site logo
  • About Us
    • Our Staff
    • Our History
    • News
  • Contact Us
  • FREE!
    • FREE Digital Mag
    • Weekly Downloads
    • Resources
  • Print Subscriptions
  • NEW! CC Churchlink
Homepage > Bible Study Tools > Application > The Lesson and Life for November 6
October 30, 2011  |  By Mike

The Lesson and Life for November 6

Print

By Bob Stacy

  I remember well the day. My stomach churned and my heart seemed to do cartwheels. I had heard that something I’d said in the previous day’s sermon had really upset her. And she was not only a member of the church, she was a friend.

 

What Should I Do?

“What should I do?” I asked myself. “Forget it and go on as if it never happened, or try to make amends?”

Disharmony seems to rear its ugly head in every relationship. And it’s never pleasant. I remember a church that split over the question of whether to build a new building or put a new roof on the existing building.

Of course, there are bigger issues that cause disharmony, issues such as the choice of a teacher for Sunday school class, the selection of a certain individual as an elder, the use of literature from a certain publishing house, or the hiring or firing of the preacher.

Nothing is more harmful to the peace of God’s people than disharmony. The Philippian church was a favorite of the apostle Paul, but even within that church there was disharmony. Paul wrote, “I plead with Euodia and Synteche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yoke-fellow, help these women” (Philippians 4:2, 3). To those in Corinth who were causing disharmony, he wrote, “I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you maybe perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). And remember Psalm 133:1, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.”

 

The Choice: Harmony

I’d better go see her and try to straighten this out, I thought. And what a beautiful experience. I apologized and explained what I’d meant by the remark that had hurt her. She cried. I shed some tears. We prayed. And that was the end of it. My stomach churned no more. Peacemaking and harmony are always worth the effort. Peacemakers “will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Could it be better than that?

 

Bob Stacy is has served as preaching minister in a number of churches, as founder of Christ In Youth, and as a professor of Bible and ministry in three colleges. He and his wife Nell are presently serving the Spring Hill Church of Christ in Middletown, Ohio.

bob stacy Lesson and Life
Previous StoryThe purpose of art, part 11: movies and television
Next StoryLiving in harmony with others – The Uniform Lesson for November 6

Comments: no replies

Join in: leave your comment Cancel Reply

(will not be shared)

Search

Helpful Resources

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest news, plus links to new posts at LookoutMag.com directly to your inbox every month.





Christian Standard Media

We provide true-to-the-Bible resources that inspire, educate, and motivate people to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. For 150 years we have been serving the Christian community with products that have but one purpose: bringing the Bible to life.

Contact

16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202
Parker, CO 80134
800-543-1353
Lookout@christianstandardmedia.com

[contact-form-7 id=”24009″ title=”Subscribe for Free!_copy”]

Magazine WordPress Theme made by ThemeFuse