Tag Archives: Love

Doing LIFE together!

Posted by Bill on September 29, 2012

Small groups are groups of 5-12 people (believers, with or without un-churched friends), who meet in homes and other places each week for the purpose of “doing LIFE together”. (LIFE is an acronym for Living In Fellowship to Evangelise.)

In the context of mutual acceptance and love, healthy small groups aim at providing safe and intimate environments whereby strangers can become friends, and friends can become family.  In this ideal setting, believers can discover, use, and develop their gifts, enabling their church to grow in health, strength, and love (Ephesians 4:16).

I believe, as a consequence of healthy, growing, and full of love small groups, our un-churched friends will be attracted to the church, and will, in time, taste the goodness and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ – resulting in their salvation! Friends, we were created to do life together.

Healthy, growing and full of love!

Posted by Bill on September 22, 2012

Small groups are not new. 

They’ve been around in one version or another since the first followers of Jesus Christ.  For Jesus’ disciples, meeting in homes was an integral part of ‘every day’ church life.

Today, a number of churches are experiencing amazing growth in spiritual health, maturity and size, because, besides the weekend services, their members are also meeting together in small groups to worship God, share Scripture, share life with  one another, and reach out to un-churched friends through practical expressions of love.

If your church is serious about wanting to see explosive growth taking place in the lives of the members then the development of healthy small groups is the best way to grow.

Small groups are ideal contexts for building authentic community, godly servant-hearted leaders, and through which the Kingdom of God may be expanded.  Therefore, our desire should be to establish expanding networks of small groups in the life of our church that will effectively … Equip God’s people to do His work, and build up the church … so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love (Ephesians 4:12,16).

The full extent of our love

Posted by Bill on September 13, 2012

Even though I love and appreciate you very much, I believe this love and appreciation has not yet gone far enough. As I continue to grow-up into the likeness of the Lord, I expect to draw closer and closer to showing you the full extent of my love.

John recorded in his Gospel account, “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love” (John 13:1 ). Showing His disciples the “full extent of his love” was Jesus’ supreme demonstration of humility. He did this by taking “off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him” (John 13:1 4, 5).

There have been far too many times in my walk with the Lord where I have not shown the ‘full’ extent of my love to my wife, my children, and others in my life. Humility, I now confess, was lacking in my actions towards them. I can’t change the past, I’m sorry to say … but I can make good my mistakes in this matter by showing the full extent of my love with those I connect with today, and in all my tomorrows.

Cultivating the virtue of humility will enable us to love others as we should – making it possible for us to show them the full extent of our love.

“Lord, make me as humble as You … preferring all others before myself … loving them to the full extent of my love. Amen.”

Starting right?

Posted by Bill on August 30, 2012

How do you start each new day? Do you throw yourself into the day with the best intentions, understanding and strength … but, you find yourself falling short of God’s mark, wallowing in doubt, discouragement, and despair?

Why not trial this approach, and assess the results – you won’t be disappointed. Start each new day by praying …

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:1-2, 10-12).

This is a sweet prayer that is sure to reach the ears of our God – touching His heart, setting us free to experience each new day as He has ordained for you and me … a day that is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Please, “have mercy on me, O God.”

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