By Pastor Ron Stair
Hiawatha First Christian Church
There are many ways that we can be encouragers of the faith: helping one another, being there for one another, saying a kind word or noticing when someone has gotten their hair done. I hope you feel encouraged in your faith walk by me, and I hope we all feel encouraged in our faith walks by each other.
For me, one of the main reasons we gather as church is to be encouragers of the faith to each other. Anyone can sit at home and read the Bible and pray, but it is only when we gather in community that we can encourage each other.
Jesus didn’t come to sit in a garden and pray and study the scriptures. He sought out others and encouraged/challenged their faith development. So, we too are called to be in community and encourage each other in our faith development.
Paul wrote in Romans 1:11-12, “For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” He saw strength and encouragement in gathering together.
In 1 Corinthians 14:3, Paul writes, “Those who prophesy speak to other people for their building up and encouragement and consolation.” It is all about speaking to other people to build each other up and encourage each other and even console each other.
But encouragement goes beyond our own church. We are called to connect with and encourage those in other churches as well.
In Ephesians 6:21-22, Paul discloses how important this is. “So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.”
Paul and many others in the early church traveled from church to church encouraging the faithful. We need to get our Disciples congregations together again. We also need to get together ecumenically, such as we do for Lenten lunches.
Acts 4:36 talks about a man who was an encourager of the faith, “There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’).” May we all be Barnabas’s.