Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), Acts 4:36 Read the following passages of scripture: Matthew 14:22-27- Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the…
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Praying For Each Other
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those, you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to…
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Serving One Another
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. John 13: 14 People hate having other people wash their feet. Women who get manicures probably wash their feet before they go to their appointment and make sure they have clean shoes to put on. At least that is me! This act of servanthood is a very humbling act of servanthood to one another. Let’s read John 13:1-17 together, It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the…
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Fellowship That Is Genuine
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 Read the following passages! 1 John 2:9-11 – Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going because the darkness…
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Genuine Fellowship
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3 Let’s read 1 John 1:1-7, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that…
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Love One Another
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12. God is invisible in nature. We, as humans, like to see and touch who we are communicating with. It can be hard for some to go to God and converse with Him, to take the time and spend it with Him. As we build our relationship with God, we will love other believers; by his Spirit, and the communications of his love, and by his gracious…
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I belong
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; Ephesians 4:4 Do you connect with others well? Or do you struggle with connecting with others? God made us for a community with one another. Take a look at what Genesis 2:18 says; The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” While Jesus walked here on earth, he had connected with many people. However, He had 12 close friends called disciples. Within that circle, he had Peter, James, and John, who were His closest friends. He showed us how…
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Connecting With One Another
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— John 1:12 Let’s start with reading scriptures that talk about making connections. Read the following passages. John 17:17 says, “ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given…
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Enjoying God
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16: 23-25 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will repeat it: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 What do these passages teach us? What do they teach…
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Depending On God
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5 Read the following passages of scripture. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I,…