Walnut Street Church of Christ Dickson, TN

Our unity is a valuable testimony. Who else could make us one? But if our unity is a testimony, that would mean that the opposite is true as well. Our disunity can be a repellent.

One of our shepherds at Walnut Street shares a lesson on evangelism and how we, as children of God, have been saved to save.

Not only do we grieve with hope, but we also grieve with family. Grieving can be made so much easier when we know that we have the Lord on our side. And the pain we feel can be lessened by knowing that we have a church family that weeps with us. Comforting those who are hurting is a work of the church that all Christians should buy into.

In this message, one of our shepherds, Troy Williams, shares the meaning of being in Christ and the affect of such on our lives as well as the lives of others.

The word “serve” or “to serve” comes from the Greek word doulos, which means “slave” or “to be a slave.” Think about that for a moment. Christ set us free from the slavery of sin only to make us slaves to one another through the love of Christ. Instead of being masters with many servants, we are called to be servants with many masters. Christ didn’t just remove the chains of sin and condemnation. He also unshackled us to a new life marked by holiness and love.

The Lord’s church is a body—something Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12. We are all a functioning part of this body, and our functionality gives the body life and power. And the connective tissue prayer. So, if we want to be a strong body for the Lord, then we must be a praying people. And if you want to pray with more power, then pray with more people.

Why should we love one another? Other than we’re told to. We do it because we can’t help it. It’s who we are. It’s in our DNA. It all comes down to identity. The Apostle John stresses this over and over again. If this is not who you are, then how can the love of God be in you? If love doesn’t define you, then are you really following Jesus? Do you love God? If so, that inherently means that you love others. The two go hand in hand.

There was a little girl who was late getting home from school. Her mom was starting to worry and had started out the door to go look for her when she noticed her coming up the sidewalk. The mom asked her daughter, “Where have you been?” The little girl replied, “Janie dropped her art project, and it shattered into a thousand pieces.” The mom said, “Oh, well, that makes sense. You stopped to help her pick it up.” The little girl replied, “No, I stopped to help her cry.” That little girl understood something we all need to understand. Simply being present may help lighten a burden and help the one who is hurting face another hour, another day, another season.

You are defined by your relationship with God, and that relationship defines all other relationships in your life. Every damaged relationship in your life points back to your closeness with God. Every barrier to love in our horizontal relationships is a reflection of a problem with love in our vertical relationship. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the vertical is straight if the horizontal is crooked.

The language of Hebrews 10:24 seems rather negative on the surface. It’s paroxysmos and it means “to incite” or “provoke.” It’s derived from the Greek word for rebellion. This is the language of rebels and revolution. It’s the language of insurrection and uprising. We are instructed to consider how to start a riot! Not a riot that produces violence and hatred and oppression and destruction. The Hebrew writer is saying, “Start a riot of love and good works.”