How To Deal with the "Loss" of a Beloved Servant

June 26, 2010 / revheff / Leave a comment

Some of us who have worked closely with Pastor Clay and Megan at OGC over these last seven years gathered at my place last night for a farewell celebration. It was a sweet time of fellowship, feasting, and remembering.

The Anchored Youth gang did their version of a send-off last Wednesday night. There was food, sharing, card-writing, gift-giving, game-playing, and prayer (you can’t see him, but Pastor Clay sits underneath all these hands laid upon him).

Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will gather as a church for worship and fellowship for our final service with the Nettles, followed by a luncheon in the fellowship hall. Please remember that, in addition to our regular general fund offering, we will receive offerings toward a special love gift in appreciation of Clay and Megan and all they have meant to us at OGC in their time with us. A designated envelope will be in your worship bulletin to use for that purpose.

I opted to delay my return to preaching through the Gospel of John until next Sunday, July 4, as I felt the Lord nudge me toward helping us all deal with the real loss of such beloved servants. My text for tomorrow is 2 Tim. 4:9-18.

9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The apostle Paul describes at least five significant challenges/losses in the text and tells how he managed to make it through them all the while staying focused on his mission. I have ten specific applications to make to our loss that I trust will help us to follow him as he followed Jesus.

Will you pray with me that the Lord will visit us tomorrow powerfully with His Spirit to accomplish His purposes and that the day, sweet and sad though it will be, will linger in our memory for years to come as one of the most memorable in our history?

Giving Thanks Like a Healed Leper Should

June 21, 2010 / revheff / 2 Comments

I mentioned yesterday that next Sunday, Lord willing, we will receive a love offering, above and beyond our regular giving, for the Nettles as they finish their journey with us at the end of this month.

As I think about our stewardship of this important act of thanks for all these dear ones have done in our midst over the last several years, this story in Luke 17:11-19 comes to mind:

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Baffling, isn’t it? Ten lepers get made whole from their dreaded disease and yet only one bothers to return thanks. And Jesus made a point of noting the shame of it by asking, Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?

Matthew Henry comments:

How poor we are in our returns: “Where are the nine? Why did not they return to give thanks?’ ’ This intimates that ingratitude is a very common sin. Of the many that receive mercy from God, there are but few, very few, that return to give thanks in a right manner (scarcely one in ten), that render according to the benefit done to them.

I realize, of course, that the context speaks to the realities of our salvation and the need to give thanks to God for His mercy in cleansing us from the leprosy of sin by the blood of Christ on the cross. But surely we may make application on a broader scale, including honoring and esteeming servants like Clay and Megan who have given of themselves to us so generously at OGC.

So as I exhorted on Sunday, I exhort again. Please prayerfully consider what God might have you give toward this love offering for these dear ones as they head off to St. Augustine. A special envelope will be included in the bulletin this Sunday in which you may enclose your gift. If you know that you will be away this Sunday and unable to attend OGC as usual and would still like to give, please send your gift duly designated to the church office and we will include it in the total.

Let us be like the one and give thanks like healed lepers should and may God save us from the all too common sin of ingratitude.

The Best Possible Gift You Can Give Your Parents

June 20, 2010 / revheff / Leave a comment

My Father’s Day sermon is now on the web. You can listen to the audio here.

I ran out of time before I could cover these items of application following a brief summary.

So these are some thoughts this Father’s Day for the best possible gift to give your parents – their joy in your heart’s desire to go the way of the wise all your days. Do all you can to get and keep their wisdom. Always treat them with respect. Take care with whom you associate. Let me finish with some thoughts for application.

First, become an expert in the state of your heart. Don’t neglect it. Be rightly suspicious of it and ask others you trust to tell you what they see in your heart and listen carefully.

Second, beware pride and the all-too-easy tendency to be wise in your own eyes, particularly when it comes to dismissing your parents’ judgment and wisdom in a situation. Understand that humility and submission are prize virtues in the way of the wise.

Third, regularly appreciate and praise your parents with genuine affirmation not insincere flattery. Write them a tribute at some point. Get Dennis Rainey’s book. You won’t regret it.

Fourth, heed the sober warnings of the Scripture about dishonoring and despising your parents. If you have done so, go humble yourself and ask forgiveness.

Fifth, if you are hanging out with the wrong crowd on the path to destruction realize what that says about your own heart and determine to get yourself out of there as fast as possible and start hanging out with the wise. Remember the blessedness promised in Psalm 1:1 -2. If you need help getting untangled from bad associations ask for it.

May we be a cause of great gladness to our parents and certainly no “life sentence.”

Why I Took Notes at Ligonier

June 19, 2010 / revheff / 4 Comments

I took my laptop with me to the Ligonier National Conference this weekend. That additional folder in my system now has eleven new files, each one named for the various talks on tough questions Christians face.

Lately I’ve grown a little lax about note taking for sermons. I’ve gotten lazy, to be perfectly honest.

But then on the airplane coming back from Idaho recently I read Ken Ramey’s no nonsense little book called Expository Listening. The author pastors a Bible Church in Texas. He observed some time ago the plethora of resources written about expository preaching as compared to the paucity of books for the help of those on the receiving end. He decided to do something about it. The result is a book worth every serious Christian’s reading.

Two quotes in the book smacked me right between my eyes. The first comes from the Puritan Thomas Watson about the accountability that accrues to our account whenever we hear a sermon:

You must give an account for every sermon you hear. . . . The judge to whom we must give an account is God. . . how should we observe every word preached, remembering the account! Let all this make us shake off distraction and drowsiness in hearing, and have our ears chained to the word (p. 102).

I shudder to think how many sermons I’ve heard over the course of my Christian life, let alone the ones I’ve preached! This weekend I just heard another eleven! Every time we sit under the preaching of the word the light of God’s truth gets brighter in our lives. Those charged with being doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22) can ill afford to get distracted and drowsy in the matter of attending to the preaching of God’s word.

How grateful I was for this practical and timely reminder from Ramey about note taking under the heading of worshiping with your whole heart on the Lord’s Day:

Take notes: This is one of the simplest ways to increase the impact of a sermon on your life. It helps you stay focused, and it is more likely that you will remember the key points. Don’t try to transcribe the entire sermon. Just write down the main points and the principles you most want to remember. This will serve as something tangible to take home and reflect on and discuss with others the truths taught in the sermon and how you plan to put them into practice in your life (p. 46).

I can’t tell you how much more I think I got out of this year’s Ligonier Conference as a result of that counsel. It helped keep my ears chained to the word. I trust my eternal judgment will go substantially better as a result.

Anybody for taking notes on Prov. 23:12-28 tomorrow?

Ligonier National Conference Begins Today!

June 17, 2010 / revheff / Leave a comment

Tough Questions Christians Face.

That’s the theme for this year’s Ligonier National Conference beginning today here in Orlando and running through Saturday morning.

Here is the promo paragraph from the Ligonier website for the conference:

Christ has redeemed us to be a light that directs others to Him. Fulfilling this call requires us to be able to deal with the most difficult questions asked about the Christian faith. If we are unprepared for the darkness around us, it will be harder to counter it with the truth of God’s Word. Join us as we look at some of the toughest questions Christians face. Our goal is to equip you to answer questions that all Christians and non-Christians find perplexing.

Did you know that Ligonier is live streaming video of every session on line?

You can view any talk you wish by clicking on here.

Making War on Anxiety When War Is Made Upon You

June 15, 2010 / revheff / Leave a comment

I had hoped to finish volume two of Ian Murray’s biography of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones these three weeks in Idaho. I made it past page 500. There are still another 300 or so to go.

As with volume one, the Lord challenged me on several fronts with this portion of the life of arguably Britain’s greatest preacher of the 20^th century.

Particularly fascinating to me were accounts related to the man’s ministry during WWII in London. He served alongside the spiritual giant G. Campbell Morgan, for whom he later took over in the pulpit at Westminster Chapel.

The two met weekly. Not much got recorded of their conversations. But Murray does relate on pp. 11-12 of volume two how Morgan feared in the early years of the conflict with Germany for the end of the work of his church and that nothing would remain for Lloyd-Jones to pastor.

For fifty-seven nights in succession, an average of two hundred German bombers were over London every night. Churchill later wrote, ‘At this time we saw no end but the demolition of the whole metropolis.’ Before the end of October, 1940 the Bishop of London was to state that in his diocese alone 32 churches had been destroyed, and 47 seriously damaged. What hope had Westminster Chapel, standing as it did so close to Buckingham Palace and other primary targets for German bombing? . . . The old veteran did not hide his dismay over the situation into which his friend had been brought. It was not so much that Morgan was concerned for himself. “Although I confess it is not easy,’ he wrote, ‘I am constantly hearing in my own soul the words: “In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God”.’ But he did fear that Lloyd-Jones might be left without work and without a pastorate.

I find it difficult to imagine living night after night under such perilous circumstances. The temptation to worry would certainly threaten to overwhelm the best of servants. How did this man of God wage war on anxiety while the Third Reich made war upon him, his church, and all of England? He took up an all-important weapon in his spiritual armor to keep worry at bay. He brandished the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph. 6:17).

The words Campbell constantly heard, of course, come from the Bible in Philippians 4:6-7. Or he could have heard Matthew 6:25 as we had preached on Sunday. Or he could have heard 1 Peter 5:7 or any number of other texts.

But God brought to mind the Philippians passage in particular perhaps because it contains in its two short verses a seemingly complete package for waging war on worry.

First, there is the prohibition against worry, at all. The Greek text reads literally, Nothing be anxious. The object comes before the imperative for emphasis. God commands us not to worry about anything, including life-threatening danger.

Second, there is the prescription to fight against worry with prayer. The same word order emphasis holds true for the prescription as for the prohibition. The ESV reflects the literal version perfectly: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (emphasis added). As one writer put it, Anxiety and prayer are more opposed to each other than fire and water.

Third, there is the promise of God-given, beyond-all-human-comprehension peace in v. 7. Those who refuse worrying in favor of praying relentlessly can count on a supernatural peace that stands guard at the door of their heart even on the 57^th night of pounding by the 200th bomber in the middle of a world war.

On what front presently do you find yourself tempted to give way to the sin of worry? You can’t fight against it unarmed. Take up the sword of the word and do battle with it. Put off your anxiety. Kill it. Put on in its place specific, continual, faith-filled petitions to God about your concerns all the while making certain to surround your requests with the sweet fragrance of thanksgiving for His many gifts to you and His sovereign control over all things that concern you. And take the massive promise of supernatural peace to the bank of your soul and let it stand guard over the contents therein.

If G. Campbell Morgan could do it in the middle of a global conflict, we can do it in the middle of whatever battles we must fight.

For What Are We Living?

June 12, 2010 / revheff / 1 Comment

Our place in Idaho lies quite near part of the path taken by Merriwether Lewis and William Clark in their famous 1803-05 journey to find an all-water route across the western two-thirds of the American continent.

Living so close to such notable US history prompted me a couple of years ago to pick up and read a copy of Stephen E. Ambrose’s fascinating account of the Lewis and Clark expedition entitled Undaunted Courage (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1996, 521 pages).

Nancy and I have actually followed the path through the Lolo Pass from Missoula, Montana, down to Kooskia, Idaho, where we live. We stopped at each of the historical markers to remember and imagine what took place at each spot along the way.

On page 280, Ambrose tells of this oft-quoted journal entry of Lewis written in a spirit of introspection and self-criticism (Lewis’ exact spelling has been preserved):

“This day I completed my thirty first year,” he began. He figured he was halfway through his life’s journey. “I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the hapiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now soarly feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended.”

He shook the mood, writing that, since the past could not be recalled, “I dash from me the gloomy thought and resolved in future, to redouble my exertions and at least indeavour to promote those two primary objects of human existence, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestoed on me . . . “ and here he seems to have lost his train of thought. Whatever the cause, he forgot to name those “two primary objects of human existence,” and instead ended, “in future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.”

Few would doubt the significance of Lewis’ contribution to mankind as an explorer, naturalist, cartographer, and author. He did indeed advance the information of succeeding generations.

Merriwether Lewis’ example reminds me of another man of great resolve who lived to further the happiness of the human race, albeit on a more elevated plane, namely Paul, the apostle. Ponder these words of his from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

We don’t have to wait for another birthday to examine ourselves with questions like For what am I living? How do you, how do I, answer such a question at this point in our lives? Does indolence mark our existence? God forbid. As followers of the one who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) how can we fritter our days away in laziness and purposelessness?

Like Paul, we as redeemed people find ourselves under obligation to all kinds of people for the sake of the gospel (Rom. 1:14-15). For whom are we becoming all things that we might save some? What choices are we making over which we might wave the banner I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I might share with them in its blessings?

Whatever two primary objects of human existence Lewis may have lost track of in his mind on his 31^st birthday, we must daily remind ourselves as disciple-makers of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20) of the two made plain at the outset of our historic Reformed confessions – to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Let’s live for such splendid and worthwhile objectives in the lives of others and thus ultimately further the happiness of the human race.

The Message of the Mountains

June 8, 2010 / revheff / 2 Comments

My through-the-Bible-in-a year reading plan brought me to Psalm 125 the other day.

A Song of Ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts!
5 But those who turn aside to their crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with evildoers!
Peace be upon Israel!

The Clearwater Mountains don’t exactly surround our place in Idaho, but they stretch across the eastern horizon easily viewed from our home.

I couldn’t help but stop and ponder these verses especially during our time out west.

The imagery of the first two verses would have struck the Israelites all the more forcefully. Jerusalem sets upon one of seven hills in the region. The other six mountains surround it on every side. That made the ancient city a nearly impregnable fortress.

As a song of ascents, the Jews would sing this as they journeyed to the holy city for the various feasts. This psalm reminded them of a most important message, a message of the mountains.

Those who trust in Yahweh are like Mt. Zion that cannot be moved, but abides forever.

Because the covenant keeping, faithful God of Israel surrounds His people like the mountains around Jerusalem they remain unshaken in their confidence in Him no matter what providence may bring into their circumstances. They are perpetually, as Psalm 112:7 says, not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

Matthew Henry, the Puritan commentator noticed two things about this security afforded to those who trust in Yahweh:

Observe, (1.) The compass of it: The Lord is round about his people on every side. There is no gap in the hedge of protection which he makes round about his people, at which the enemy, who goes about them, seeking to do them a mischief, can find entrance, Job 1:10. (2.) The continuance of it—henceforth even forever. Mountains may moulder and come to nought, and rocks be removed out of their place (Job 14:18), but God’s covenant with his people cannot be broken (Isa. 54:10) nor his care of them cease.

Do you trust in Yahweh, through His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ? Then you have access to a security and confidence as formidable as the mountains that surround Jerusalem.

The worst of news cannot ultimately unnerve you – not a cancer diagnosis, not a job pink slip, not a stock market crash, not a change in political administration, not a clash of global enemies, not a fall of some brother or sister into sin, nothing, absolutely nothing, not now or ever, can move the one who casts himself wholeheartedly on the sovereign God who surrounds His people like the mountains surround Jerusalem.

What’s a FL Pastor Doing in the ID Wilderness?

June 5, 2010 / revheff / 8 Comments

Do you mean besides plugging leaks in plumbing piping?

Do you mean besides patching holes from woodpecker pecking?

Do you mean besides catching rest after capital campaign campaigning?

Short answer? He’s looking for help. Divine help. And lots of it.

I never tire of the view of the Clearwater Mountain range from our place. It regularly reminds me of Psalm 121:1-2.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Nancy and I come to our place each spring for a week of R & R along with two weeks of P & P & P (prayer, perspective, & planning).

The wilderness affords us the opportunity to step back from the demands of every day ministry so that I might attempt get the Lord’s view of the big picture back home. More than ever I sense the need for His help in knowing how to serve our church in moving into the future.

I felt led to bring these tools with me to aid in the process.

I sorted them from right to left into the three categories of my two-week, work-related pursuit here: pastoral, missional, and intellectual.

Sometimes I end emails with “You make me want to be a better pastor!” Do your best passages like 2 Tim. 2:15 persuade me that shepherds must seek God regularly to make them better servants of His flock. Piper’s Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, I have read twice before. I assigned it to our summer pastoral intern for our discussion. I read a chapter a day here and journal my thoughts.

Here’s a sample from chapter 9 – Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes.

Ministry is its own worst enemy. It is not destroyed by the big, bad wolf of the world. It destroys itself. One survey of pastors asked, “What are the most common obstacles to spiritual growth?” The top three were busyness (83 percent), lack of discipline (73 percent), and interruptions (47 percent). Most of these interruptions and most of our busyness is ministry–related, not “worldly.” The great threat to our prayer and meditation on the Word of God is good ministry activity (pp. 59-60).

A passage like that makes me think reading Piper’s book again needs to happen more for my sake’s than Kevin’s.

That’s volume two of Ian Murray’s biography of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, arguably one of the best preachers of the 20^th century. Alistair Begg called this work the most significant thing he has ever read. I finished part one last spring. Time to tackle part two this year. Witmer’s book is brand new to me. Our elders all possess a copy. The subtitle, Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church, intrigues me in light of our desire as leaders to shepherd well the flock of God entrusted to our care.

The manuals to the left came along with a recent upgrade to my Logos 4 Bible study software. I simply don’t have time to master thent components of this amazing program while going about my regular ministry. I hope to work through both these manuals while here so I can make better use of its resources to enhance my study of God’s word. I’ve finished volume one and have pressed on into volume two.

The stack in the middle possesses the greatest challenge for me. I call it the missional collection. All these titles possess similar content. They aim to help church leaders shape their ministries for effective outreach. Crouch’s book, Culture Making, comes highly recommended by our lead worshipper intern. I offered to read it along with Greg so we might discuss, among other things, how the arts might work as a medium for building bridges for the gospel.

The others all have their story as to how they got into my hands. I’ll close this post with some thoughts on just one more, Comeback Churches.

As soon as I saw that book with its particular title I jumped on it. After all, that’s what we’ve tried to make of OGC since 2002 – a comeback church. I’ve picked it up twice in the past only to stall in chapter two. Now seems to be the time. I’ve actually finished it at this writing. I found it gave me some helpful tracks to run on in evaluating how well we’ve done at OGC in becoming a “comeback church.” Stetzer and Dodson admit they start with a fundamental presupposition:

The wrong question is whether your church is “traditional” or “contemporary” and which is better. The real issue is whether your church is biblically faithful, acting as the presence of Christ in the community at large, able to relate Christ to people in culture, and is on mission. In short, is your church “missional” (p. 4)?

I pushed back in my reading at those places that smelled a bit overly pragmatic and church-growth-movement oriented, but all in all I sensed the Lord spoke to me through it. Some concrete ideas for planning, particularly related to outreach to our community, developed as a result.

I have often said that 2010 would mark the point at which I would step back and take a hard look at how we’ve done with Operation Nehemiah – Rebuilding the Walls at OGC. I find myself grateful to God here in Idaho for many ways God has worked over the last seven years in Orlando. But I sense no release at all from the Lord in terms of the rebuilding process until we accomplish, by His grace, two more things: building a facility and getting more thoroughly on mission.

Only one in ten churches in the US grows due to conversion. That makes this second remaining objective more daunting to me than the first. God must give the growth, but we must get better at sowing and watering the seed and I need to help lead us there.

May God give us grace and help to turn our eyes outward more consistently to the lost while remaining devoted to building up one another in our most holy faith.

And that’s what this citified FL pastor is doing in an Idaho wilderness place like this.

Eleven Things This Pastor Loves About His Church

May 27, 2010 / revheff / 6 Comments

This post comes from Hannah’s Closet in Grangeville, Idaho.

Nancy and I came up to civilization for the morning so I could do emails and blog. Fortunately or unfortunately we don’t have internet access at our house in the valley.

Week one of our prayer/study/planning time in the wilderness has gotten off to a great start. It is good to wait on the Lord in the quiet of northwest. Thank you for your prayers that we will hear His voice and be refreshed.

I took great delight in accessing my email and Facebook accounts to see so many great pictures and comments from our capital campaign conclusion last Sunday. It was a great day in the history of a church that belongs to a great God!

I mentioned at the end of our time together on Sunday night how much Nancy and I love the folks of OGC. These last few days of reflection on the events of the weekend and this season of our church’s history caused me to make a list of eleven things I love about our church.

We willingly take calculated risks by faith believing God takes delight in the same (Heb. 11:6).
We respond well to God’s appointed leaders being easily led without acting like mindless automatons (Heb. 13:17).
We show increasingly greater understanding about the absolute necessity of prayer in a faith venture given the fact that we can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5).
We show increasingly greater understanding about the absolute necessity of being a church on mission, building bridges into the community with the gospel (Matt. 5:16).
We esteem the Word of God as inerrant and authoritative down to the very words standing out of respect when it is read (Neh. 8:5).
We value hearing expository preaching of God’s word striving to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).
We seek to inflame the passion of our joy in God by taking seriously calls like consider your ways, listening to the Holy Spirit to do as He requires (Hag. 1:5 & 7).
We engage in biblical fellowship eating and drinking before the Lord as we celebrate His goodness to us (1 Chron. 29:22).
We give a standing ovation to God for His work in our lives that stirs us to give generously and sacrificially to His work (1 Chron. 29:9).
We count a culture of peace a priority in our fellowship determining to navigate even potentially divisive things like a building program with fierce love for one another (Rom. 12:18).
We cooperate together in making killer video welcome clips for our website (couldn’t think of a verse to go with this)!