Life in the Church

Treating others with respect (what can you do, or do differently?)

To help middle school students understand how to treat others with love and respect, I pulled these excerpts from various places and adapted them.

I think we can all learn lessons from these suggestions from some wonderful authors.

The ‘golden rule’ says, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” One author calls the ‘platinum rule’, “Treat others how they want to be treated.”

I have always said two things. “Treat others better than you want to be treated.” and “Treat others with as much grace as you’ve already been shown by God.”

Adapted from “How to Win Friends and Influence People”
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener.
5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

Adapted from “The Five Love Languages” school appropriate ways of demonstrating love and respect, making people feel appreciated.

  • “words of affirmation.” Verbal compliments, words of appreciation, constant encouragement
  • “quality time.” This means doing something together
  • “receiving gifts.” Some people love surprises, honor this by giving gifts 
  • “acts of service.” Can range from doing little things to larger projects— tasks that require thought, planning, time, effort, and energy

Adapted from “21 Way You Can Earn The Respect of Others”
1. Be relentlessly proactive
2. Keep Your promises
3. Earnestly apologize and make amends (do it right)
4. Don’t waste other people’s time
5. Stop gossiping immediately
6. Stop being too nice (it’s fake), don’t let people use you either
7. Practice humility
8. Have a moral code
9. Be open-minded
10. Add real value
11. Always do your homework
12. Be inspiring
13. Learn to say, ‘No’
14. Respect yourself
15. Believe in your ideas
16. Speak up when you’re mistreated
17. Stand up for someone else
18. Speak your mind (in kindness)
19. Stop talking and listen 
20. Care about others
21. Control your emotions (Curb your instant reactions)

Walk this Way, Talk this Way

Walking out our faith in a tangible way.

Walking out our faith in a tangible way. Sermon from Mound Chapel COG 10/24/2021

God is Not a Smorgasbord

God is Not a Smorgasbord by Dr. Tony Evans

Dear Friend,

Far too many Christians today want a smorgasbord God. The kind of God where you pick and choose when you want Him and when you don’t want Him. But that’s not the kind of God He is, and the kind of people He is looking to partner with in impacting the world are those who follow single-heartedly. He doesn’t want you to just align with Him in private. He is not seeking a silent majority. He wants you and me to go public. He calls each of us to declare our allegiance to Him above all else.

God has something to say on every subject and every issue that confronts us as a culture and in our personal lives, and He has made Himself clear in His Word. If we are going to make a difference by bringing healing, oneness, justice and righteousness into a broken world, we must first get our own lives together and commit to obedience. We may have made some mistakes in the past. We may have tried to pick and choose when it comes to obedience. But we can start right now to make a better tomorrow.

Let’s declare our intention to serve God in everything we say and do. Why would we want to settle for the cafeteria god when we can have the full meal deal?

By Dr. Tony Evans

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May all the blessings of God go with you as we live out God’s Word in our life!

Rejoice Always

There are a lot of places in Scripture where it specifically says, ‘this is the will of God”, although it is certainly implied in most places. And, definitely is in the commandments…

Yet, here is one where it’s absolutely clear. It was our kids memory and handwriting verse at school Monday and Tuesday. Originally, until I said something, they looked at three verses and saw them as separate.

I had they take a closer look then zoom back out again. Guys, it’s all one sentence, one thought, one instruction.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1th.5.16-18.ESV

The Prayers of the Savior

This is part four in our series, Jesus, Who? In our first message, Jesus According to Jesus, Jesus told us his identity and purpose. We then listened as he taught The Sermon on the Mount. And, we walked with his closest friends during their Conversations in the Garden.

Today, we are going to be parked in John 17. The Prayers of the Savior. These are Jesus’s prayers for his Church (that’s us) and his apostles right before he is handed over to the Jewish leaders for trial.

They are our Lord’s final words of prayer before his death, burial, and resurrection. This is also the longest prayer of Jesus we have recorded. We have been flying through Jesus words and teaching at about 30,000 feet. Today, we are going to kneel in the Garden with Jesus and listen closely to his prayer. I believe it’s worth taking a close look.

Thanks again to my son, Robbie, for video editing…the camera worked right this week!

Audio is available here…

Going Back in Time

Going Back in Time 
By Stacy Bohl 

If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. (Hebrews 12:8) 
There have been dramatic changes for everyone this past year. Both of our children had been away at college for a couple years. We were used to being “empty nesters” and had changed one of the kid’s rooms into an office. Shortly after the pandemic hit, our children finished their studies for the year, and we made the tough decision that they would stay home for 2020- 2021 school year. 

My husband and I both switched to working at home, so we are all at home, together, almost 24/7. I had gotten used to not having the kids around. After the kids had left, I often spent many hours working at my main job and my side-business, sometimes working 10-12 hours. 
My daughter kept coming into my office and asking me when I’d be done. On lunch breaks she’d ask me if we could go out and do something. My other daughter would accuse me of working too much. I would make excuses and even get angry when they came into my office while I was working. 

When our kids left for college, we were sad to see them go. Our family is close, and we would call each other often, but I never dreamed I would have them back at home. Why should I be angry that my kids wanted to spend time with me? That’s not what God would want for me. I decided to recognize this change as a gift from God. I adjusted by scheduling “family-only” time on my calendar. It has helped me to make sure I don’t work longer than I should. It works!

Challenge: If there areas in your life that you might be putting too much or too little time, how might you make a change?

5 Tips for Finding a New Church | RELEVANT

https://www.relevantmagazine.com/life5/5-tips-for-finding-a-new-church/

The 5 Main Ways People Find Your Church

https://blog.faithlife.com/blog/2017/03/how-people-find-church/