Be Kind to One Another

Worship Pastor Justin Taylor

Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Justin used a gardening illustration to share how kindness is part of a bigger eco-system. No plant can survive apart from the surrounding conditions that help it flourish, and no person can be kind apart from the surrounding conditions that help it flourish.

Kindness has its own biblical eco-system; it belongs to the fruit of the Spirit. This is God's work.This fruit is not kindness by itself. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Gal 5:20-21)

Just like many fruit trees need a "companion species", so does kindness. It's companions are "tenderheartedness" and "forgiveness".You can't be hard-hearted, and unforgiving, AND kind at the same time...for very long. These would be weeds in the garden of kindness.

There are several other weeds too. Eph 4:30-31 says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." Wow, that is a lot of weeds!

Question 1 - Are there weeds in your life that need to be pulled? Keeping in step with the Spirit means that from time to time, we're going to have to pull some weeds.

Question 2 - Do you have the necessary companions in your life? Are you living in community? Are you in a small group of believers? We need each other because we are created in God's image. God is a God of community. We are people of God, the body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Question 3 - Are you planted in the right soil? (Eph 3:14-17) The soil where kindness grows is love. Love is the fulfillment of the Law (Rom 10:13, Gal 5:14), and the sum of every Law including kindness (Matt 22:36-40) Love is described in 1 Cor 13:4-6 as "patient and kind, love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude."

Kindness is a command not because

it's more effective or winsome -

but because unkindness is a sin.

And it grieves the Holy Spirit of God.

Question 4 - Are you getting enough sunshine? Kindness grows in the light of God's kindness to us in Jesus. In reality, kindness is a character study. Jesus is the epitome of kindness. Even when He turned over tables and called out the Pharisees and Sadducees, he was kind, even if He wasn't "nice" in those instances. Are you spending time with Jesus as you read the Bible and listen to what He has to say to you? (John 5:39-40)

We can be kind to one another because of Jesus' relationship with His Father. Kindness is not the reward for our labor; it's fruit of the Spirit. (1 Cor 3:6-9) God is love, and our job is to abide in His love.

Jesus loves you as much as His Father loves Him! (John 15:9)

The Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus! (John 17:23)

Questions to Consider:

1. What are the weeds in your life that need to be pulled? (bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice, unforgiveness)
2. Who are the companions in your life? What are those companions pointing you to? Are your companions focused on Jesus?
3. What soil are you planted in? Remember, "you become what you behold". Is the Fruit of the Spirit evident in your life?
4. Are you getting enough sunshine? Are you have a consistent quiet time of abiding in God's Word? Do you have any time of stillness and quiet to listen to the voice of God? What can you change in your daily rhythm to make this a priority?

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Motivate One Another to Good Works

Senior Pastor Alex Kennedy

In Hebrews 10, the writer begins verse 19 with "therefore". He has already argued that Christ was a better High Priest, with a better covenant, and a better sacrifice. Remember, the Jewish people spent their entire lives being reminded that their sins were not fully atoned for. They made daily and annual sacrifices for their sins. Hebrews 10:12 says, "But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God." Verse 17 says, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Verse 19 says, "since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus..." The word "enter" is not just permission to enter, but a welcome; a new and living access into God's immediate presence! This was a radical concept for a Jew to think about going into the very presence of God, much less, doing it with confidence. To a Jew who took the Old Covenant seriously, the prospect of entering the holy place was inconceivable and impossible. Now the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus' blood has effectively torn the veil that had separated sinful man from Holy God for thousands of years. How? By the blood of Jesus! (Heb 9:22)

Verse 20 goes on to show us that God's presence in the most holy place had the curtain that once was a barrier to man is now no longer there. The word "new" comes from a Greek word that meant "freshly slain." But this Sacrifice was not only freshly slain, but He is also "living", risen from the dead! When Jesus, the Messiah, died on the Cross, the veil of the temple was torn by God Himself, showing Israel two things: that the Messiah had now provided the actual entrance for the sinner into the presence of God, and that the symbolic sacrifices were to be discontinued.

Verse 22 - Let us draw near

1. with a true heart - undivided
2. in full assurance of faith,
3. with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
4. and our bodies washed with pure water.

These are not suggestions; they are strong, urgent exhortations. They are a call to decisive action. It is the strongest way to urge a group to action.

Verse 23 - Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful.

The writer urges the recipients not to lean back towards the First Testament Like the generation which left Egypt, who in their hearts were returning to that place of slavery, so these unsaved Jews under stress of persecution were leaning back in their hearts to the First Testament. They were wavering between two things, either to go on to the act of faith in Jesus or to go back to the old ways, which were tradition and familiar.

Verse 24 - And let us consider how to stir up once another to love and good works.

To "consider" is to put one's mind down on something, to think down and observe or consider carefully and attentively. It is not a passing glance, but focused attention that leads to meaningful response. To "stir up" is to literally jab someone so they must respond.

"One another" is the pulse of the Christian life. We were made to be in community. Christianity is a "we" faith. Our charge is to provoke one another to love and good deeds. One of the clearest ways to do this is by being together and encouraging one another with urgency.

One act of intentional encouragement

may become the very thing

God uses to keep someone

from giving up.

Questions to Consider:

1. What does it mean to "draw near" to God? How can we do that every day?
2. What does it look like to "hold fast" to our hope when life is difficult?
3. Why do Christians need other Christians instead of trying to follow Jesus alone?
4. What is one practical way you can encourage someone this week? (a letter, text, phone call, visit, etc.)
5. Are you in a small group where you can be known and loved? Why or why not? If not, will you have the courage to find one?

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Clothe Yourself in Humility to One Another - 1 Peter 5:5-6

Senior Pastor Alex Kennedy

We spend our lives trying to climb the ladder, but God says, 'Humble yourselves, and I will lift you up.' The way up in God's kingdom is down. We are told to clothe ourselves in humility. The word used here meaning to “clothe or tie on oneself” describes a slave putting an apron over his clothes in order to keep his clothes clean. This means it is proactive not passive. Humility isn't something you accidentally wear. It's something you intentionally put on every morning and walk in throughout the day. Peter echoes the night that Christ dressed Himself with a towel and taught the disciples that humility is the prerequisite for serving (John 13:4–15). 

You must choose humility.

John Wesley observed that “neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility.” The very concept was so foreign and disgusting to their way of thinking that they had no term to describe it. We must realize no matter how our culture treats pride, it is truly dangerous. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Imagine having God as your opponent. Nothing is more dangerous than pride.

God delights in humility because he delights in being trusted. The proud seek glory for themselves while the humble give glory to God. At work, humility celebrates someone else's promotion. Pride secretly hopes they fail. On Social Media, pride constantly asks, "Did anyone notice me?" Humility asks, "Did anyone see Christ?" When we gather as the church, pride asks, "What am I getting?" Humility asks, "Who can I serve?"

Humility is voluntary surrender. 

We are told to cast all our anxieties on God, freeing us from constant concern for ourselves and enabling us truly to be concerned for the needs of others. Pride says, "I can carry this." Humility says, "God can carry what I cannot." When we walk in humility, we live open-handed, not with clenched fists. 

Three ways we can put this into practice this week:

1. Remind yourself of the humility of Christ
2. Think deeply about it
3. Put on your clothes and walk in humility before God and others

Questions:

1. What stood out to you from the passage about how God views humility and pride? How is this different from how those things are viewed in our culture?
2. How can we be more mindful of areas of pride forming in our lives?
3. What are some specific ways you can clothe yourself in humility before God and others this week?

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Do Good to One Another

Senior Pastor Alex Kennedy

Galatians 6:9-10 says, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Paul has credibility to say this because he was not a quitter. He faced just about every hardship possible (2 Corinthians 11:24-28). In writing to the church in Galatia, he was challenging them to stay the course and to not give up.

How do we maintain motivation to not quit?

• Remember He is good. Regardless of circumstances, God is good in all things and in all ways. (1 Chron 16:34; Psalm 34:8; Nahum 1:7)

• He DOES good. (Psalm 119:68; Psalm 23; James 1:7)

• He does good THROUGH us. We must abide in Christ and soak in His Word. This will form you and fuel you to do His good. (Gal 5:22-23)

• Remember that doing good is what we are built (created) to do. Goodness is one of God's communicable traits, and when we imitate Him, we do good. (Eph 2:10)

• He EQUIPS us to do good. His true and pure Word equips us for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

Paul writes, "as we have opportunity". This is speaking of time. The ticking time of life (chronos) is embedded in the opportunities that are in front of us (kairos). We will have opportunities to do good each day, and it is up to us whether we will step into them or not.

The exhortation is not merely to do good to others when the opportunity presents itself, but to look for opportunities to do good to others. (Titus 3:1-8)

This is especially important to those in our Carmel community. We should look for ways to "do good" to one another in order to care for one another, and encourage one another, so that we love one another well!

Questions to Consider:

1. We have been blessed with so much, and often we forget about our blessings. Take a few minutes to have an attitude of thankfulness to God for the gifts in your life. What are some of those gifts?
2. What are some good things that are easy to start but hard to keep doing?
3. How is serving our Carmel family different from serving people outside the church? Why are both important?
4. What would perseverance in doing good look like for you this week?

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Bear Burdens with One Another

Guest Pastor Jim Kallam

The churches in Galatia were very new, being led by legalistic teachers, and made up of both Messianic Jews and Gentiles.The Jews believed that the Gentiles needed to follow the Mosaic Law as a part of their salvation. Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian churches to rescue them from the false teaching that salvation requires both faith in Christ and obedience to the Law. Paul reaffirmed that people are justified by grace alone through faith alone, and then called believers to live out that freedom through the power of the Holy Spirit.

These churches were worried about the guardrails due to this freedom from the Law of Moses. Paul gave them instructions on how to be in community together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

In Galatians 6:1-2, Paul focuses on "bearing one another's burdens". A burden is a "heavy, crushing weight that cannot be managed by one person alone". We are made to be in community, and to lift one another up. We all have burdens to bear, and those burdens are supposed to be shared.

Too often, within the church, people do not feel safe to share their burdens for fear of judgement. In Matthew 11, Jesus describes Himself as gentle and lowly in heart.

Jesus didn't restore people with

a pointed finger, but with open arms.

The emphasis is on the restoring the person instead of focusing on the justice that must be served. Gentleness is the key to restoration.

This is a simple command that we can all do. We look around at those in our community and see a burden. Then we can have the privilege to come alongside them.

Paul ends this thought with "and so fulfill the Law of Christ". The law of Christ is submitting to Jesus and living out the teachings of Jesus in the church and beyond. We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit as He produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

God is deeply concerned with

how we treat one another.

The "one anothers" are what

should make us different than the world.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why is it sometimes easier to carry our burdens alone than to ask for help?
2. Can you think of a time when someone helped carry one of your burdens? How did that encourage you?
3. Is there anyone at school, church, work, or in your neighborhood who may be carrying a heavy burden right now?
4. Jesus carried the greatest burden of all—our sin—on the cross. How should His love change the way we carry the burdens of others?

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Serve and Show Hospitality One Another

Pastor Jason Salyer

In 1 Peter 4:7-11, we are challenged to adopt an eternal mindset that radically transforms how we treat the people around us. Rather than living with a fearful, self-focused mentality, believers are called to serve others from the grace we have received from God. Knowing that Jesus is returning allows us to hold the pursuits of our lives loosely and focus our remaining time on investing in and serving His people.

The heart behind this service is a humble and sacrificial love that Peter commands us to stretch to its absolute limit, like an athlete lunging for a finish line. This love does not seek out flaws or gossip about where others fall short, but it covers a multitude of sins by pressing into what they ultimately need in fellowship with Christ and others.

When you serve, you are

shaping your own heart.

This deep love takes practical shape through biblical hospitality, meaning our love for strangers. Unlike modern entertaining, which focuses on impressing others, true hospitality focuses entirely on welcoming the guest and creating a refuge for them where they can receive God’s grace. In doing so, we can reflect the servant King and His hospitality that receives us to Himself.

Ultimately, true Christian service requires moving away from a consumer mindset to becoming a cultivator that truly cares for those around us. We look to God's grace and the strength that He supplies rather than our own. When we serve one another this way, the spotlight shifts away from us, ensuring that in everything God receives the glory.

Questions to consider:

1. Peter describes love as an athletic, "stretched-out" effort (ektenē). In what specific ways does loving people in the church require you to "stretch" past your comfort zone? What would this look like in your life this coming week? 
2. Why do you think Peter explicitly adds the phrase "without grumbling" to the command to show hospitality? What causes us to grumble when serving others?
3. How can we shift our mindset from "entertaining to impress" to "practicing hospitality to serve"? How does this help us to better see and love others? 
4. If a steward is a manager and not an owner (v. 10-11) , how should that change the way you view your time, talents, or roles within the church?

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Encourage One Another

Guest Speaker Stephen Phalen

When Paul had been driven from the church, he wrote back to the Thessalonians. His message was one of encouragement. They needed that because their leader, Paul, was no longer with them.

1 Thes 4:18 says, "Therefore encourage one another with these words."

1 Thes 5:11 says, " Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

Paul's "therefore" points back to what he previously wrote. Paul was writing about the second coming of Jesus. When Jesus returns, He makes all thing right and we will spend forever with Him. Paul is letting them know that because of this Truth, they will be ok.

Encouragement/Build up:

Parakleite means "comfort, come alongside, counselor". This is a relational term of being in the situation with someone.

Oikodomeite means "build up, construct, builder". This is a formational term of building a culture.

Parents should encourage their children and speak about a preferred future of what it means to be a Christ-follower in the culture.

Sequence matters:

Building without encouragement leads to resentment instead of resilience.

Encouragement without building leads to sympathy instead of identity.

It takes a courage to encourage. Satan is a master of bringing fear and discouragement, which leads to isolation and believing lies instead of the Truth. His discouragement (hatat), brings a shattered identity to us.

The solution:

Joshua 1:9 says, "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord God will be with you wherever you go." God's presence is enough. He will create the win inside for you. Encouragement from the Lord changes us. When we encourage others, it changes them.

In your marriage, your encouragement ratio should be 5:1. Daily encouragement takes Jesus' courage. It will construct an identity in your marriage and in your family.

Remember, Jesus isn't afraid of what you are afraid of.

Questions to consider:

1. Who is an encourager to you?
2. How can you grow in your encouragement at home? at work? in your neighborhood?
3. If you are married, what is your encouragement ratio? Will you commit to grow in that this week? How?
4. What does your time with God look like? Are you allowing His Word to encourage you daily? What can you change in your rhythms to include more of Him in your day?

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Pray for One Another

Guest Speaker- Oakhurst Baptist Pastor Dave Russell

There are many times we hear about a trial in a friend's life and we say, "I'll pray for you", but often we forget or we don't know exactly how to pray. Paul gives us some great examples of how to pray for other believers in his letter to the Thessalonians.

Paul founded this church during his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1–9), around A.D. 49–50. He preached in the synagogue for a few weeks, and some Jews, many God-fearing Greeks, and prominent women believed the gospel. However, opposition quickly arose and unbelieving Jews stirred up a mob, causing unrest in the city and forcing Paul and his companions to leave sooner than they had planned. Because Paul's ministry there was brief, he was concerned about how these young believers were doing in their faith. After leaving Thessalonica, Paul traveled to Corinth, where he received a positive report from Timothy about the Thessalonian believers. Knowing this, he wrote to them to encourage them.

Ways to Pray for Believers from 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Pray that God would shape one another's character (v11a)

The people Paul was writing to were already saved, so he is praying that their lives would increasingly reflect the gospel. He prayed that they would be consistent with the identity given to them through Christ.

Pray that God would strengthen one another's obedience (v11b)

We must remember that "good intentions" and human resolve are not enough. We must pray for God's power to intervene in our lives.

Christian obedience is useless

without the power of God

Christian obedience is understanding that you need Jesus more each day. That is a sign of maturity. We need His power to trust, to fight sin, to forgive, to keep loving difficult people, to keep serving and not growing weary, to keep following Jesus when it feels costly.

Pray that Christ would be glorified in one another (v12)

Paul's goal is the glory of Christ. The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to glorify Christ. We should want His power, worth, greatness, and beauty to be on display in our lives.

Christ is glorified when people see

more of Jesus and less of us.

Paul reminds us that not only can Christ be glorified in us, but we can also be glorified in Him! Paul is looking forward to heaven (Rev 21) as he reminds us that the One we honor today will honor us (the redeemed) in glory with Him. As Christians, our future is brighter than our past!

In all of this, Paul is saying to pray for one another in ways that help each other live for Christ's glory.

We can only do this in His power through His grace. If we all chose to pray for one another in these ways, think about how it would change our church and our city! Instead of talking about one another, let's talk to God on behalf of one another.

Questions to Consider:

1. Can you think of a time that you shared a hardship with a friend and they prayed for you immediately? How did that impact you?
2. How do Paul's instructions for praying for others challenge you to pray differently than you currently do?
3. If God answered your prayers from last week, what would change this week?
4. Pray for VBS this week. Pray for our leaders to reflect the gospel, that God's power would be their strength, and that their lives would glorify Christ as they share the Good News with the 700+ children that will be in attendance each day!

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Comfort One Another

Jimmy Kallam

Paul founded the church in Corinth (Acts 18:1-17). When he arrived, he began to teach and reason in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul began to preach more. He spent one and half years in Corinth. Many rejected his teaching because he didn’t look like what the people thought a leader should look like. Paul was poor and seemed to have no speaking gift. Second Corinthians was written out of difficult circumstances.

The Apostle Paul concludes the book of 2 Corinthians by using the word “finally” in verse 11. Even though the word “finally” is used, what follows is extremely important. He listed five commands that were an expression of God’s grace and not effort on our part. Paul writes that the Corinthian Christians were to rejoice, aim for restoration, comfort each other, agree with each other, and to live in peace. 

Paul’s instruction was to rejoice even in difficult times. Our obedience to rejoice will flow out of a relationship with Christ and others. Just as our justification and sanctification are works of God’s unmerited favor, so is our growth in the rhythm of rejoicing. No matter the circumstances we can rejoice that God is our Father, Jesus is our Savior, and the Spirit is our strength.

We are also told to aim for restoration. It is a healthy practice to work hard towards mending relationships. Strive for unity and agreement in the essential elements of the faith while exercising grace and patience in secondary issues. Remember, a secondary issue does not mean it is unimportant. We are to strive together in community. 

One of the greatest works of Christianity is to comfort one another. We see hurting people everywhere. Loss, death, brokenness, and unwise choices war against the soul. Comfort can be defined as coming alongside others and offering practical hope. Practical hope usually occurs by:

1. Seeing the need in a person’s life.
2. Praying for that person who needs hope.
3. Showing up and being present. We don’t have to say anything. Our presence will encourage them.
4. Listening to them share. Listen to their heart.
5. Taking action if needed. God has comforted you so you can comfort others. This is living out the gospel.

Agree with one another. Strive to be of the same mind so that our unity and love for each other will display the love of Christ within us.

Finally, we are to live in peace. The hope of the church is not in a new program filled with empty promises. Hope comes about as the result of the invasion of God. Paul prayed for these characteristics for himself and we are to adapt them into our lives as well.

Questions to Consider

1. In what ways is rejoicing in difficult times a challenge? Describe a time when your rejoicing in the Lord has changed your perspective.
2. How has the Lord restored you after a difficult time?  
3. What are some practical ways you can comfort someone in need?
4. Is peace with others worth striving for? Why? What are the consequences of ignoring the hard work of achieving peace?

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Forgive One Another

Student Teaching Pastor Jason Salyer

Forgiveness begins with the foundational truth of the gospel reality that God has canceled our ultimate debt of sin through the cross (Col 2:14). As God's chosen, holy, and beloved children, we must first recognize our own profound need for grace and forgiveness from God (Psalm 51). Only then will we recognize that peace (wholeness) does not come from looking inward for self-forgiveness, but from looking to Christ. Forgiveness is like a mirror in that when we forgive others, we see the reflection of God's vertical grace working through our horizontal relationships. We often hear things like hurting people hurt people, but the gospel can change this narrative where the defining marker of followers of Christ is that forgiven people forgive people. Ultimately, forgiveness is a means to an end, a right and restored relationship. 

Gospel driven forgiveness takes place eternally (between God and us), internally (within our hearts), and externally (between us and others). 

Because we live in an imperfect world, the Bible paints a realistic picture that people will fail you, and you will fail others. Scripture commands us to actively "bear with" one another and forgive complaints, which is impossible to practice in isolation from a church community (Col 3:13). We are called to turn from bitterness and live with compassionate hearts.

Forgiving others is a direct command from God, not an optional suggestion. We cannot wait until we "feel" like forgiving, instead we must actively "put on" compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Col 3:12). Forgiveness is also an essential characteristic of God’s people that must be put into practice. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9), and that gift must compel us to extend the same mercy to those around us.

Believers must put on love, which serves as the outer garment that binds everything together in perfect harmony (Col 3:14). The culture is about cancelling others when they wrong others, but we look to the cross that has cancelled our sin debt and redeemed us in Christ. (Col 2:14). Jesus speaks at length about this reality in Matthew 18, including a parable showing us that the forgiveness we offer others will never outweigh the far greater forgiveness we receive from God. In the Lord’s Supper, we are called to examine the body of Christ which not only speaks to the physical death of Jesus, but also addresses pursuing unity and turning from divisions or unforgiveness in the local church. (1 Corinthians 11:23-31).

Reflection Questions:

• Where do you need to seek forgiveness from God? From others?
• Where do you need to forgive someone else?
• Where do you need to pursue reconciliation in a relationship?

Discussion Questions:

• How does truly understanding and receiving God’s forgiveness help us to forgive others?
• What does it look like to practically "bear with" one another to move beyond the complaints and differences we have with other people?
• How can you move toward a gospel driven reflection of forgiveness internally in your heart and/or externally in relationship with others?

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