A Beautiful Community

Scripture – Colossians 4:11-15: ¹¹Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.¹²Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. ¹³I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. ¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) Being part of a Christian community is crucial to my faith journey. I don’t know how I would live without the Christian people in my life. A lot of people don’t understand that. They get the whole idea of “church” tied up with a lot of negative baggage. So they ignore the church, thinking it has nothing for them. Yet living in a community of faith is such a beautiful experience, how can I communicate that?

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) I will speak more about the community and less about the church. I will look for ways to describe the meaning of it in my life.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, thank you very much for the many churches and people who have been part of my life over the years. Teach me to be a good member of the community we call Bethel and the wider community of churches in Southgate.