The NorthWord
NorthWord is a daily Christian podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican Family. Hosted by Father Aaron from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
Here's how it works: Every Sunday we release the full sermon preached that morning. Then Monday through Saturday, you get 3-5 minute daily reflections based on that sermon - one thought you can actually use each day. Every Wednesday we explore the rhythm of Jesus' life and how his followers have lived it out for 2,000 years.
Whether you're Pentecostal, Orthodox, Baptist, Catholic, or just curious about faith - this is for you. Ancient faith. Real life. No fluff.
The Word. The North. Your Week.
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The NorthWord
You Can't Love Alone
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A rerun of one of our older shows!
Proximity isn't community. Attendance isn't belonging. Why our calling to love is impossible without the community God gave us.
Text Us directly by clicking 'Text Us' at the top of these show notes to share your journey!Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theanglicanfamilyConnect with us: https://linktr.ee/TheNorthWord
Good morning, this is Northword. Good morning indeed. This is Northword, the Word, the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron. Here's our Christian calling to love God and to love neighbor. So we can sum it up as love. And love is impossible without the community that God has given us. It's not harder without the community. It's not better with the community. It's simply impossible without the community. Think about Paul's description of love in Romans chapter 12. Love rejoices with those who rejoice. Love weeps with those who weep. Love honors others and associates with the lowly. Now stop and look at the pattern. You can't rejoice with someone if you're alone. You can't weep with someone if you're isolated. You can't honor others if there are no others. You can't associate with the lowly if you avoid community. The Christian life demands encounter. It demands actual flesh and blood relationships with actual flesh and blood people. So here's your Monday challenge. Where are you trying to live out your faith in isolation? Where are you keeping people at arm's length while still going through the motion of community? Because loneliness isn't just about being alone. It's about being unknown. You can be in a room full of people and still be completely unknown. And the Christian calling to love requires being known. It requires showing up, not just physically, but actually being present. It requires letting people see your mess and you seeing their mess. That's uncomfortable and that's risky, and that's exactly what most of us spend most of our energy trying to avoid. But it's also necessary. Not optional, necessary. So today, just notice. Notice where you're isolated. Notice where you're going through the motions. Notice where you're physically present but emotionally absent. Don't try to fix it all today, just notice it, because you can't address what you won't acknowledge. Our calling to love is impossible without the community God gave us. And the first step towards community is admitting we actually need it. This has been Northward the Word, the North Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. And until tomorrow, God be with you. Amen.