From the beginning, humanity was designed for connection, both with God and with one another. The New Testament further defines this as koinōnia, a profound fellowship or sharing that goes beyond mere friendship to a spiritual bond among believers who share a common pursuit of union with God.

The Bible highlights several vital aspects of this fellowship:

Mutual Support: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 emphasizes the practical strength of companionship: "Two are better than one... for if they fall, one will lift up his companion". This means actively bearing one another's burdens, as instructed in Galatians 6:2, and providing encouragement during times of failure or discouragement.

Spiritual Growth: Proverbs 27:17 states, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another". Christian companions help each other grow in faith and wisdom, holding one another accountable and spurring each other on to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Shared Purpose: The early church in Acts 2:42 devoted themselves to fellowship, prayer, and teaching, demonstrating a shared life centered on their faith. This unity is a powerful witness to the world, reflecting the love and unity found within the Trinity.

Ultimately, Christian companionship is an essential part of the faith journey, providing the encouragement, support, and accountability needed to navigate life as part of God's household.

In the Bible, thankfulness is not merely a polite custom but a fundamental expression of faith and a direct command from God. Scripture consistently portrays a grateful heart as the natural response of a person who recognizes God's sovereignty, goodness, and constant presence in their lives. The mandate is clear: Christians are called to be thankful in all circumstances, a posture declared to be the very will of God in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Biblical gratitude stems from a deep awareness of God's enduring steadfast love and mercy, which is "forever" (Psalm 136:1). It involves acknowledging that every blessing, from the grand scope of salvation to the seemingly small details of daily life, flows from His hand. The Psalms, in particular, are replete with calls to "sing to the Lord with thanksgiving" and to "enter his gates with thanksgiving" (Psalm 95:2; Psalm 100:4).

Thankfulness in a biblical context is an act of worship, a way of "worshipping God acceptably with reverence and awe" (Hebrews 12:28). It shifts focus from self-concern and potential bitterness to an adoration of God's character and wondrous deeds. This mindset brings an internal peace, drawing believers closer to God and strengthening their faith, even amidst life's challenges.

Ultimately, being biblically thankful is an eternal practice that will continue in heaven's corridors. It is a discipline exercised through prayer, praise, and a lifestyle that reflects God's goodness to others.

“I didn't get anything out of worship at that church”.

“That church is too political for me”.

“That church doesn’t feed me what I need”.

“I don’t need to go to church, I can worship God on my own”.

Notice something about these quotes? Its all about the speaker. What “I” want/need/think. The truth is, the church isn’t about you! It belongs to Jesus, He purchased it with His blood (Eph. 5:25). So when we come together to worship God, we have to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. Left up to us, we could do whatever we wanted as worship while claiming that we are doing it in the name of God. Jesus warns us against doing EXACTLY that (Matt. 7:21-23). Rather, God wants unity among His children and for them to worship and serve Him in the way that He determines (Eph. 4:1-6). Its really simple, yet the world has made it much too complicated. Look in God’s word and find out what He says to do and then do it. He hasn’t opened it up for discussion or interpretation, He just wants us to listen to Him and do what He says, much like an earthly father wants of his children. “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person” (Ecc. 12:13)

There is no better keeper of promises than God. He promised Noah that He would never again destroy the world with water. He promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child. He promised the Israelites that He would deliver them from Egyptian bondage and lead them into the promised land. And He promised David that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel. One of the great promises, with far reaching applications, was the promise to Abraham that He would make from him 1) a great nation, 2) in a promised land, and 3) that from him all peoples in the world would be blessed (a reference to salvation brought about by Jesus). All of these promises to Abraham came to fruition. His descendants did enter into the promised land and there they became the great nation of Israel. And Jesus came to the earth, bringing salvation to all mankind. Seeing these fulfilled promises tells us about the nature of the everlasting God: He keeps His promises. So we can be assured that any promise He might make to us will be fulfilled too. God has promised heaven to those who are obedient and faithful to Him. So just as the Israelites became a great nation, obedient Christians will live forever in heaven in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What a promise! What a blessing! He is faithful to keep this amazing promise!

Many people think that you have to be perfect to be a Christian. Even worse, some people who profess Christianity, think that they are perfect; an attitude that is contrary to what our Lord taught. The truth is, perfection is not what most people think it is. In biblical terms, perfection does not mean sinless. If it did, no one would reach perfection. But are we actually called to be perfect. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, “Therefore, you are to be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect”. Put that alongside Romans 3:23 that says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and we can start to define perfection. A definition of perfection reads, “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics”. The Greek word that is rendered ‘perfect’ is also rendered as mature or complete. Putting all this together, biblical perfection means you have put everything together and developed all the qualities that God requires of you in order to be pleasing to Him. That is as much as we can do, but there is one last thing needed to truly reach perfection:Jesus. Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified”. You might say that we can only truly be perfected in Christ.

Our Lord tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 that His way is not hard, in fact it is easy. And His way also has great promises, mainly that if we accept His way, we will have an eternal heavenly rest. Then why in the world would anyone not accept His way!? Well, it requires obedience, that is, we have to do what He says. Many don’t like to be told what to do. But we’re told what to do all our lives! As children, our parents tell us what to do. As students, our teachers tell us what to do. At work, our bosses tell us what to do. As bosses, our customers tell us what to do! But when Jesus tells us what to do, He assures us that what we have to do is not hard. He has made it that way so that it will be easy to succeed. And in all those earthly things to do, the prize for success can never measure up to what Jesus is offering: heaven! We’re only told a little about what heaven will be like. But even what we’re told is amazing! I don’t think we can really understand the beauty of heaven as long as we are mortal. Only our eternal soul can really appreciate all that heaven has to offer. Don’t miss it! Take His yoke upon you; its easy and light.

The king of Syria learned an important lesson, as recorded in 1 Kings chapter 20: don’t underestimate God! He was convinced by the people around him that he could defeat the Israel if they fought them on the plains instead of in the mountains. They were wrong. God is God of both the mountains and the plains! And what arrogance to think otherwise! With the help of God, Israel would defeat the Syrian army, even though they were greatly outnumbered. Many lessons can be learned from this account. One is the lesson that Ben-hadad, king of Syria, learned: its not a good idea to taunt the living God. Another is in more general terms, that is, that God is all around us, all the time, and in every situation. Maybe we’re going through tough times, a valley, if you will. God is there to help you, if you righteously seek Him out. Maybe times are good and maybe you forget that God helped you out of that valley and onto the top of the mountain. Now is the time to thank Him. But don’t worry, He’ll be there waiting in case it takes a while for you to remember…

We are living in challenging times. And while I remain optimistic that things will get better, we have some real problems that will take a lot of effort to overcome. One of those problems is an ever increasing disregard for the sanctity of life. It manifests itself in many ways: abortion, war, assassinations, murder, genocide-and the tolerance and sometimes encouragement that accompanies these. A disregard for human life will erode a society if left unchecked. As Christians, it seems alien to us to have so little concern for other people. But we also know that this has been around for a very long time. After all, the second sin ever recorded was that of Cain murdering his brother Abel. Since then, God has condemned murder and set harsh punishment for those who would commit it. We can understand why murder is wrong at a very fundamental level: we value our own life so we would not want that to be taken away from us or others. God feels this way too, with the added aspect that He is the creator of all life. Killing someone is killing one of His creations. He being the giver and sustainer of life gets to determine the conception and cessation of life. The taking of the life of another person stands in defiance of God and His law.

In the book of Jude, he wanted to write to his readers about their common salvation. But in he says that he felt it more important to write to them and tell them to "contend earnestly for the faith" (v.3). What faith is he talking about? Why is it worth fighting for? And if it is, how do we go about doing that? Listen to this lesson and get ready to step into the ring!

Our series on ‘Highest & Best’ concludes with the topic of how we can best listen to God’s word. As we know, there’s a big difference between hearing and listening; that’s why ‘Listening’ appears in the title and not ‘Hearing’. A quick topic search will give you this: Hearing is the passive, physical process of sounds entering your ears, while listening is the active, cognitive process of focusing on, interpreting, and understanding those sounds. Hearing God’s word is one thing. You might hear the sounds entering your ears but that’s not what God is looking for. He wants us to understand what has been said. Admittedly, hear and listen are used somewhat interchangeably in the Bible. But looking in context, when understanding what’s being said is at issue, its clear that the concept of listening in the active is implied, while merely the passive act of hearing is not. Listening to a sermon preached on Sunday morning is part of our worship and integral to our faith. Consider Romans 10:17: “ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Assuming God wants our best when it comes to hearing His word (and He does), how can we best listen to what the preacher is saying? This lesson provides some help: in concept and practice.