blog, Quietly Through 1st John

Quietly Through 1st John (Week 2) :: Fellowship with Him and One Another (1 John 1:5-2:2)

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It’s Tuesday and the second week of our Quietly Through 1st John online Bible study. I’m so glad you came back to study God’s word with me. Please let me know you’re here by leaving a comment at the end of the post or by sending me an email. I so appreciate hearing from you. Fellowship with Him and One Another This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with […]

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Good Friends Don’t Fake It

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But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7, emphasis added) If you look up the definition of the Greek word for fellowship you won’t find the word friendship. You will, however, find several words that describe what friends share — association, community, communion, joint participation, intimacy. You can’t be a true friend to your sister in Christ without fellowship. How do we have fellowship? By walking in the […]

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Why the Most Broken and Hurt People Need to be at Church {Why Bother With Church?}

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Sometimes our real lives, our attitudes and our behaviors are messy. But instead of hiding our messes and pretending they don’t exist, we need to bring them out into the light and deal with them head on. The bravery it takes to unmask the mess is something my friend Julie possesses. Today she is here sharing why we need to bother with church. She courageously handles this subject and gently reminds us how we, the hands and feet of Jesus, need to love and accept broken people. I’m sure you will be moved by her words. Only by […]

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Nothing Knocks the Church Down Faster Than Division {Why Bother With Church}

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Hey Friends, today I’ve asked Kelly to help answer the question why bother with church? She has graciously decided to share a personal story of conflict and forgiveness within her local church. I’m sure many of us can relate to this type of situations. I’m also sure many of us can use and give the forgiveness Kelly encourages here. Only by grace, Kelli Imagine two preschoolers stacking up some blocks and making a tall tower. Then one of them decides he doesn’t want to build together, and with one swift hit he smacks it and down […]

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When You Don’t Have a Church Home {Why Bother With Church}

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Meet Alyssa. You may remember her from a few years back when she shared her testimony here on my blog. I have asked her back again to share how she managed to stay connected to the Church in a season when she didn’t have a “church home”. Alyssa’s story certainly helps answer our question: why bother with church? I’m sure you will appreciate her honesty and glean from her life lesson. Only by grace, Kelli I grew up in the church, and I never once questioned the benefits of attending. In my mind, it was simply somethings Christians were […]

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Chasing Perfect {Why Bother With Church?}

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Hey folks, will you please join me in welcoming Meg to the blog today? Though I haven’t known Meg for long I have fallen in love with her passion for Christ and His Church. I have been inspire more than once by her ability to see the many facets of the Church; which is why I have asked her to helps us answer the question why bother with church? Today she shares the journey Jesus took her on to fall in love with His people. Once your done reading, please be sure to let her know how her story has […]

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The Battle for Connection {Why Bother With Church?}

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Today I am excited to welcome Whitney. Whitney and I have know of each other for years, but only recently, through our shared passion for writing and blogging, have we started to connect as friends. I absolutely love to read her work. She shares from her heart in a way that makes you feel like you are reading a letter from a dear friend. Today she helps us tackle our current topic: why bother with church? I am sure you will appreciate her thoughts. “Forget it. Let’s just stay home.” Read that aloud. Did you hear that? […]

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Is Our Definition of Church Too Narrow? {Why Bother With Church}

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Why bother with church? Why bother with church? It’s a tough question, right? One many of us secretly ask, but rarely voice openly. And it’s time to bring these thoughts out into the light and shine some truth on to them. Last week, when we first decided to brave the topic, we settled on this fact: Jesus loves the Church. So much so that He gave His life for her. And if Jesus loves and bothers with His Church, we probably should too. Is our definition of church too narrow? But here’s another tough question […]

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Doesn’t life beg the question: why bother with church?

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Doesn’t life itself beg the question why bother with church? I need to tell you something. Something that has been weighing pretty heavy on my heart lately. I’d rather not admit it, but I know I’ve got to. I know I’ve got to get some junk out into the light. Are you ready? I don’t care for church right now. There I said it. I know my attitude is wrong, but the first step in fixing a problem is admitting one exists. Right? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us […]

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Our Need for Fellowship and Our Key to Joy

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That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things […]

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