PREPARE FOR IT! - B|Neighbors - Titus 2:1–8, Romans 16:13, Mark 15:21, John 13:34-35, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 2 Timothy 2:22-26, Titus 2:6-8

Here are this week's scriptures for our B|Neighbors sermon series...

Titus 2:1-8 (NIV)
"You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older mento be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderersor addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.


Romans 16:13 (NIV)
13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.


Mark 15:21 (NIV)
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.


John 13:34-35 (NIV)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”


2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.


2 Timothy 2:22-26 (NIV)
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.


Titus 2:6-8 (NIV)
6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Living on Mission – B|Family

Living on Mission – B|Family

All of the scripture passages for this week have a common theme – relationships. Not just any kind of relationships, but meaningful, heartfelt, authentic relationships. Family relationships built on love and not necessarily blood.

These passages give us key behaviors and attitudes as well as things to avoid. We’re encouraged to love, be self-controlled, and to avoid foolish and stupid arguments. These are really important to maintaining successful relationships of any kind, but are certainly crucial for deep and lasting relationships.

Are we experiencing deep and lasting relationships outside of our blood relatives? Are we ready for meaningful, heartfelt, authentic relationships?

We must get past the surface, past shallow relationships that don’t really impact our lives and dive deep into meaningful family relationships modeled for us by Jesus, Paul, and the other disciples. We can’t really B|Neighbors or B|Family unless we’re willing to open our hearts/homes/lives to the people whom God chooses for our divine intersections.

Let’s practice Living on Mission and B|Family by opening up our hearts and lives to build authentic, heartfelt relationships.

Pastor Angela

PRAY IT! B|Neighbors

This week's topic as we continue on in our B|Neighbors series:  B|Family!

Hearing that charge may evoke various responses.  Maybe this excites you and you are ready to B|ring on the familyin'!  Or maybe in place of "family" you'd insert B|Drama.  Or B|Distance. 

As with everything, though, we look to Jesus to help us generate gospel-driven love and compassion.  2 Corinthians 5:14-15 states "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 

Christ's love for Paul, and Paul's love for Christ resulted in Paul having a Christ-centered love for people.  In Paul's letter to the Romans, this authentic love is made clear.  He spends the first 16 verses of Romans 16 greeting over 27 people with personal "shout outs".  The same Paul who writes such powerful statements in Romans as "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20a) also finds it just as important to express his love and thankfulness to specific individuals.  "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too." (Romans 16:13).  Can I get a collective "awwwwww"???  Rufus' mother loved on Apostle and missionary-extraordinaire Paul and it did not go unnoticed.  Everyone needs family. 

PoC,
As we prepare for Sunday's message and the continuation of our B|Neighbors challenge (to share our table):
1.  We need to be tight with Jesus.  (Daily presence!)
2.  We need to be willing to invest.  To pastor.  To care.  It's how we are to B|Family.
3.  We need to remember that it is okay to spend time acknowledging and loving on people.  It sounds like a silly reminder, but have you ever been so caught up in your to-do list (ministry or otherwise) that loving on actual people takes a back seat?  It seems silly, but it happens!  Paul was extremely focused on spreading the gospel message, and this included passages such as Romans 16:1-16.
4.  It's okay to get specific.  Sometimes challenges like "B|Neighbors" can be overwhelming because loving on people seems like a HUGE undertaking.  What people?  How many people?  What about all the other people?  Priority paralysis!  Ahhhh!  But, we are being neighbors together.  God has placed some specific people in your life (maybe for a season, maybe for a loooonnnngggg season) for YOU to love on and for YOU to pastor.  The same for me.  The same for all of us. 

If your love of people is feeling depleted, prayer is an appropriate and helpful place to start.  If your love of people is abundant, prayer is appropriate and helpful as well.  (Isn't that great!)  Praying for people is a loving action and also draws us closer to God.  Either way, let's all start here!

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for loving us and for growing our love for others.  Please help us love you more, to humbly receive your love, and to love others even more.  Please continue to show us the people you have placed in our lives for US to pastor - to care for - to love on, and help us follow through.  Help us to encourage, to admonish, and to be family.
Amen.

Looking for a way to love on and pray for a range of needs from local to global?  Check out PoC|Coverage, tonight at 6pm!  Join us as we hear our unifying charge from Pastor Todd, and then break into various groups with various prayer and care missions!

Pastor Celia

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Family”

Supplies: Bible; the family pet (optional)

SHARE 

I think pets are fantastic.  I admit, I miss having the companionship and joy offered by a four-legged friend in the house.  Of course, I don’t miss the extra work and expense.  If you have a family pet, take a minute and think about all the things necessary to take care of it.  (If you don’t have a pet in your home, have your children guess based on what they know.)  The list can get kind of long, right?  Food, water, doctor visits, medicine and shots, beds, cages, leashes, toys…and that’s just the stuff that costs money.  They also need a lot of love and attention.  

What about taking care of a person?  What does it take to take care of people instead of pets?  Some of the items on the list are the same.  When your parents brought you home, they knew they needed to give you food and water, and I’m guessing you have a decent stash of toys.  But what else do you need to do to take care of someone?  What’s different about caring for a friend or family member than caring for a pet?

READ

Take a look at Romans 16.  Have someone read verses 1-16.  Don’t worry about the names—just do your best. :)

THINK

This is how Paul closes his letter to the church in Rome.  It’s basically a bunch of shout-out’s to people he knows there in that church.  Of course, as you read his comments, you realize that these aren’t just acquaintances.  Look at his words: “whom I love in the Lord,” “my relative,” “my dear friend,” “a mother to me.”  These are special, treasured people in his life.  We don’t know any of these folks, but in these verses we do get a great sense of the love and care that can be found in the family of God.  

When we are adopted by our loving Father, we become a part of a ginormous family.  That means we have love shared with us as we are cared for.  That also means we have love to share with others around us.  Being a good neighbor means caring for the people around us.  Our friends at school.  The people on our street.  Folks at work.  Teammates out on the field.  Everyone has needs.  Everyone has good days when they need someone to celebrate with.  Everyone has bad days when they need a shoulder to cry on.  Everyone needs love and encouragement, and God has chosen you to care for the people around you.

APPLY

Who are you caring for?  Are there people in your life that you are already loving on and encouraging?  Share those names with your family.  Who else do you think God may be calling you to care for?  Share some ideas about what you can do as a family to care for people around you.  Now make a plan to put those ideas into action.  Ready, set, CARE!

PRAY

Dear God, thank you for making us a part of your family.  Help us to love others like brothers and sisters by offering them the love and care that you give us every day.  Open our eyes to see the needs around us and give us the impulse to respond. In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

Explore It - Paul & "Neighbor" Rufus' Mom

Mark 15:21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

Romans 16:13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

Rufus, a name meaning “red,” is only found two times in the New Testament.  The first time, in the Gospel of Mark, Rufus’ dad Simon is forced to carry the cross of Jesus.  The second time, in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, Paul sends his greeting to Rufus and his mother at the close of his letter.  Paul also states that Rufus’ mother had also been a mother to him.  We don’t receive any additional information on how this woman impacted Paul, only that she did.  We assume Rufus’ mom helped Paul through a situation in life or maybe she ministered to him regularly as he grew in his own faith.  She impacted Paul enough to be mentioned at the end of his letter.

As we travel through life, we will never truly know the full impact we have on those we come in contact with.  Does our attitude turn people away?  Does our self-righteousness turn people against Jesus and His Church?  Or does our love toward one another draw others to our sides as if they are family?  How we act and treat others directly impacts our ability to reach the world for Jesus.

As we go through our day we should look for ways to care for one another.  Maybe spending a few extra moments listening to a friend or sending a quick text or giving a quick phone call will let someone know we were thinking about them and will provide the care they need.  John 13:35 tells us, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  We are called to care for and minister to one another; we are called to love one another.

Who is God leading you to care for?  To minister to?  To share the love of Jesus with?  Maybe God is encouraging you to intentionally come alongside someone just as Rufus’ mom stood by Paul.

Blessings,
Pastor Amy