10: Practice - Community

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1. If you had to give up one of your senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing), which would you choose to be without? How would it change your life to be without this "body part"?

2. How does the body illustration in this passage transfer to our interactions within the church?

3. What does Paul, the author of this passage, say to demonstrate that God designed the members of the body of Christ to be interdependent, mutually relying on each other, rather than independent, self-sufficient and free from outside interaction?

4. What does it mean when the passage says, "The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable"? What examples illustrate this observation?

cf.

Carson says, "Applied to the church, it becomes are collective responsibility to honor gifts given little thought or prominence."

"Showing the Spirit" pg. 49.

"One of the first symptoms of a weakening relationship with the Father is a believer's carelessness about the relationships with God's people." - Uncommon Community, pg 12.

The Benefits of Community

Hebrews 10:25 ESV

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 ESV

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

5. Why is it so easy for us to live life alone? What keeps us from intentional interaction with other people?

6. Why do you think that community is so important for the church to be a part of community?

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes

“Fellowship is a sharing with our fellow-believers the things that God has made known to us about himself, in hope that we may thus help them to know him better and so enrich their fellowship with him. . . . Fellowship is secondly, a seeking to share what God has made known of himself to others, as a means to finding strength, refreshment, and instruction for one’s soul.” – J. I. Packer

HOUSE RULES FOR GOD’S FAMILY

Be at peace with each other ()

Love one another ()

Be joined to one another ()

Be devoted to one another ()

Honor one another ()

Rejoice with one another ()

Weep with one another ()

Live in harmony with one another ()

Accept one another ()

Counsel one another ()

Greet one another ()

Agree with each other ()

Wait for one another ()

Care for one another ()

Serve one another ()

Carry one another’s burdens ()

Be kind to one another ()

Forgive one another ()

Submit to one another ()

Bear with one another ()

Teach, admonish each other ()

Encourage one another ()

Build up one another ()

Spur one another on ()

Offer hospitality to one another ()

Minister gifts to one another ()

Be humble toward one another ()

Confess your sins to one another ()

Pray for one another ()

Fellowship with one another ()

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