Issues in the Church

Question: Does the Bible say anything about this?  I'm talking about churches going against each other, and spiritual warfare. I'm having a hard time with the Bible Study I used to teach. Gossip and everything, and people going against another Bible Study, ect.

My Reply:

It's interesting how so many of the issues in the early Church can still be found in the Church today. In my opinion though, if you were to do a Bible study on a book that hits on so many of them, I'd suggest 1 Corinthians.  This letter, written by the Apostle Paul, was in response to issues among the believers who worshiped at Chloe's household (house church).  And in it, Paul addressed many of the same issues we're experiencing in the Church today: Marriage, divorce, remarriage, domestic violence, dysfunctional families, order in worship, politics, stewardship issues (tithing / giving), relational commitments (lack of), lack of and need for church discipline, lack of discipleship, lack of Alignment between vision and implementation, lack of Evangelism of the Good News, sexual ethics, counseling, burn-out, Sabbath, cliques, gossip, divisions, gender roles, spiritual gifts, social status, respect, poor representation of Christ, prosperity gospel, “Worship wars”, Biblical Illiteracy, and so much more!

2 Corinthians is also a good one, for it talks about the effects of such issues, once they take hold. You'll also  like it, for Paul uses some good sarcasm when making his points, all in response to their pride in the first letter. 

---Pastor Andy