"To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father." (Colossians 1:2)
This is a verse that is often skipped over, but one which holds a huge truth. Every christian is a saint and a member of the family of God. When we meet together as Christians, it’s a time to celebrate this fact. In doing so, we celebrate something that the reformer Martin Luther called The Great Exchange:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”. Salvation is a one step process: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”. (John 3:16)
As the Gospel community, living within the kingdom of God, the Church should seek to prioritise the kingdom purposes. These kingdom purposes are the Invitation to join the Kingdom (Evangelism), the Participating in the Kingdom (Edification), Sharing the Kingdom (Social Concern), and Celebrating the King (Worship). These four purposes are the primary priorities of the Church.
A Christmas without Christ would just be another holiday. Yet for many, even in our western society that still claims faint allegiances to the biblical story surrounding this season, Christmas will be little more than a break from the regular routines of life – a time for family, feasting and festivity rather than of heart-felt worship and thanksgiving to the God of heaven for the gift of His Son.
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
If you have ever set foot inside a church, you will have encountered people who are undecided about the role of music in the worship life of the family of God. To avoid silly arguments, it is best to look at the bible rather than people's personal taste. The bible does not give us specific guidelines about songs and genres of music. What it does give us, however, are principles regarding the holiness of God, and the nature of worship, and if we believe that the bible is the inspired word of God, we are to cling to those principles.
Before we set off down the road of what God says about the interactions between men and women in His word, a few things need to be made very clear. The church has often placed a great deal of value and emphasis on people who are not single, often because it is slow to understand the culture that surrounds it. Focussing on being a “family friendly church” often leads to those who are single feeling less welcome.
(I will preface this by saying that as a man, I do not experience or understand all the ins and outs of what it means to be a biblical woman. I am writing this specifically to males, and to be helpful to those who interact with and are the parents of males. I hope it will be helpful in understanding what God, as a loving heavenly father, expects of His sons)
