Parkway Wesleyan Church
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
    • Announcement Concerning In-Person Services
    • What to Expect >
      • Weekend Worship Set List
    • About Parkway
    • Our Team >
      • Contact Us
    • Beliefs and Core Values
    • Our History
    • About the Wesleyans >
      • Resources
  • NEXT STEPS
    • Growth Tools
    • Get Involved
    • Discover Parkway
    • Baptism
    • Groups >
      • SMALL GROUPS
    • Kids
    • Teens
  • CONNECT
    • EPIC Blog
    • Sermons >
      • Archives
    • Calendar
    • Book An Appointment
  • LIVE SENT
    • Outreach
    • Foreign Missions Blog
  • GIVE
  • Home
  • ABOUT US
    • Announcement Concerning In-Person Services
    • What to Expect >
      • Weekend Worship Set List
    • About Parkway
    • Our Team >
      • Contact Us
    • Beliefs and Core Values
    • Our History
    • About the Wesleyans >
      • Resources
  • NEXT STEPS
    • Growth Tools
    • Get Involved
    • Discover Parkway
    • Baptism
    • Groups >
      • SMALL GROUPS
    • Kids
    • Teens
  • CONNECT
    • EPIC Blog
    • Sermons >
      • Archives
    • Calendar
    • Book An Appointment
  • LIVE SENT
    • Outreach
    • Foreign Missions Blog
  • GIVE
​       EmPOWERING-PEOPLE-IN-CHRIST
​

Focus on Others

9/29/2015

0 Comments

 
​Some years ago, the New Yorker magazine presented a cartoon which shows two young theological students walking within the cloistered walls of the seminary.  One of the students has a baffled expression on his countenance, and is remarking to the other: “What gets me about this place is that they want you to love people you don’t even like!”
 
Life would be so much simpler if we only had to love the people we liked, but Jesus is pretty plain in His instructions to us as believers.  Look with me at Matthew 5: 43-45“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father.”
 
Over the last few weeks in our Sunday messages we have been looking at many of the “one another” phases in the Bible.  We have been challenging ourselves to “encourage, accept, value and love  another.”  The goal is to focus on others instead of ourselves.  When we do that relationships are strengthened and we find mutual strength to fight our real enemy, Satan.
 
Some of the largest trees in the world are the giant Redwoods of California.  Some of them are over 300 feet high.  You would think that such massive trees would have very deep roots, but that is not so.  Actually, redwoods have a very shallow root system designed to capture all the surface moisture possible.  Their roots spread out in all directions, and as a result, all the roots of all the trees in a redwood grove are intertwined.  They are locked together so that when the wind blows or a storm strikes, all the trees support and sustain another.  This is why you almost never see a redwood standing alone.  They need one another to survive.
 
What a perfect analogy for the body of Christ.  We need “one another” in order to survive.  So quit trying to go it alone.  Share your needs with your brothers and sisters in Christ and ask for their support and prayer.  Or maybe you can help hold steady someone who is currently in the midst of a storm.  As Rick Warren says, “We are better together.”  Look for an opportunity this week to go the extra mile in ministering to “one another.”  I CHALLENGE YOU!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Tuesday Morning on the Run

    Inspirational thoughts from Pastor Barry Lawson

    Archives

    December 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from trendingtopics