Church Discipline | Beyond the Caricature

Church Discipline. These are two words, both alone and together, that seem to initiate feelings of confusion, anxiety, or perhaps even skepticism in many people. Our hope is that we can begin to get beyond the caricatures that often emerge when we use these words and embrace this as a true expression of God’s love for us as a congregation.  In this series of messages, we will reorient ourselves to the true nature of the Church, wrestle with Scripture’s teaching that discipline is both necessary and desirable, and discover the process that God gives His people for this exercise of godly care. Our prayer is that as we survey what our Lord has said about Church Discipline God will work in us in such a way that we may share His holiness.

He Told Stories

Jesus told stories. Sometimes shocking stories. Occasionally ordinary stories. Stories that invoked anger. Stories that encouraged. Stories of both violence and love. Some of the most memorable pieces of Jesus’ teaching are these stories called parables. Parables have often been described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings. The stories involved earthly things like treasures and parties, farms and plants, endearing characters as well as despicable men but they were intended to teach us about God, His Kingdom, His people, and His Son. Our hope is that God will give us ears to hear and hearts to understand the stories Jesus told.