Have you ever thought about the Church, not as a place; but as a community?
Scriptures we will be talking about are
- Acts 2 42-47
- 1 Corinthians 1: 10
- 1 Corinthians 12: 18-20
- Ephesians 4: 11-13
Every person has a different perspective on what “church” looks like. Whether that perspective is good or bad depends on their personal experience there. To some, the church is simply a building, but in the Bible, God establishes the idea of the Church being the people, not the place. What does fellowship mean to you? Maybe, a friendly association, especially with people who share one interest. The way that a person feels about a church from their first visit can determine whether or not they ever consider coming back. A negative experience could last their entire life. However, one positive encounter with someone in the church can have a just the opposite effect.
God intended the Church to be a sanctuary and a comfortable environment. Church should not be an intimidating. However, some people come to a new church who often feel uncomfortable, and in some cases, intimidated. For the ones that are a bit unsure anyway, they look for flaws which give them an excuse not to come back. I believe that the Church is not just a building. It is a community.
Let’s Read Acts 2:42-47
We know that there are countless trials and hardships in our lives. As you know, when you are seeking a safe place to go, the Church can provide you with comfort, sympathy, fellowship, and can even help you grow as well as it can positively impact your lives. When we come together in fellowship and by standing on the foundational beliefs that we do, we have a support group against the worldly beliefs. As Christians, there is a special bond between the people of the Church. It is important to us to make sure you feel as though you can openly share your “from the heart” opinions in the Church without judgment.
We want to present the benefits that come with having a community within the Church. As I have often heard, this is our extended family. In the scripture, we learned about some of the positive examples that a Church should look like. Examples that a healthy relationship within the Church can provide include comfort, guidance, fellowship, spiritual growth, and others. It is our responsibility as part of the Church community to create unity within our Church as everyone else does for us.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:10
Think of yourself as twine. Twine by itself is strong but combined with other twine and with a common purpose, many strands of twines cooperating make rope which is stronger than the parts that make it.
Read Ephesians 4:11-13
Although God has an ideal image of what the Church should look like, not every Church ends up looking that way. But God uses each of us to build the Church into what He desires it to be. Each person plays a role and together we are stronger.
Closing
T
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Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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