The church of Christ on McDermott Road

Once you’ve become acquainted with a friend, how do you take things past that?

Every Christian, everyone who has been raised with Christ, can and should participate in the global mission of the church. Whether or not you ever go on a 'mission trip,' you are part of the global mission of the church. How are your actions, words, and prayers impacting the world for Christ?

It can be difficult to deal with some people.  How do we act in a Christ-like way with difficult people in our life?

In the previous lesson, we focused on the way we think (our focus); in this lesson, we will transition to Paul’s instructions about how we live. What does it look like to live a resurrected life? What does it look like to “put to death whatever is earthly” in us? In Colossians 2, Paul gets specific about what a life looks like to live in such a way that we reflect the newness of resurrection.

Sometimes it can be isolating starting a friendship. You’ve demonstrated interest in them and they may not have shown similar interest in you. How can you make these new relationships deeper?

This Easter we celebrate not only Jesus’ resurrection, but also the sense in which we have “been raised with Christ.” Jesus’ resurrection means everything has changed; the same should be true for our lives, those of us who have been buried and raised with Christ, must have a completely new focus. In this lesson, we consider how setting our minds on things above does not mean sitting around waiting “to go to heaven,” but thinking of everything through the lens of Christ’s reign. As The Message puts it, “Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”

It can be difficult to know when the right time is to start a new relationship. Rather than worrying about the perfect thing to say, remember that demonstrating interest and making those first steps can be the hardest part.

Being serious about our “resurrection life” means being able to say “no” when the world threatens to derail our forward spiritual momentum with destructive and distracting philosophies. The only way to stand strong against these philosophies is to realize that a resurrected life is a filled life (a life that is lacking in nothing). When the world tells us we need something else to be “complete,” we can call their bluff because we know we who are raised with Christ are complete in him.

What I can gain from acting charitably and well in a relationship is worth more than what I can get when I act poorly in a relationship

Near the end of David’s reign, he idolized military power and strength by numbering his troops, in spite of warnings not to do so. Because of his idolatry and his failure to trust in God’s strength, a severe plague came upon the nation. David finally took responsibility for his actions and sought God’s mercy. Have we ever been guilty of trusting our safety and security to someone or something other than God? What are the consequences of that idolatry? What steps do we need to take to come back to a position of trusting God’s strength and providence?