Church Groups [35:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 [+/-]1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 [14]And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. [15]See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. [16]Rejoice always, [17]pray without ceasing, [18]give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [19]Do not quench the Spirit. [20]Do not despise prophecies, [21]but test everything; hold fast what is good. [22]Abstain from every form of evil. (ESV)

I recently finished reading a book written by a man who was very slow in coming to faith in Christ and then connecting with a church.  He is now a pastor but found surrendering to that call to preach very difficult and has found it impossible to do ministry in the context of the traditional church.  When asked about the reason for his reluctance to enter the church and his resistance to ministry in the traditional church, he gave a two word response, “church groups.”  Then he told his story about when he was an adolescent and then college student working in the restaurant business and watching when church groups came in.  He would say about them that they were more demanding than any other group of people and if they gave to their churches like they tipped, their churches were hurting.  And he would add that he never worked in a restaurant where the employees dreaded any time like they dreaded Sundays right after church when the church groups would come to eat.  I would wish that none of what this man saw was true, but I have been a part of such groups and have seen actions from church groups that blemished if not blasphemed the Name by which we are called.

Learn more about this message by downloading the sermon notes here!

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed