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This sermon series looks at several (but not all!) of the many “one another” passages in the New Testament. How can we effectively care for one another and so show the world that we are truly disciples of Jesus?

There is also a practical component to this sermon series. Here is a description from Pastor Ryan:

Adele Calhoun, in her book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us, offers several suggestions to help put living the “one another’s” into practice. I’d like to suggest this one to you:

“Choose a “one another” that you want to become a hallmark of your life. Consider why this “one another” is important to you. Picture what practising the “one another” will cost you. It could cost you time, money and a variety of self-indulgent moods and behaviors. Commit yourself to practising the “one another” every day for two weeks. At the end of each day, notice where you lived your “one another.” Where did you not live your “one another”? Seek grace to continue to incarnate Christ’s self-donating love. At the end of two weeks, consider whether or not you should dedicate two more weeks to intentionally living your “one another”. Do you feel called to move on to a different one?”

Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2005

Pastor Ryan covered nine “one anothers” in this series. There are many more in the New Testament Epistles (letters)! Try a search for “one another” in Bible Gateway to find more of them. Use the links to the books of the Bible in the right sidebar to narrow your search to the Epistles.

Photo by Jess Zoerb on Unsplash

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Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT) ; 歌 羅 西 書 3:12-17 (CUVS)

This sermon is number 8 of 9 in Pastor Ryan’s sermon series “One Another”. Because of a power outage during the service, there is no recording of this sermon. Here is a brief summary:

Think about your favorite teacher from when you were in school. What was it that made him/her a good teacher? In the passage today, Paul says that we are to teach and counsel one another (v. 16). This is for all of us, not just the ones with the spiritual gift of teaching. It is part of the “priesthood of all believers”, which means that all of us have the ability and responsibility to search and interpret the Scriptures with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the local church. If we are spending time with Jesus and learning from him, we have things we can share with others to build them up.

Principles of good teaching:

  • Good teaching flows from good character, such as the traits that are listed above in v. 12-14: kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Love above all.
  • Good teaching is anchored to a purpose, and our purpose is Christ, to make him known and help us become like him. We can only teach what we have learned about following Jesus from our own experience.
  • God guides the who and what and when of our teaching. We need to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading to know who to talk to, about what, and when to do it. A good practice is to ask God in the morning to show you who he wants you to instruct and then check again to make sure when the opportunity arises.
  • Teaching is matched with singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs in verse 16. Teaching is something we do together in the presence of Jesus, so it is an act of worship with one another.

Photo by Sebastián León Prado on Unsplash