I have a confession: I don't like needing other people. I don't like owing people money, even for coffee or lunch. I hated group projects in school. I don't like calling to ask for a ride to the airport. 

And yet, the Bible tells me that not only do a need other people, other people need me! Not only should I be open to receiving help from others, I'm called to help others sacrificially. (Even covering someone's lunch or giving them an inconvenient ride to the airport.) 

In a modern world where people often seem more isolated and insulated from one another, the Bible lays out a radical vision of care for one another. In fact, this caring community was what God always intended for his people and what has now been reborn in Christ's new people the church. 

But in the church sometimes we get it wrong and assign "care" to a particular subset of the church. We think that pastors or deacons or group leaders are the people who care for others and everyone else receives care. The Bible says something much more radical and powerful. 

In our series we're going to walk phrase by phrase through 1 Thessalonians 5:14: "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." Who is supposed to care for others? Not just pastors or leaders but all the "brothers" and sisters in the church. The whole body is called to care. 

Everyone needs care. Everyone is called to help care for others. 

Join us for a sermon mini-series this January and Feburary on why God has called us to care for people around us and how to do it well. 

Here's what we'll cover:

• What does it mean to care for others? What if I'm not a touchy-feeling kind of person? 
• How do you care for people who seem "stuck" in life?
• How do you care for people who are beaten down and discouraged? 
• How do you care for people who need practical help and have many needs? 
• What if you need care yourself? And what if it's hard to ask for help from others? 

As I've read and studied this section of Scripture I'm confident that there is hope and help for people like me who don't like to need others, as well as hope and help for others who are eager to help others. Let's start 2020 strong by committing to link arms and walk together. 

See you Sunday!

-Ricky