Gainesville FL Episcopal churches? We exist to help all people find family in Christ by reaching those far from God and making disciples who build God’s kingdom. Discovering family in Christ means knowing God as Father and His followers as brothers and sisters. It means having a relationship with the Creator of the universe that gives you a purpose on earth. It means finding your place among the people who have committed their lives to share God’s love.
The danger is that there is at least one thing that will keep Him from offering us this act of mercy. It’s our obstinacy in failing to forgive those who have wronged us. This is a serious requirement of God upon us and one we should not take lightly. Jesus told this story for a reason and the reason was that He meant it. We can often just think of Jesus as a very passive and gentle person who will always smile and look the other way when we sin. But don’t forget this parable! Don’t forget that Jesus is serious about obstinate refusal to offer mercy and forgiveness to others.
Probably all of us have thought that we know better than those in charge. Watch out! Thinking like this is not wrong in itself, but it is something that lodged itself in the mind of Helel (the name of the “covering cherub” before he became Satan): “I know better than the one in charge,” and in this case, it was God. We can begin to see how his pride was beginning to exalt itself against God. It was moving to break the relationship between them. It was coming between Helel and God so that their relationship could not continue. Helel could not continue to serve God.
A more careful reading of the parable offers an alternate meaning behind Jesus’ words. The eleventh hour workers in the parable represent people who have not heard of Jesus previously. When questioned as to why they are not working, they reply in verse seven that “no one has hired [them]” (Matt. 20:7, NKJV). Even in the “deathbed conversion” interpretation of the parable, the fact that all workers receive the same wages does not indicate that Christians are given a free pass in life as long as they repent before they die. Instead, the parable assures us that there is no advantage to having been born a Christian and that all are likewise saved not by their works but by the goodness of Christ.
The focus of our Small Groups is learning about Jesus and His message, studying scripture, making disciples, enjoying fellowship and investing in each others’ lives. As we mature in our faith, followers of Jesus should display servant leadership just as He demonstrated. At The Family Church, we have a 9-month development process to prepare people to have a deacon leadership role in the congregation.
Discovering family in Christ means knowing God as Father and His followers as brothers and sisters. It means having a relationship with the Creator of the universe that gives you a purpose on earth. It means finding your place among the people who have committed their lives to share God’s love. Discover even more information on Churches in Gainesville FL.
The Parable Of The Lost Coin and other spiritual videos? If someone really did lose a coin on the floor, it would be difficult to find, and it would be a serious issue due to poverty (this woman only had ten silver coins, which would be a crisis for her to lose one). It really would be necessary to sweep the house and look carefully through the debris. Jesus’ audience understood the the significance of this event, which is why he states it as a rhetorical question. The meaning of this parable of the lost coin is clear. Just like we would be joyful if we lost something that we considered to be of great value, likewise everyone in heaven is also immensely joyful whenever even just one sinner stops sinning and returns to obeying God (repents).
The Parable of the Sower video and FREE coloring pages for children? Some seeds fell on the pathway where everyone walks around. Our hearts may be like this pathway where anything can come and go without any restriction. But God doesn’t want it to be like that. He wants our hearts to be holy and a good ground that produces good fruits for Him. Let us not allow every teachings and the advice which leads us away from the word of God to fill our hearts and control our lives. Let us protect our hearts with the word of God which protects the field as a fence within which no birds or beasts that destroy the field could enter.
