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Monday: Providing Ministry — 4 Comments

  1. Studying is the only way to know for yourself what God is required of us how to live our lives in accordance to His Holy Word. To obey his commandments ....Also not to change or undermined what he says you must do according to His Holy Word. Be obedient!! You obey the Law's of the land. So obey is Word.

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  2. Sometimes to be a church leader is a calling from God, but sometimes it is not. Let me share with you what was happening at a certain church where I used to worship. Our Pastor was someone who coud not associate with anyone. When you meet on the way, he would always act as if he has never seen you before, even if you say hi, Pastor each and every day, he will act as if you are a stranger. Most of us complained that he never visited us in our homes, as previous Pastors used to do. We felt discouraged and never enjoyed his cermons.

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    • Yes, Miriam, some run without being called, and the results are always sad.

      Perhaps those times can be times of growth for us, as we learn that we cannot lean on any other human being, not even a pastor, we learn to lean on God alone. Such a situation also makes it very important for the members to encourage each other and build each other up. Thus what could be a stumbling block to spiritual growth can be turned into a stepping stone to greater spiritual maturity.

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  3. Focusing on what the apostle says is about church life is important, but we should be very careful what we read into the text, and what we read out of it. I would caution against todays artificial fragmentation of the ministry.

    The distinction between leaders and church members is textually obvious only when addressing the need for respect from the church members and it is them that are addressed; and the further admonitions are not necessarily addressed only to the leaders since there is no shift indicated regarding the addressee, so the grammar doesn't seem to lead in the distinction suggested by the study author - the grammatical subject remains the same. The vocative use of "bretheren" is not necessarily a substitute only for the leaders only since its used in 2:17, 4:1, 10, 13, 5:1, 4, 25 and others, also is not since the w h o l e passage is written in 2-nd person plural.

    I am reading the passage as addressed to the whole church. Of course the leaders are included in the admonition, but the others are not excluded, nor are they secondary.

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