Generation Church

There is no way around it — the body of Christ will experience some drama and conflict just by going about ordinary life. The question then is, how do you handle this? Thankfully, the Word of God directs us in handling disputes, and it’s similar to what you’d expect from a family — by being able to forgive and show mercy.

Christianity often gets associated with the cross, but without the resurrection, our faith would be meaningless. We’re here because Jesus died and rose again! The resurrection is the foundation of our faith and is why we can have eternal life. Nobody else has that power but Jesus, and His resurrection proves it!

Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Yet a few days later, He was murdered by the Jews, crucified by the Romans, and killed because of us. The Jews did not recognize Jesus as our savior then; will you do the same today? Will you be like those who cry out, “Crucify him!” Or will you be the one who cries out, “Hosanna! God save me!”

Many people deal with situations with their family that they would describe as “drama.” It may come from external sources, but usually, the “family drama” involves at least one person acting in an ungodly way. The same can happen among most church families, just like the Corinthians did back in their day. And just like the Corinthians, we must learn to identify and deal with it in a way that honors the Lord.

Sometimes, we all need to be rebuked. The Lord rebukes us because He loves us. How you respond to God's rebuke determines the level of pain you experience in your life. We all have moments where we sin and need correction, whether that correction comes from the Holy Spirit, the Bible, or a brother or sister-in-Christ. You have to decide in advance how you will respond to those moments. Will you accept the correction with humility and a repentant spirit, or will you be hard-hearted, defiant, and rebellious? It's in our best interest to remain soft-hearted to the Lord's correction. How will you respond?

Whether you’re rich or poor in this life or live a long or short life, you can faithfully serve the Lord in a way that will result in an eternal reward. How do you receive this eternal reward? It starts with you thinking ahead. You must live, serve, and give with eternity in mind.

There are two words from the Bible that everyone in the Western World knows, has committed to heart, has meditated on, and speaks out boldly like their life depends on it — Judge Not! But when we look further at scripture, we see that not only are we permitted to judge, but we must judge, albeit with a crucial caveat — we are not the ultimate judge; God is.

Real wisdom comes when you can understand and apply spiritual truth in the natural world. Where does this spiritual truth come from? It comes from God. Because God’s Spirit lives in you, you can know God’s thoughts and learn to think like God. You can learn to see the world through His eyes. The more you think, see, and feel like Him, the more your old, sinful, natural mind can be transformed into the mind of Christ.

The most common mistake Christians make is that they think they need convincing arguments to defend the faith or lead people to Christ. Yet we see those who rebel against God only immerse themselves in foolishness, making it hard to get through them. The good news is that you don’t need to present Jesus with clever arguments. You don’t even need to preach lofty philosophical dissertations. You just need the message of the cross.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to rebuke and correct them, leaving them with a choice they need to make. What kind of problems do they want? Will they choose the discomfort of discipline or the pain of self-destruction? It’s the same choice we still have today when the Holy Spirit confronts our sinful flesh with scriptural truth.