Let's seek this Sunday to greet the person that we don't know. Some have attended our church for months without being approached by one of us. Together we can fix this!

Let's get to know each other, love each other and become connected to each other. God's desire is to bring us into connectedness with himself and with others. These "others" are our family.

Ephesians 2 tells we are citizens of heaven along with all of God’s holy people. We are members of God’s family. We are carefully joined together in Christ, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

One of the most popular sitcoms of all time is a show is a show that speaks to something that we all want but sometimes, people have more of them than others. Can you guess which show it is? 

The answer (if you guessed) is the show FRIENDS.

If you are familiar with the show, it had a 10-year run time and shared the adventures of six friends living in New York city studio apartment, where they learn to navigate conflict of their being in their twenties and thirties. If you have never seen the show, I won’t give away anything and “Pivot” to another topic. 

What made this show so popular is that each of these people that are portrayed in the show, are all opposite in personality and show different strengths and weaknesses that are quite relatable to viewers watching the show. The characters learn how to tread through difficult times together and show how to resolve conflict at the end of each episode 

Although Friends is not a true picture of reality, there is something about this show that speaks to something that every human desires. Every human being has a desire for deep meaningful relationships in their lives.

It’s not hard to say, but it is a whole other thing to practice. 

The truth is every friendship does not always end in the same way that an episode of Friends does. 

People are complex, with different experiences and reasons why they do what they do.

It almost seems impossible today to have and sustain meaningful relationships for long periods of time. 

Jesus spoke to this reality when he was addressing his group of disciples in John 13:35 where he says, “³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (NIV). 

Jesus calls us to love one another. 

This sounds great……..until we try to do it. 

It’s not for the faint of heart and it is not something that is cultivated in an hour or even a day.

A life of shallow acquaintances is not what we are called to by Jesus, we are called to deep meaningful relationships, that as Jesus says will prove to the world that we are his followers.

As we go into this weekend, we are going to dive into this topic of relationships and as we do, I recommend reading Ephesians 4:1-16 as Paul addresses some of these key issues with the church of Ephesus. 

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!

Blessings, Jeremy, Caleb and Gene