In John 17, Jesus looks down through future generations and prays for you and me! When He prays for us, He only prays for one thing, and He repeats His request three times. He prays that we would be "one," that we would experience UNITY! In spite of this prayer, our sins collide and life gets ugly, even in the Church. That's why forgiveness is so essential to life as a Christian and the health of a church.

To live in relationship has been a part of God's plan for mankind from the very beginning (Genesis 2:18). Even God lives in relationship (the Trinity). Of the 27 books of the New Testament, 21 are letters to churches or individuals (Romans-Jude). In those 21 letters, much of the content deals with relationships. In one of those letters, the Apostle Paul is writing to a group of Christians living in an hostile environment. He is encouraging them to live in such a way as to attract others to Christ. In one verse, he gives three "one anothers" that will help us be salt and light. Today we will cover the first two.

I used to suffer from it when I was younger. Maybe it affects you at times. It's called "Sundayfluenza." The symptoms are very interesting. It never interferes with the appetite or affects the eyes. The Sunday newspaper can be read with no pain. Watching football and eating nachos seems to help the victim. The only symptom is that you cannot get up to go to church. Strangely it comes on about 8:30 each Sunday morning and lasts for about 2-3 hours or until church is over. By Monday morning the patient is back to normal! Have you suffered from this not so rare disease? Christian assembly is required for every believer of Jesus Christ. Our passage this morning gives us four reasons.

The good news is that everyone who is in Christ Jesus is going to Heaven; the bad news is that we are traveling there together, whether we like it or not. The Church belongs to Christ and He wants it to be united in love. We have been made new through the renewal of our spirit in Christ. We have been forgiven. So, let us demonstrate this change in our daily lives (In our homes, with our spouse, with our children, in our jobs, while driving, in line at the grocery store, at TSA security check at the airport, and at church). Forgive and bear with one another, continuing to focus on Christ. Let these seemingly trying and bothering times become an opportunity to show others who we are in Christ.

The people of Minnetrista Baptist Church are praying for one another. Perhaps you are like me, though, and need a reminder of the purpose behind all our intercessions. Even when praying for healing, the purpose is not only for the person to get physically well, but for the person to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to have a life-changing faith in Jesus, and to know and be filled with His infinite love. We can pray for one another with powerful purpose by reflecting, in our prayers, the petitions of Paul in Ephesians 3:16-21.

Church, we cannot live as Christians in a vacuum. A church is not made up of one. We need encouragement and correction from our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Yes, correction. We must learn to receive it and not only dish it out; challenge each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit who allows us to be vulnerable for instruction and correction.

The Bible is the very mind of God in print. In it God reveals how we behave and what we believe. In the New Testament (NT) there are 27 books. Four of those books relate to the life of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One of those books records the history of the Church: Acts. One of those books reveals the future of the Church: Revelation. The other 21 books are letters recording how we should live and grow as believers, and they make up 78% of the New Testament books, 53% of the NT chapters, 65% of the NT verses, and 67% of the NT words. Any way you measure it, over half of the NT has to do with how to live after we become Christ-followers.

Being a Christ-follower is not a side job. Being a true Christ-follower is a 24/7 calling. You are a Christ-follower first . . . a garbage collector, doctor, teacher, business man second! Last week we recaptured a clear mission as to why God wants the Minnetrista Baptist Church to exist. Our Mission Statement calls us "Christ-followers." Today we will look at our five values that produce the Christ-like character true Christ-followers desire.

The starting point for every church should be the question, "Why do we exist?" Your leadership, through time, prayer and the study of God's Word, has recaptured a clear vision of why God wants the Minnetrista Baptist Church to exist. This week we will unpack our church's Mission Statement. Next week we will look over the 5 values we hold dear.

As we finish our series on the "7 Woes", we see that Jesus was not afraid to confront, with very harsh, condemning, blistering words, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. However, He ends his diatribe with some very tender, heartbreaking words. Possibly some of the saddest words of Scripture are, " . . . but you were not willing." God so wants to have a relationship with you! Are you willing?