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Community Life Church
The Mark of the Christian
Sunday Morning Service.
Locations & Times
Community Life Church
Grand Manan, NB E5G 1G2, Canada
Sunday 10:30 AM
The image below is an acrostic of the meaning of "Ichthus" ...
Love is the indisputable mark of the Christian.
- Manifestation gifts are both possible and meaningless without love. Paul speaks of the gifts of tongues and prophecy here in 1 Corinthians 13. It is possible for these gifts to be active and yet lacking love.
- Miracles can be counterfeited and are therefore meaningless without love. Aren't there a couple mountains or obstacles that all of us would like to be able to move. It would be good to be able to solve our own difficulties and the difficulties of those that we love. It would also be seductively appealing to possess and wield these abilities for our own purposes.
- Martyrdom can be a loveless and therefore meaningless act. The greatest tragedy in the world is to trade our lives for that which means nothing.
- Manifestation gifts are both possible and meaningless without love. Paul speaks of the gifts of tongues and prophecy here in 1 Corinthians 13. It is possible for these gifts to be active and yet lacking love.
- Miracles can be counterfeited and are therefore meaningless without love. Aren't there a couple mountains or obstacles that all of us would like to be able to move. It would be good to be able to solve our own difficulties and the difficulties of those that we love. It would also be seductively appealing to possess and wield these abilities for our own purposes.
- Martyrdom can be a loveless and therefore meaningless act. The greatest tragedy in the world is to trade our lives for that which means nothing.
The mark of the Christian, Divine love, is different than human love.
1. Our family ought to receive first and greatest love.
2. All people bear the image of God and ought to be loved.
3. Divine love is more than loving people who love us or loving people who are like us.
4. We are actually directed to love our enemies. The only way to destroy an enemy is to make him/her a friend.
5. Divine love keeps short accounts and is quick to admit wrong and to seek forgiveness.
6. Divine love in us forgives in advance.
1. Our family ought to receive first and greatest love.
2. All people bear the image of God and ought to be loved.
3. Divine love is more than loving people who love us or loving people who are like us.
4. We are actually directed to love our enemies. The only way to destroy an enemy is to make him/her a friend.
5. Divine love keeps short accounts and is quick to admit wrong and to seek forgiveness.
6. Divine love in us forgives in advance.
When we fail to love, the world around us has the right to judge the worth of our profession and our very existence.
The church is to be a loving church in a dying culture. ture. How, then, is the dying culture going to consider us? Jesus says, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
In the midst of the world, in the midst of our present dying culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians. That's pretty frightening. Jesus turns to the world and says, "I've something to say to you. On the basis of my authority, I give you a right: you may judge whether or not an individual is a Christian on the basis of the love he shows to all Christians." In other words, if people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must understand that they are only exercising a prerogative rogative which Jesus gave them. And we must not get angry. If people say, "You don't love other Christians," we must go home, get down on our knees and ask God whether or not they are right. And if they are, then they have a right to have said what they said.
Francis A. Schaeffer. The Mark of the Christian (IVP Classics) (Kindle Locations 102-110). Kindle Edition.
In the midst of the world, in the midst of our present dying culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians. That's pretty frightening. Jesus turns to the world and says, "I've something to say to you. On the basis of my authority, I give you a right: you may judge whether or not an individual is a Christian on the basis of the love he shows to all Christians." In other words, if people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must understand that they are only exercising a prerogative rogative which Jesus gave them. And we must not get angry. If people say, "You don't love other Christians," we must go home, get down on our knees and ask God whether or not they are right. And if they are, then they have a right to have said what they said.
Francis A. Schaeffer. The Mark of the Christian (IVP Classics) (Kindle Locations 102-110). Kindle Edition.
When we fail to love, the world around us has reason to doubt the validity of Christ's claim to be God incarnate.
But there is something even more sober. And to understand it we must look at John 17:21, a verse out of the midst of Christ's high priestly prayer. Jesus prays, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." In this, his high priestly prayer,
Jesus is praying for the oneness of the church, the oneness that should be found specifically among true Christians. Jesus is not praying for a humanistic, romantic oneness among men in general. Verse 9 makes this clear: "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Jesus here makes a very careful distinction between those who have cast themselves upon him in faith and those who still stand in rebellion. Hence, in the twenty-first verse, when he prays for oneness, the "they" he is referring to are the true Christians. Notice, however, that verse 21 says, "That they all may be one ..." The emphasis, interestingly enough, is exactly the same as in John 13-not on a part of true Christians, but on all Christians-not that those in certain parties in the church should be one, but that all born-again Christians should be one.
Now comes the sobering part. Jesus goes on in this twenty-first verse to say something that always causes me to cringe. If as Christians we do not cringe, it seems to me we are not very sensitive or very honest, because Jesus here gives us the final apologetic. What is the final apologetic? "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
This is the final apologetic.
In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he is not a Christian.
Here Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality ity of the oneness of true Christians.
Francis A. Schaeffer. The Mark of the Christian (IVP Classics) (Kindle Locations 124-137). Kindle Edition.
Jesus is praying for the oneness of the church, the oneness that should be found specifically among true Christians. Jesus is not praying for a humanistic, romantic oneness among men in general. Verse 9 makes this clear: "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Jesus here makes a very careful distinction between those who have cast themselves upon him in faith and those who still stand in rebellion. Hence, in the twenty-first verse, when he prays for oneness, the "they" he is referring to are the true Christians. Notice, however, that verse 21 says, "That they all may be one ..." The emphasis, interestingly enough, is exactly the same as in John 13-not on a part of true Christians, but on all Christians-not that those in certain parties in the church should be one, but that all born-again Christians should be one.
Now comes the sobering part. Jesus goes on in this twenty-first verse to say something that always causes me to cringe. If as Christians we do not cringe, it seems to me we are not very sensitive or very honest, because Jesus here gives us the final apologetic. What is the final apologetic? "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
This is the final apologetic.
In John 13 the point was that, if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has a right to judge that he is not a Christian.
Here Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality ity of the oneness of true Christians.
Francis A. Schaeffer. The Mark of the Christian (IVP Classics) (Kindle Locations 124-137). Kindle Edition.
Sunday Evening Fellowship
Join us on November 26th @ 6:00pm for a time for music, sharing food and fellowship. Bring a dessert or some munchies and join us for what we anticipate to be a monthly gathering.
Church Decorating
We are decorating the church for Christmas on November 29th at 10:00am. Many hands make lights work.
Coming in December
We are starting a support group for those struggling with anxiety and depression. This group will have a launch meeting on December 16th at 12:00pm. We'll start with lunch and the meeting to follow. Email karl.ingersoll@gmail.com or call 222-0410 for more info.
Christmas Dinner
On Sunday December 17th, during the regular service time, we will share a Christmas dinner together along with some special presentations by various individuals and church groups. If you'd like to help in any way, email Pastor Karl at karl.ingersoll@gmail.com This would be a great Sunday to invite a friend or three.
“I’ll be Home for Christmas”
“I’ll be Home for Christmas”: This is a fundraiser for “Bless This Child” (Children's Hospitalization Fund). It will be held on Tuesday, November 28th, from 6-9pm, here at CLC. Many Island Direct-Sales business ladies will share their products, including “Pampered Chef”, “Epicure”, “Thirty-One Gifts”, “Scentsy” & “Tupperware”. Orders can be made for Christmas delivery, and items will be for sale that night, along with LOTS of door-prizes, refreshments and a raffle draw. Hope you can join us. If you would like to help in anyway, contact Heather.
Special Prayer
Sick: Remember Dee Tate who has ongoing health problems. Please remember Laurie Murison, Norman McIntyre, Rosalie Small, Hannah Mullen, Sheila Hornjak in their health challenges. And keep Corey Frost and family in prayers, in hi follow-up appointments in Toront. Also Joyce who is working on recovery on her broken hip; also Lil Shepherd, who broke her hip and is in the Regional hospital; and let us remember Gene as he recovers in Saint John
Please remember in prayer Jude and the friends and family of Cole Harvey, who died on October 11; also remember in prayer the friends and family of Mendell “Chubby” Frost, who died on October 12, and also the friends and family of Preston Wilcox, who died on October 16. Also remember the friends and family of Wayne Foote, who died on November 3, Juddy Harvey, who died on November 6, and George Cook, who died on November 7.
Please remember in prayer Jude and the friends and family of Cole Harvey, who died on October 11; also remember in prayer the friends and family of Mendell “Chubby” Frost, who died on October 12, and also the friends and family of Preston Wilcox, who died on October 16. Also remember the friends and family of Wayne Foote, who died on November 3, Juddy Harvey, who died on November 6, and George Cook, who died on November 7.
Temporary Position at CLC
Adalia cleans the church facility weekly. We appreciate the excellent work that she does. Recently she has taken a job that may require her to release her church job. We are looking for someone who might wish to do this job for 3 months. It may become a permanent, part-time position, depending on Adalia’s decision relative to her new job. If you have questions about the number of hours and the nature of her responsibilities, please talk to Adalia or see Pastor Karl.