C4 Connextion Corner

Blessed Unity of the People of God by Bro. Taji Brown Focus Scriptures:  Psalm 133:1-3             "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." (Psalm 133:1) U. N. I. T. Y. that's a unity. I wonder if Queen Latifah really knew what she was saying back in 1993? "Behold!" This word translates into "Don't miss this!" The psalmist was a true lyrist himself I might add. He knew how to grab our attention right from the "get go." If you ask me, he was letting the reader know that something impressive and remarkable was to follow. Sure enough! The idea of brothers and sisters living amongst one another harmoniously came immediately after. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." (Acts 2:1) As God's holy nation, we have to be agreeable in spirit and be joined together as a whole similar to Jesus's disciples. We can achieve this oneness when we...

  Scripture: Psalms 133:1 KJ V   Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!   Dwelling Together in Unity   As a child, I was not a fan of having a sibling; and much worse an older sibling. My brother and I would spend our days doing anything from watching cartoons to pl aying outside but it would lead to us fighting each other. We were not the kids who loved on each other all day long . We drove our parents crazy because we could not be left alone for more than an hour without us fighting. Between his attitude and my smart mouth, there would be some issue within a short matter of time. Because of this known behavior of ours, we were forced to share a room f or most of our childhood. Despite there being an additional bedroom in the house, my father forced us to share the same living space. He said we needed to learn how to be together and at least tolerate each other. Granted, anyone who lived outside our home who had...

  Advent Week 4: Greater is Coming: Love 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. What’s love got to do with it? Most people can recite or are familiar with the 1984 smash hit by Tina Turner. And while she expressed love as a secondary emotion, it is the crux of our walk with Jesus.  The word love is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible. God (all three members of the Trinity) is love ( 1 John 4:16 ) and before Jesus departs, He gives us a new command centered around love ( John 13:34-35 ). Suffice it to say, love is highly valued in the sight of God, so much so, that He gave the world His only begotten son.  To truly appreciate the Advent season, we must embrace the totality of Jesus’s mission to completely save us ( Hebrews 7:25 ).  We cannot mention the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, but neglect to shed light on his return and rule ( 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 and Revelation ...

Greater Is Coming: Christ's Covenant of Joy   “ 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.  43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?  44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.  45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” 46 Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 49 For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. 50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. 51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!...” Luke 1:41-51 NLT   The third week of Advent represents joy. While Ch...

  Greater is Coming: Behold The Prince of Peace Focus Scripture: Isaiah 9:6 Greater is coming simply translates as Jesus is coming for the Blood washed believer. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) As we celebrate the second week of Advent, let us focus our attention on peace. Let us settle our minds and spirits, as we get in the Presence of the Lord. Gideon understood Peace quite well according to Judges 6:23-24. “Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace.” Be encouraged this Advent season because Greater is coming. Peace can be defined as being free from mental or spiritual agitation. There have been quite a few disruptions and an overwhelming number of tragic happenings over the last few years...

  I saiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Here is the Good News I have always had a disdain for hearing “I have good news and bad news.” My disdain for the statement comes from the thought that the purpose of the good news is to soften the blow of the bad news . If I am completely honest, we live in an era where bad news is common. So much so, that good news can, quite literally, take our breath away. We live in a sin-filled, sick-ravished, fiscally impoverished, morally inept, and inebriated society. The gift for us is that our gracious and loving God decided that this world and people (us); who are corrupt and sinful in nature, are the people in which God would deposit His son in the earth. This gift has given us direct and deep relationship with the father. And we have one job: to remind ot...