Who Is My Family In Christ?

Thoughts from the Paster regarding Today’s Message Christianity blended with man’s ideas of religion has caused many problems over the centuries.  Religious leaders have even sentenced other believers to death simply because of a different interpretation of a scripture.  It got so bad that for many years, the Christian religious leaders banned some of the words that Jesus spoke, under penalty of death or prison, because the words did not fit the particular doctrine they were promoting.  I thank God Christianity today has left those days behind! Unfortunately, today there are over 200 different denominations of Christianity in the U.S. (according to Wikipedia). Can you imagine a lost soul looking for answers and wondering, “Who do I go to that has the correct truth?” This is bad enough, but denominations (non-denominations included) can easily cause disunity in the Christian Body of Christ that we are called to be.  We find ourselves asking the question of those attending other denominations and churches, “Are they my brothers and sisters?” and “How do I know who my brother or sister  really is?”  Today, I will give some foundational scriptures that can begin to help you answer these questions. Today’s Scriptures:  Matthew 12:22-30, 48-50, Mark 9:38-41, John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 1:10-14, 5:11, Romans 12:5, Galatians 3:28, 1 Peter 3:8, 1John 3:14, 4:7,12,20, 2 John 1:5-10   Pastor John Napoli is the pastor of River Of Life Church located in Cloquet, MN. We are a non-denominational church that believes the Bible is the living word of God and all sermons are based on that truth. Pastor John does not share his sermons without thoroughly praying and studying out that they align with what the written Word of God says. For more information check out www.rolcloquet.com