Skip to main content

Folder Message

“The Professor’s Confession”

By

Philip Yancey

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.  Ephesians 3:6

“Community” is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives, says Henri Nouwen. Often we surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, which forms a club or a clique, not a community. Anyone can form a club; it takes grace, shared vision, and hard work to form a community.

The Christian church was the first institution in history to bring together on equal footing Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free. The apostle Paul waxed eloquent on this “mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God.” By forming a community out of diverse members, Paul said, we have the opportunity to capture the attention of the world and even the supernatural world beyond (Eph. 3:9–10).

In some ways the church has sadly failed in this assignment. Still, church is the one place I visit that brings together generations: infants still held in their mothers’ arms, children who squirm and giggle at all the wrong times, responsible adults who know how to act appropriately at all times, and those who may drift asleep if the preacher drones on too long.

If we want the community experience God is offering to us, we have reason to seek a congregation of people “not like us.”

Pray-

Lord, remind us that the church is Your work, and You have brought us together for Your good purposes. Help us extend grace to others.

Charge-

The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world.  

- G. K. Chesterton 

#Copied

#November

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of God's word and called it 'pluralism'. We have worshipped other gods and said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar'. We have endorsed pervertion and called it 'alternative life style'. We have exploited the poor and called it 'lottery'. We have rewarded laziness and called it 'welfare'. We have committed adultery and called it 'playing around'. We have committed fornication and called it 'having fun'. We have killed unborn children and called it 'choice'. We neglected to discipline our children and called it 'building self esteem'. We have abused power and called it 'politics'. We have converted our neighbour's property and called it 'ambition'. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it 'freedom of expression'. We have ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Story Time

  Lisungu Chieza from Zimbabwe was 26 when she was told in 1996 that she was HIV+. "This started my long journey of coping with being HIV+. My husband died in my arms at home eight months later." Not only did Lisungu have to cope with her own illness and losing her husband, but her husband's family also wrongly blamed her for his death. They came to her house, took away his things, and said, "If those children of yours get sick, don't even call us. We won't have anything to do with them or you." They would not even let her go to her husband's burial. "I gave up a college course I had planned to do. All I thought about was death. I neglected my children and myself." But her mother supported her. Lisungu began to find hope again and joined an HIV support group. Then she started to help others who were also HIV+, and took a college course about HIV-AIDS. She spoke at HIV meetings with the young people in her church. She believes that it is ver...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theme Days For May

    13 February World Radio Day   3 May World Press Freedom Day  16 May International Day of Light  17 May World Telecommunication and Information Society Day   23 September International Day of Sign Languages  28 September International Day for Universal Access to Information  30 September International Translation Day  5 October World Teachers’ Day   24 October World Development Information Day   21 November World Television Day  Why are these days important to us even in May? This is because these days play a role in adding to the sum total of our Aim and Objectives in TLF.  But note that 17th of May is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day the "D" day, we are going to focus on issues of the communication in modern times.  In the course of the year, join us in carrying out the various activities lined up in accordance with our themes. Remember that our cardinal projects are to dist...
Post a Comment
Read more