Becoming a Loving Church

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Becoming a Loving Church</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id210.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Learning From a Mirror"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id213.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What Difference Does Your Faith Make?"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Becoming a Loving Church,” Berean Bible Church, June 24, 2001am, James 2:1-13</B></div> <bR> <div>      We can be a loving church by becoming actively loving individuals. Church is not meant to be a “Country Club.” <I>“Many years ago a shabbily dressed boy trudged several miles through the snowy streets of Chicago, determined to attend a Bible class that was conducted by D.L. Moody. When he arrived, he was asked, "Why did you come to a Sunday school so far away? Why didn't you go to one of the churches near your home?" He answered simply, "Because you love a fellow over here."”</I>  If we expect to help people belong to Christ and grow up in Christ, we must help them get connected by loving them generously.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. Show love consistently, without favoritism.</B></div> <div> A. James 2:1-7: James’ command, example, and explanation</div> <div> 1. Vs. 1: Command – Don’t show partiality, treat one person better than another, or show favoritism. This is inconsistent with having faith, being truly "Christian."</div> <div> 2. Vss. 2-4: Example –  How we treat the rich and poor at church.</div> <div> Ways we might discriminate: rich and poor, race, social skills, education or mental abilities, people who can help us vs. people who can’t, funny/entertaining vs. boring people, power and influence level, age – young or old, people who conform to our “inside” list of rules.</div> <div> 3. Vss. 5-7: Two Reasons – why preferring the rich over the poor is wrong.</div> <div> a. God shows grace and mercy to the poor.</div> <div> b. The rich often treat the poor shamefully.</div> <div> B. James 2:8-13: The principle behind the command</div> <div> 1. Vss. 8-9: The biblical principle, from Leviticus 19:18 - "Love your neighbor as yourself."</div> <div> 2. Vss. 10-13: The call for consistency. Breaking any law reveals an attitude against the law. We don't get to pick and choose which of God's laws we will obey and which we will disobey.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Show kindness to strangers at Church.</B></div> <div>      Look out for people you don’t know or don’t know well – say hello, be friendly, ask about their lives. Rather than asking "Is this your first time here?" and hearing "I've been coming six months" and thus feeling embarrassed, ask "How long have you been coming to Berean?" Our church is big enough that you will not possibly know everyone, even if they have been coming awhile!</div> <div>      And pay special attention to the poor. Don't neglect them just because they don't come from your social class. Chenango County poverty stats: 15.5% of persons (about 8000), 24.7% of children (about 3600). Imagine a single mother, with a couple kids, who are not very clean or well-behaved. Are you willing to go out of your way to show love and grace?</div> <div>      Obviously, we can’t be best friends with everyone, but we can show kindness and grace to everyone.</div> <bR> <div>       In his book <U>Mere Christianity</U>, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less." </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2001, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>