At Home with One Another

Series: How to Become a Better Church

Lesson 6: At Home with One Another

Let’s think a little more about how to live as a family.

Proverbs 10:18-21 (ESV)

18  The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool.

19  When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

20  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

21  The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense.

Questions

1. How important is it that we talk to one another with respect and honor?
2. What happens in a family when family members lie to one another? When they speak to one another with a lack of respect?
3. Why would the church be any different from a biological family?
4. What is the best way to keep our relationships in good shape? Is it easy or hard?

Comments

There is hardly any way we can make or break relationships more easily than with how we speak to one another. Lack of care in this area can kill a family and it can kill a church just as easily

Hebrews 13:1-6 (ESV)

13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear;

what can man do to me?”

Questions

1. When can we let up on the brotherly (and sisterly) love? When is it ok to let our hair down and not try so hard?
2. What about the strangers and visitors in our midst? How are we to treat them?
3. Are there people in our church that you see every Sunday but who are strangers to you? How would you fix that?
4. How should we treat people who are less fortunate than we are? Is there any room for class distinctions in the church? Or is it something we know is there, but we cannot talk about it because it isn’t politically correct?
5. How important are the marriage vows? Are we helping our brothers and sisters realize the critical nature of the marriage relationship? What happens if I fail to honor my wife in front of others?
6. It is well known that church folks have imbibed the culture, including the consumer mentality of the culture. How can we fight against that? What is stopping us?

Comments

Just as a reminder, let me say that church life is family life. If we could only grasp the truth of that it would revolutionize our church.

Challenges (same as last lesson)

• Start repairing a relationship. If it needs a little repair, get it done. If it needs a big repair, get started. Be the person who will take the first step.
• Start the painful process of self-examination. Don’t beat yourself up, but look for ways you could do better as a brother or sister.
• Look for hypocrisy in yourself. Where are those areas where you might criticize others and let yourself off the hook?
• When something challenges you, maybe in a Sunday morning sermon, apply it to yourself rather than someone you know who needs it more than you.