At The Family Church here in Gainesville last Sunday, senior pastor Philip Griffin delivered the sixth installment in the ongoing Upward Habits sermon series with the message Relationships of Accountability. As always, the Bible served as the focus: this day it was Mark 2:1-5, which you can read via Bible Gateway by clicking on it. The text refers to the time in the ministry of Jesus when he was speaking to many people crowded within a house...a paralyzed man's four friends, faithful about the Lord's healing power but unable to reach him through the crowd, carried their crippled friend to the roof, made a hole, and lowered him through the ceiling. Jesus was moved and forgave the paralytic of his sins...because of his friends' faith. The question Pastor Philip posed is "Who do we have to carry us through life?"
So why do we need accountability? Philip structured his answer around four reasons: because we all need to be loved, carried, strengthened by the faith of others, and healed. With being loved, we need it even when...no, especially when we are acting in "high-maintenance" mode and are not all that lovable. Only through God's grace can we change ourselves...that environment of grace enables the kind of Godly fellowship we need. With the need to be carried, most of us are not physically paralyzed, but our emotional and/or spiritual paralysis cries out for help...we need others to pick us up, as Philip pointed out. And yes, the faith of others strengthens us...Pastor Philip emphasized...that as we bring others to Jesus we need enough faith to know that he is good and able to heal them. Finally, we all need healing: our pastor noted that the "easy" healing Jesus performed was the physical one...the spiritual healing through the forgiveness of the paralytic's sins was his more profound healing. Philip concluded his message by referring to the accountability questions of John Wesley that believers can use as they develop Godly accountability relationships with others...they vary from website to website, but here is one link that most closely imitates the list we were provided: [Wesley Questions]…
The Family Church, at 2022 SW 122nd Street, meets each Sunday morning at 9 and 10:30 for its weekly services. There is the message, praise and worship music, prayer and discipleship opportunities, a hospitality room with coffee and treats, and a lot of very friendly people. If you'd like to watch Pastor Philip's message about accountability in its entirety, just click on the following link to the church's YouTube video website: [TFC Videos]...
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