Contemporary - Family by Susan Mahaney

Today, we’re exploring what it looks like to faithfully follow Jesus in the context of our families. Now, families come in all different varieties…some of the moments we share with our families are absolutely wonderful…yet other times our families can be stressful.

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”

What do you fear the most? When day comes to an end, and you lay your head on the pillow and turn off the light, what dark thought enters your mind?

It's Personal by Susan Mahaney

God’s plan for his people is that every single one of us is a missionary. We are called to go. Some of us across the street, and others around the world. But Jesus instruction is very clear: “Go, and make disciples!”

The Apostle Paul was taking up a collection for a mission project in Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem were experiencing great hardship because of a drought. The wealthy church in Corinth had made a big financial pledge but so far had not followed through. To encourage them, Paul tells them what the Macedonian church has done. The Macedonians were experiencing poverty and hardship. They were not a rich congregation like Corinth. Yet they were giving generously, even beyond their means and as a result God had blessed them with an abundance of joy.

The Apostle Paul was taking up a collection for a mission project in Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem were experiencing great hardship because of a drought. The wealthy church in Corinth had made a big financial pledge but so far had not followed through. To encourage them, Paul tells them what the Macedonian church has done. The Macedonians were experiencing poverty and hardship. They were not a rich congregation like Corinth. Yet they were giving generously, even beyond their means and as a result God had blessed them with an abundance of joy.

Some of Jesus’instructions sound uncomfortable and are even potentially dangerous. We are called to live sacrificially for the cause of Christ. We are called to live counter culture lives for the sake of the gospel but often we choose to ignore it: things like deny yourself and take up your cross, love your enemies, go the second mile, turn the other cheek, live generously.

All Christian disciples have one thing in common: as we carry the gospel across the ocean or across the street, difficulties and persecution are going to become the norm for anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. How we as believers respond both in the face of persecution, and when God asks the seemingly impossible of us, reveals everything about our level of faith and obedience.