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Speaker: Jerry Cisar
Sadly a 2000 study on church life concluded, “Here in the United States, conflict is a synonym for congregation.” Though that may often be true, the fact is that Christ went to the cross for the purpose of uniting the congregation—the assembly—the church.
Our text is about two ladies within the church, two servants of the Gospel, in a conflict and unable to resolve it. Paul thought their conflict was trouble enough, and their being reconciled to each other vital enough, that he brings it up in a letter to the church assembly! Then Paul solicits the help of another church member so that they might get it resolved.
Reconciliation, changing the status in a relationship from that of enemies to friends, is never merely a personal matter. We tend to think our lives are private, but they are joined. How we deal with interpersonal conflict affects those in our church or family.
Why did Paul consider reconciliation of this interpersonal conflict so important? Join us tomorrow morning as we explore why unresolved conflicts work directly against what Christ died to create.