Tag: One Anothering

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:15 — 13.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 13:34-35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Ephesians 5:25-32

One Anothering
Love One Another
John 13:34-35, John 15:12, John 15:17, Ephesians 5:25-32

Be Devoted to one another.
Ruth 1:16-18, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 5:1-2

To honor one another.
Romans 12:10, Philippians 2:3-4

To submit to one another.
Ephesians 5:21, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, Acts 21

To accept one another.
Romans 15:7, Romans 14, Romans 15, John 13:34-35, Matthew 25:40-45

To admonish one another.
Colossians 3:15-17, Romans 15:14, Galatians 2:11-13, Proverbs 12:1

To encourage one another.
Hebrews 3:12-14, Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 4:29

To serve one another.
Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28

To bear one another’s burdens.
Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

To bear with one another.
Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:18

To pray for one another.
James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-17, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

And finally, to spur one another on to love.
Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:31 — 18.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

One Anothering
Spur One Another On
Hebrews 10:23-25, Galatians 4:16, Proverbs 27:6, Proverbs 18:21

“My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.”
“Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.”
“Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.”
“Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.”
“Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.”
“Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.”
“Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.”
“Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was not his fault.”

God doesn’t want to hear excuses, rather He wants to hear confessions and resolutions. God wants to see genuine repentance and faithfulness.

Hebrews was written to persuade them to come back to Christ and stick with Christ.

Usually, when we think of provoking someone, we think of doing so in a negative sense, rather than a positive sense.

There are people to be loved, there is service to be performed, and there is justice to be done.

Deeper and more meaningful relationships require something more than just niceness. Deeper and more meaningful relationships require prodding and provoking.

We can provoke people by our PRESENCE The first thing we must do is faithfully gather with the church as a whole and with each other individually.

We can provoke people by our EXAMPLE So let’s continue in our faithfulness and allow it to be a powerful example that spurs one another on.

There is a time for warm, encouraging words, and there is also a time for corrective and challenging words.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:11 — 19.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

One Anothering
Bear One Another’s Burdens
Galatians 6:1-5, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:14

Sucked in, washed up, and blown over…that’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.

The “burdens” that we are to help others carry include any sort of difficulties that people face.

As followers of Jesus, there are certain Christian responsibilities or burdens that each believer must bear and these burdens or responsibilities cannot be lifted by others.

And so, as Christians, we need to accept the fact that we too will have burdens to carry.

If the person needing the help isn’t open and honest enough about their struggle or burden, then no one will know what their burden is.

In other words, God helps us carry our burdens through his people.

Let’s love each other enough to want to help those who are burdened. And then, let us be humble enough to be willing to receive the loving assistance of others.

I hope that our love for each other will cause us to feel that no burden is too heavy to help a brother or sister to bear.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:10 — 20.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-18, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

One Anothering
Pray For One Another
James 5:16, Ephesians 6:18, Acts 12:1-18, Matthew 7:7-11, Philippians 4:6-7

I’m guessing that most of us believe in prayer, but would admit that we don’t feel like we are very good at it, or that we don’t do enough of it.

The right view of God is to see Him as our Heavenly Father, who is a great parent who hears all our requests but gives us what is good for us, which is not always what we want.

Prayer involves an intimate relationship where we share our struggles and needs with each other so that we can pray for each other.

Not only did Paul request prayer, he made others aware that he was praying for them.

That’s the best “but” there is, right? But the church was praying to God for him.

I think God included it as an encouragement to us, so that we would understand that God answers our prayers even when our prayers and our faith are not perfect.

Jesus continues to intercede for us, and we can intercede for each other.

How would that change the way we pray for ourselves and others if we prayed less about our needs and desires and prayed more for God’s purposes?

Prayer is ultimately not getting our will done in heaven, but getting God’s will done on earth.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:59 — 19.2MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:18

One Anothering
Bear With One Another
Ephesians 4:1-3, Colossians 3:13, Romans 12:18

To live above, with saints we love, that will be glory. To live below, with the saints we know, that’s quite a different story!

But doesn’t Tolkien’s story sound a lot like the challenges that we face as “the fellowship of God’s people” as we attempt to carry out our quest to do the Will and Works of God in this world?

It is not God’s will that we accept or tolerate the sins of our brothers and sisters in Christ–sins must be repented of not tolerated.

I think it would be helpful for us to have a mantra of “be gentle and patient.”

Forgiveness is one of those difficult and painful subjects that we wrestle with.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing.

Patience, forbearance, forgiveness and peace are not automatic–they involve deliberate acts of the will and a whole lot of effort.

Prayer makes a difference and brings change, but we might be surprised by what change it brings.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:50 — 17.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, John 13:1-17

One Anothering
Serve One Another
Galatians 5:13-15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, John 13:1-17

We want to love one another as God has commanded us to love one another just as He loves us.

But what does Paul mean by freedom? In what ways are we free? Sometimes it helps to look at what something doesn’t mean, in order to understand what it does mean.

We are not free to do something foolish just because it is legal; just because something is permitted under the law doesn’t make it good or right.

Our freedom in Christ is not a freedom to indulge the flesh, but a freedom to serve one another in love.

And there is no better way to love each other than by serving each other.

Jesus is our perfect example of service, and we are called to serve each other in love, and we will be blessed if we do so.

Serving others with love, because of Jesus, leads to true fulfillment and true greatness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:52 — 18.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 3:12-14, Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 4:29

One Anothering
Encourage One Another
Hebrews 3:12-14, Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 4:29

“Basement people” are the discouragers in our lives.
“Balcony people” are the great encouragers of our lives and we all need them!

Therefore, the Hebrew writer commanded them to continue to meet together for encouragement and to encourage each other daily.

How encouraging it must have been to those in need to have someone like Barnabas make a sacrifice on their behalf.

So, here’s Barnabas, a man who never wrote a book that made it into the Bible, but he encouraged two men who wrote over half of the New Testament.

Another very important way that our presence makes a difference is here at worship services and at the other gatherings of the church.

Words of encouragement can be given in many ways. We can do it privately or publicly. It can be done in person or by letter, email, text, or phone call.

Let’s be balcony people not basement people! May God help us learn to encourage one another.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:53 — 18.5MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Colossians 3:15-17, Romans 15:14, Galatians 2:11-13, Proverbs 12:1

One Anothering
Admonish One Another
Colossians 3:15-17, Romans 15:14, Galatians 2:11-13, Proverbs 12:1

But nevertheless, in the face of our dislike of confrontation and its abuse by some, God says that it is necessary and can be very helpful.

Biblical admonition involves moral correction through verbal confrontation that is motivated by genuine love.

If admonition is done in the right spirit, with the right motive, using an appropriate method, then the person receiving the admonition will be better for it.

Truthfully, if we are not characterized by goodness and growing in the knowledge of God’s Word, then we should be receiving not giving admonishment.

The words we use are only a small part of what gets communicated.

God’s Word has power to penetrate and convict and change a person like nothing else.

Even in the best scenario, admonition is a little embarrassing and painful.

It is so important for us to learn how to receive admonition with humility. And it is so important for us to learn how to admonish others.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:36 — 23.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Romans 15:7, John 13:34-35, Romans 14, Romans 15, Matthew 25:40-45

One Anothering
Accept One Another
Romans 15:7, John 13:34-35, Romans 14, Romans 15, Matthew 25:40-45

Do you think that Jesus is welcome here at Richmond Community Church? How welcoming and accepting of others are we as a church?

By His loving acceptance, He was able to make a distinction between who people are and what they have done or what they have allowed themselves to become.

God has created all of us with the need to be loved and accepted, and God’s intent is for the church to be the place where love and acceptance can be realized.

I would like to suggest that the “who” we are to accept includes both non-Christians and Christians.

Everyone should matter to us, and everyone should be welcome to come among us at church.

So, we must do our best to accept people without prejudice or being judgmental.

If God has not given a clear command and instruction on the matter, then let’s give each other the right to come to our own conclusions, to make our own personal choices.

Paul meant that we don’t want to cause a Christian to do something that they cannot do with a clear conscience and therefore cause them to sin against the Lord.

What would happen if we tried to treat each person the way we would treat Jesus himself?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:11 — 20.0MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:21, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, Acts 21

One Anothering
Submit to One Another
Ephesians 5:21, Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28, Acts 21

Battleships must learn to submit to lighthouses.

“People are not complex, they really just want to achieve their personal definition of peace and quiet and to have their own sweet way.”

In its most general use, submission means to yield to another’s admonition and advice.

This mutual submission, even by those who are in authority, is a distinctive concept made possible by Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul, who recorded these observations about Christ, and who gave us the command to submit to one another, also put this command into
practice in his own life.

He willingly set aside being right and defending himself for a higher good.

And so first of all, we must understand that submission is not about being a doormat.

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.