon generation. When John the Baptist came preaching repentance, they watched and “questioned in their hearts” if John was the Messiah, the Savior promised by God that they had been waiting for, longing for. Our hearts long for many things:       The captive dreams of freedom,  and the broken-hearted long for comfort, The person afflicted by illness yearns for health and wholeness and those who mourn grieve for those they have lost. The stranger and the out cast hunger for community and acceptance, and the wandering soul seeks meaning and purpose. The things of this world cannot supply the unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness that