nov 23

1 Corinthians 1:10-17
10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.
12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!
14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name.
16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.)
17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

There are many different kinds of churches. There are Presbyterian churches, Episcopalian churches, and Lutheran churches. There are the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ. There are Nazarene, Brethren, and Reformed churches. There are even different kinds of Methodist churches (Free Methodist, United Methodist, Wesleyan Methodist) and different kinds of Baptist churches (Freewill Baptist, Southern Baptist, American Baptist, Regular Baptist, Primitive Baptist, even Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptist!). There are churches with long names (National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul-Saving Assembly of the United States of America), short names (Congregational Church), and confusing names (Duck River Et Kindred Association of Baptists). A lot of non-Christians look at the different denominations and say, "Hey, you Christians are so divided! Look how many different denominations there are and how many churches split over disagreements. Why should the rest of the world listen to you when you can't even get your own act together?" To some extent, they're right. There are a lot of unnecessary divisions and disagreements in the church today. But Jesus does not insist that we all worship in the same style. He doesn't command all of us to walk the same, talk the same, or look the same. He doesn't demand that we all call ourselves the same thing. But he does command us to be one. His Word makes it clear that all true Christians should "stop arguing among yourselves." His Word does instruct us to "Let there be real harmony so there won't be divisions in the church." He does plead with us to "be of one mind, united in thought and purpose" (1 Corinthians 1:10). God desires unity in the church. He commands unity in the church. We are commanded to live in unity with other Christians whether we feel like it or not, whether it comes easily or not. Why? Simple. God commands unity because God values unity. And if he values unity, we should, too.

REFLECT: God doesn't command us to make all churches the same, but he does command us to live and work in unity with all Christians. Is there anyone at your church with whom you're arguing or not getting along with right now? How can you "stop arguing" (1 Corinthians 1:10) and start living "in harmony with one another" (1 Peter 3:8, NIV)?

ACT: Ask your parents to plan a visit to a church that worships the Lord in a different place or style than what you're used to as a way of affirming your unity with all true Christian believers.

PRAY: "Thank you, God, for Christian believers everywhere. Help me to live in harmony with everyone in my church family, especially with..."

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

This REALLY stood out to me because you would think that a Christian is a Christian but there are so many churchs, so many different kinds of churchs for Christians. I remember hearing a sermon in a retreat about how a church isnt a building or a structure. It is the unity of the people inside the church. i remember how the pastor who preached at the retreat told us how they would travel throughout the town as a community and preach. They didnt have ONE specific building called "Church". Church isnt a building. It can be if thats where we all unite and all become 1. But a church can be anywhere and we shouldnt differ just because we beieve differently of God and Jesus Christ

PA DAY =)

I actually understood what Patrick said this time and very much liked it!
I completely agree that it's ridiculous how we're split into branches of Christianity.
Why?
Don't we all believe in the same God? Who decided to make modifications to their belief and spread THEIR teachings rather than that of the bibles?
I think we should all definitely reconsider before we bicker amongst ourselves about who's right and who's wrong.
Which brings me to:

10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

That's basically what I'm saying summed up in two short sentences!
See you all tomorrow!

i got a very similar message from this devotion as Patrick and Esther got. being Christian doesnt mean that you attend church and just sit there and listen to a sermon and walk out forgetting it the moment you walk out of the sanctuary. the unity of a church brings true Christians and developes everyones faiths well and grow together as one. we are a family in the church and as one, the church should stand as God's bride.
thats it for today! see you allz tomorrow!

Yea I seriously NEVER understood the different types of Christianity... If someone does get it, can someone please explain the differences between the various types?

Unfortunately, it isn't just the different types of Christianity that creates divisions. There are also tons of divisions in one type of Christianity. Take our ministry for example, we all have our group of friends that we are comfortable and close with. It's a good thing to have these relationships, but it can lead to exclusion of others.

We shouldn't have these Cliques and Groups! That is opposite of what God wants in a church! Everyone is family and therefore we are all one!

Even Christians can be divided. God wants all of us on this earth to be united.
Even if we worship or praise god differently, we should still be able to be one church and worship him.
We all worship and have our time with god all separtetly and individually. But each and everyone of us are a one big church and family. Do not separate yourself or others because of our differences.
As the Praise team, we try to bring and keep the church moving together as one.

Good night peoples!
~Audrey~

So the main point was that as a church we may be different from other churches but we still are one as a Christian body, but if we break it down further, people are even more varied than churches. Even within our ministry, the way everybody behaves will be different from one another. Just as everybody has different personalities, no one person will have the same walk with God as another. As a praise team, we are an especially tightly-knit group of people and in close quarters, differences are almost highlighted. Rifts between certain people or ideas may occur, but it's really important to remember the purpose of our group. We are there to worship God and that is our one and only purpose. We should be working the best we can to avoid those disagreements and manage them effectively when they do arise. As Audrey pointed out, we should be helping the congregation move forward as one as well and that process includes us integrating ourselves into the congregation. Then we can truly worship God as one body and as one movement.

I didnt really understand the concept of different branches of Christianity, nor do i agree with it
I like how it spoke today that we're all different
But Jesus accepts us for who we are anyways
Even as different TYPES of Christianity, as long as have the same end goal in mind, we should live "harmonically" right?
Just some things to think about, that although we may bicker with one another, we have a common goal, and that's what brings us together,

there it no one in particular right now... but in the future i cna see that there emay be some arguments and disagreements in the chruch.
Everyone helps and provides the church in their own wayus and thats the way God created us. If we were all the same, there would just be the same note for example on a piano. But if we are all different notes and work together and are pressed together to work in perfect harmonies, there is no way anything can go wrong. I think God is watching over and is planning everything that happens around us. Everyone in the church is there for a reason adn try not to be mean toward that person and argue with everything they say just because you dislike them. Try to be in harmony and peace so that the chruch may remain in harmony,.