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MessageGrowing Together: Creating, Nurturing, & Sustaining Relationships"

We were meant to be in relationship!~ Marjorie Hewitt SuchokiThe Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!

Its as if God has created us not as individuals unto ourselves, but as participants in a world; we are created for one another. To this end, God works creatively deep within each one of us, but in such a way that our responsiveness to God is precisely to the extent that we act responsibly in the world toward our common good. Its as if God creates within the depths of each one of us, and also on the surface through each one of us~ Marjorie Hewitt SuchokiThe Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!~ John WesleyA Plain Little Account Of Christian PerfectionQuoted in The Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!

One of the principal rules of religion is to lose no occasion of serving God. And since [God] is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve God in our neighbor, which [God] receives as if done to [God]self in person, standing visibly before us.~ John WesleyA Plain Little Account Of Christian PerfectionQuoted in The Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!So the word from God does not necessarily direct us toward God; by Gods own design it directs us toward the world. This being the case, we can also say that while Gods word is given to each of us individually, there is an inevitable communal dimension to that word. The word given to us takes into account the multiple words given to our contemporaries; there is an interwovenness in this process~ Marjorie Hewitt SuchokiThe Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!We are never addressed by God as if we were the only creatures in the universe. We are addressed by God as a living participant in the fullness of Gods creative work The word is at once individual and communal.~ Marjorie Hewitt SuchokiThe Whispered WordWe were meant to be in relationship!

Paul wrote letters, not treatises Pauls Relationship with the PhilippiansIn all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now I have you in my heart I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-8)

Pauls Relationship with the Philippiansagaptos

Pauls Relationship with the PhilippiansAgaptosbeloved, esteemed, dear, favourite, worthy of love

Theophanes the Greek. St. Paul. c.1405. Tempera on wood. Icon from the Iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia.

Paul & TimothyPaul & Phoebe

Theophanes the Greek. St. Paul. c.1405. Tempera on wood. Icon from the Iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia.

Paul, Timothy, & BarnabasLydia with Silas and an unknown Deaconness

Theophanes the Greek. St. Paul. c.1405. Tempera on wood. Icon from the Iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia.St. Paul in the home of Aquilla & Priscilla

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mothera mother to me also. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.Good relationships begin with me!

Good relationships begin with me!Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.1 Corinthians 13:4-7LOVEWhy do you see the speck in your neighbors eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, Let me take the speck out of your eye, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbors eye.~ Matthew 7:3-5

Devotions: Were Connected To Grow TogetherSmall Groups 5: Growing Together Matthew 7:3-5Memory Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Encourage one another and build each other up.