The primary activity of the early church was one-anothering one another — Andy Stanley

Did you know the words “one another” are used 59 times in the New Testament? “Love one another.” “Forgive one another.” “Regard one another as more important than yourselves.” And the list goes on… How we relate to one another has to power to transform ourselves, our relationships, our systems, and our world. This Fall as we continue to make sense of life and community amidst the pandemic and as our nation prepares for the November elections, these instructions for how to be in relationship with one another seem especially important. Join us for worship this fall as we reconnect to the age-old Christian practice of one-anothering one another!

1. Love
2. Build Up (Encourage)
3. Forgive (live in harmony)
4. Confess (vulnerability)
5. Bear With (patience/sympathy)
6. Bear Burdens (empathy)
7. Serve (compassion)
8. Stir Up

Week 1 – September 13 – Rally Sunday – LOVE ONE ANOTHER

We begin our fall worship series One Another by exploring the command to “love” one another. This command appears 16 times in the New Testament. This teaching and all the one another commands were foundational to early Christian communities. As preacher Andy Stanley said, “The primary activity of the early church was one-anothering one another.” So what does it look like for us today to love one another in the midst of the pandemic? How are we called to be community in and outside of our church when our in-person contact is minimal?

•  John 13:34 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
• 1 John 4:7-8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
• John 15:12-13 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
• Matthew 22:37-39 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
  (This command occurs at least 16 times)

Week 2 – September 20 – BUILD UP ONE ANOTHER

Most of our national discourse often seems to be about tearing down one another, especially in the midst of election season. The Apostle Paul call us to just the opposite, rather to use our words to build up one another. The word encourage means to give courage, hope, or confidence. The world would be a very different place if more of our energy went to building one another up. Even small doses of encouragement can have a big impact. What encouragement do you need to hear right now? And what kind of building up can you offer to others? As we’ll discover in worship today, it’s likely that what you need to hear, and what others need to hear from you are very similar.

• Romans 14: 19 – So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:11. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Week 3 – September 27 FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER

We all want to be forgiven. When it comes to our own failures and shortcomings, we think that forgiveness is a mighty fine idea. However, when someone else has hurt us, betrayed us, talked behind our backs, then we’re not so keen on forgiveness. Forgiveness is not easy, that’s probably why there are so many scripture passages that try to teach us how to forgive. Our worship today focuses on the power of forgiveness to restore us to right relationship with God and one another.

• Colossians 3:13- Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord[a] has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
• Romans 12: 16-18 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;[a] do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Week 4 – October 4 PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

In worship this week we look at the power of confession and prayer in all areas of life. Prayer is not only for physical needs, but is even better when focused on emotional, relational, and spiritual needs. Praying for one another is a powerful way to connect and build relationships.

•  James 5:16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
•  1 Peter 5:5 Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another.

Week 5- October 11 –BEAR WITH ONE ANOTHER

The invitation to bear with one another is an invitation to solidarity. Jesus teaches us what it looks like to live in solidarity with others – to value our fellow human beings and respect who they are as individuals. In our world today, the many situations of inequality, poverty, and injustice, are signs not only of a profound lack of community, but also of the absence of a culture of solidarity. In worship today, we take a look at how this pandemic moment and the upcoming election offer us an opportunity to act in solidarity with the most vulnerable among us.

• Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
• Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

Week 6 – October 18 – BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS (Empathy)
Paul teaches that we have mutual responsibility for one another. “Bear one another’s burdens,” he says, “and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Paul is inviting us to the modern-day practice of empathy – meaning to connect with another person and walk in their shoes. Our challenge this week is learning how to have empathy for people from very different backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences.

• Galatian 6: 1-5 My friends,[a] if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill[b] the law of Christ. 3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. 5 For all must carry their own loads.

Week 7 – October 25 SERVE ONE ANOTHER (Compassion)

The call to serve one another takes empathy to the next step: compassion. Compassion is when our feelings for the pain and suffering of one another also include the desire to help relieve their suffering. In worship this week we explore how compassion becomes a call to action – a call to serve one another.

• Galatians 5:13-14 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.
• 1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Week 8 Nov 1 – All Saints Day – STIR UP ONE ANOTHER

Our one-anothering journey ends with the call to stir up one another to love and good works. On this All Saints Day let us celebrate and remember those Saints who stirred up good in our lives, and honor their legacy through a commitment to doing the same for others. As the election nears, how we will use our vote to do right by one another?

• Hebrews 10: 24-25 And zlet us consider how to stir up (provoke, stimulate) one another to love and good works, anot neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ball the more as you see cthe Day drawing near.
• Romans 12:5 We do all this because we are in a real sense “members of one another”
  OR so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.