Signal Mountain is a small community dotted with church buildings of various Christian denominations. I serve here as a minister for the Church of Christ and I love our church family and this community. Jesus Christ is my life and the Bible is God’s word.
Jesus said that loving God and loving one another are God’s greatest commandments. We learn in the first pages of the Bible how God created us in his image and likeness then, shortly afterward, we read of how sin entered this world and separated us from God. Sin destroys our love for God. When we stop loving God, we stop loving one another. Then each of us begins to look and act more like God’s enemy than God’s image.
The Bible unfolds the story of how God deals with us as sinners, always seeking to bring us home.
God doesn’t put up with sin, but he sure does love sinners. He seeks us out, saves us and serves us. It’s amazing, but it’s true. How much does God love you? What did he give up to bring you back to himself?
Listen, God has earned us. He’s paid for us in blood. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son came here and gave up his life for us as a sacrifice for our sins on a cross. Then Jesus rose from the grave and defeated both sin and death for us for you and me. Is that not true love? Doesn’t it feel good to be loved and wanted that much?
Think about it. That’s what God is like, that’s what true love means and that’s also what we were created to be like.
Looking at our community on Signal Mountain the question arises: With all our various churches, how are we doing at loving God and one another? I mean, even fellow believers in Jesus Christ seem to have trouble with this. Other questions come to mind:
What if we all prayed for each other, read together from the same scriptures and actually talked about it with one another? Imagine that. What might God do to draw us closer to himself and closer to one another? Well, guess what? It is happening.
Several church ministers — including Baptist, Bible, Catholic, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and others — have agreed to join together on an adventure through the New Testament in 90 days. From Jan. 1 through March 31, we are encouraging our church members to pray and to read and share the New Testament portion of the Bible, first in our own homes, then talk about it with our neighbors and friends. Some of these ministers are gathering to discuss what we’ve read as we prepare our Sunday lessons. Imagine that.
For a reading schedule see our website at signalcoc.org.
It takes about 10 minutes a day to read the New Testament in 90 days, but the rewards are out of this world.
This is my prayer: O Lord, draw us closer to you and closer together, as by your spirit, through your word, in and with your blood-bought people, you build your church. Through your power and according to your will, please work in us as you seek, save and serve us, bringing light and truth into this fallen world of darkness and lies, all to the praise of your glory and grace, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our crucified, risen and coming Lord, Amen.
Will you please join us in this?
Greg Nance has been minister at Signal Mountain Church of Christ since 1998. He and his wife, Jenny, have three children and 14 grandchildren.