Called to Community
Life in Community
Irritations
Pages 187-194
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Ephesians 4:2-6 (NIV) Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:25-27 (NIV) Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
James 4:11-12 (NIV) Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you— who are you to judge your neighbor?
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
Irritations are a fact of life, but how we deal with them can make or break a community. What advice in this chapter did you find most helpful?
Why do irritations so easily grow out of proportion?
Does “not judging” another person mean we are never to talk to them about a problem they may have?
EXTRA READING:
“At some thoughts, one stands perplexed, above all at the sight of human sin, and wonders whether to combat it by force or by humble love. Always decide ‘I will combat it by humble love.’ If you resolve on that once and for all, you can conquer the whole world. Loving humility is a terrible force: it is the strongest of all things, and there is nothing else like it.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881)