Devotional Guide
Daily Bible Readings:
Monday, October 31. Read Hebrews 13:1-6. 1) What does it mean for a person to show “mutual love” to another? 2) What do you find to be most difficult in this list of commands?
Tuesday, November 1. Read 1 Peter 3:8-12. 1) Peter instructs us about interpersonal relationships, particularly when a person feels abused. 2) What does he tell us to do in such situations?
Wednesday, November 1. Read Philippians 4:1-3. 1) Why is loving others such a difficult matter? 2) How does loving one’s enemies distinguish him/her from the rest of the crowd?
Thursday, November 1. Read 1 Peter 2:11-17. 1) How does the world around us tend to influence our behavior? 2) How does Peter tell us to live among the “Gentiles”?
Friday, November 1. Read Philippians 2:1-11. 1) What does it mean to be “of the same mind”? 2) What behaviors does that call for in the disciple of Jesus?
Saturday, November 1. Read Romans 12:9-21. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer of the Week:
God, we know that even you live in community and through community created all that we enjoy. We ask you to help us put out of our minds the deceit that we can live without others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hymn of the Week:
How Sweet, How Heavenly is the Sight
by Joseph Swain, 1796
How sweet, how heav’nly is the sight,
When those that love the Lord
In one another’s peace delight,
And thus fulfill His word.
When each can feel each brother’s sigh,
And with him bear a part;
When sorrow flows from eye to eye,
And joy from heart to heart.
When free from envy, scorn and pride,
Our wishes all above,
Each can his brother’s failings hide,
And show a brother’s love.
When love, in one delightful stream
Thro’ ev’ry bosom flows;
And union sweet, and dear esteem,
In ev’ry action glows.
Love is a golden chain that binds
The happy souls above,
And he’s an heir of heav’n who finds
His bosom glow with love.
Devotional Article of the Week:
One Another
We were not made to do life alone.
by Phil Ware
Jesus never intended his followers to try to live their life of faith in isolation. He sent his disciples out two-by-two on their journeys. He often used inclusive family terms to speak about their life of faith (“our Father” like “your brother”). This community reflects the nature of God as a relationship of three in one — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We are made in the image of God, and God himself declared that it was not good for us to try to do life alone. While Jesus spent time with the Father, he also invested himself in the apostles and drew his closest companionship from three. Jesus defined our smallest unit of Christian faith to be a time when two or three are gathered in his name. Life in Christ was always intended to be a life together.
Jesus’ emphasis on community and family is carried over in the rest of the New Testament as we hear about house churches and our need to be present to help each other. The “one another” passages of the New Testament arise out of this background. They are a holy recognition of our need for each other to live the Christian life. We can’t do it by ourselves, and we were never intended to try to do it by ourselves.
Below, you will find a few (of the many) New Testament passages that use the phrase “one another” and a few that use the phrase “each other.” These are great passages to use in trying to live out the life of the spiritual family that Jesus envisions in the Sermon on the Mount. As you try to live these fully, you will also recognize your need to be in close fellowship with a small group of believers who can help you grow, hold you accountable, and encourage you in the Lord.
These are shared for your growth, obedience, and commitment as a person of God while you live your life in partnership with other believers.
• Mark 9:50 — “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
• John 13:14 — “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
• John 13:34 — “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
• John 13:35 — “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
• John 15:12 — “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
• John 15:17 — “This I command you, that you love one another.”