As children leave the house, parents often give short final instructions. These departing words are not new information but reminders of important things. A mom might remind her children of something they need to do while away. A father might remind his children of his expectations of how they should behave while away. And often, parents tell their children one more time that they love them.

These closing words of Paul’s letter are similar words of instructions. These are not new teachings but reminders of important truths.

Regret is a powerful emotion. Generally, it is connected to missing or squandering an opportunity or being unsatisfied with a decision later revealed to be foolish, unwise, or bad. Walking in obedience before the Lord may cause you to experience difficult days and know momentary grief and suffering, but you will never regret it.

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul references an issue of sin he addressed in 1 Corinthians 5. He had previously written to the church concerning sexual immorality that had been allowed to remain unconfronted in the church. Because of his love for the people in the church, he was grieved by their sin while also saddened that his confrontational words had caused them pain. However, he does not regret writing these words. And he is also confident that the Corinthians do not now regret receiving his words because God has used them to bring the offending individual and the church fellowship to repentance.

There are some places that you long to be. Maybe for you, it is at home or being with friends. These places and people refresh your soul. They offer you an opportunity to relax and be restored. Such places and people are both needed and desired.

As Paul closed his letter to the Romans, he expressed how he longed to be with his fellow believers. His longing was not just to have a meal or to be with friends (he had never been with the Roman church), but rather he longed to be with other believers who could (because of their shared relationship with Jesus) have fellowship with him.

The fellowship of believers is created to be a blessing to believers. Among the saints, we find the blessing of community, support, and prayer.

Church discipline is a subject that makes many uncomfortable. This may be because the church has not been faithful or consistent, some have used the cover of church discipline to abuse, or so little is understood about it, that there is much misunderstanding. Regardless of how uncomfortable it may cause us to be, we must reckon with the fact that this is the teaching of Jesus. May our heart's desire be to faithfully obey the word of God - even the parts that make us uncomfortable.

This passage follows a very significant moment in the life of Peter. Jesus had asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied with the powerful confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In verses 18-19 Jesus responds to Peter’s confession. Jesus declares that on this confession of Peter, Jesus will build His church. In this passage, we see that the church is founded on Jesus, sustained by Jesus, and is the testimony of the gospel.