When care gets practical

Now...

The other thing is, I thought this would make a really good word cloud, this part of Scripture.

So here you are, you're welcome.

For those people who are right-brained, the creative types, this is the whole message on a screen, plan on a page, where we look at these things, and they are very practical things.

Honouring leaders, being patient with one another, helping the weak, pursuing peace, holding on to what is good.

But don't worry, if you're a left-brainer, I also have...

Something for you.

So we have a column A and a column B, so listing out all the dos and don'ts.

And yes, while you could read Paul's advice as a bit of a shopping list of these 18 items, instead, I suggest we read it more of an expression of the type of things you'd expect to see from a Spirit-filled church, where its community shows genuine care towards one another.

a normative, expectant, this is what it looks like, commentary on the church.

Now, let me start with the last item on the list, which is greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss.

Or in some translations, it's holy kiss.

And if I can just ask my wife Georgie to come up to the front here, and I will demonstrate.

No, I'm not gonna do that.

She would actually kill me.

Now, if you're from certain parts of the world, particularly places like Middle East or European countries, this will make a little more sense.

Simply, the holy kiss is a symbol, it's a symbol of Christian fellowship and holiness.

So the greeting is more about the heart behind it than the form it takes.

So don't worry, we're not all going to start a new tradition here at DC.

Whatever is culturally relevant is the equivalent.

So in our culture, a nice, firm handshake a high five, or a warm hug.

These things are very much part of our culture, so it's not meant to make people feel awkward.

Rather the opposite, it's a greeting where people feel loved and welcome and seen.

And the key thing to remember, before we start, go back to verse 12, is that we can't do any of this without the Holy Spirit.

In fact, the only way we can do this is because God God has given us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us.