Pillars of the Christian Life: Fellowship
Acts 2:42-47
A relationship with Jesus is personal but it is not private. Christians need each other. The people of God who share in a united faith in the life, death, and resurrection need each other in a world that does not believe the gospel. Fellowship can be an easy blindspot, but there’s more depth behind this type of community than simply being nice to be at church on Sunday mornings. The goal is authentic Christian community where there are meaningful relationships and where people are known.
Sermons can also be found wherever you listen to your podcast.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner is the pastor of Christian Bible Church in Cissna Park, Illinois. He has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He has an awesome wife named Kari.
It was a year ago today that I moved from Minnesota. I had a wonderful 2 and a half years in the Land of 10,000 lakes and it’s a place that will always be special to me.
When I first moved to Minnesota, I was single. On my days off, I used to drive around different parts of the state photographing lakes. I photographed around 300 in my time there.
I photographed lakes at sunrise and sunset. Lakes that were frozen over in the winter. Lakes that were muddy and lakes that were crystal clear. I photographed lakes that seemed like glorified ponds and lakes that seemed like oceans. Lakes where the water was choppy, and lakes where the water was as still.
Honestly, those are the most fun times I ever had by myself. Somedays, I’d photograph 20 lakes in just one day. I’d be out for hours.
What the world can teach us about heaven
In our popular culture, the images of heaven are often so boring. Cartoons and movies often depict heaven as this place in the clouds where everyone is in white robes.
But I think of the incredible beauty that’s in our world. I think of the incredible beauty I found in just one part of one state. And heaven isn’t going to be a step down from that. It’s a step up to a place of infinitely greater beauty and perfection.
I think of the tremendous beauty in our world. The vastness of the great canyons and valleys. The greatness of the mountains. The kaleidoscope of colors in the oceans and seas. And as wonderful as the beauty is that we have in our fallen world, it is merely a foretaste of a place far greater.
(below are some of my favorite lake photos I took in Minnesota).
Long Lake – Otter Tail County, MNLake Lizzie – Otter Tail County, MNBass Lake – Otter Tail County, MNWest Battle Lake – Otter Tail County, MNBeers Lake – Maplewood State ParkRound Lake – Cass County, MN
Hoot Lake – Fergus Falls, MN Schmidt Lake – Otter Tail County, MN Lake Minnewaska – Pope County, MN Lake Miltona – Douglas County, MN Hungry Man Lake – Two Inlets State Forest
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner is the pastor of Christian Bible Church in Cissna Park, Illinois. He has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He has an awesome wife named Kari.
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was on this day 75 years ago, Auschwitz Concentration Camp was liberated. More than 1 million people lost their lives at Auschwitz while millions more perished in the hundreds of other concentration camps run by the Nazis.
But tragically, on a day set apart to remember those who were lost, our world is increasingly forgetting about the holocaust. (more…)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @Keith Allison
NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13 year old daughter Giana, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California today.
I’ve been struck by the widespread response online.
Undoubtedly, it’s a tragedy that nine people died. But Bryant’s death has seemed to strike a cord with our society, even from people who aren’t basketball fans (or sports fans). (more…)
With the recently launched Disney+, I’ve been rewatching many of the classic Disney movies from my childhood.
I was struck by how many gospel themes are found in the Little Mermaid.
The longing of the human soul
Ariel has it all. She’s a princess, she lives in a palace. she’s beautiful, she has an amazing singing voice, great friends, she’s adored. Yet what she really wants is a world that’s above (literally).
