Belonging

INTRO—members of one another (3-18; 5)

Romans 12:3–5 CSB

For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Belonging means humility (3)

Belonging means diversity (4)

Church Membership brings us together under...

creed

Belonging means family (5)

practice

mission

Belonging means family (5)

The family meal

“These are my brothers and sisters and mother”

The internet, online pseudo-community and loneliness

Members of One another

Commitment (Jesus Family ILL, 5)

Love (v. 9)

Help

Counsel

Small Groups

We don’t live in the “church serves me” world anymore—you serve the church like you serve your families.

Serve together (4)

INTRO—members of one another (5)

What does the biblical church have that the rest of the world is missing?

A model for grace (3a) (cf. 6-no slide)

Gift we don’t deserve

Starts with Jesus

For Paul extends to gifting and calling

Every Christian has calling according to their gifting and that is a furthering of the grace of the cross. — You don’t even know the joy that awaits you.

By extension humility (3b)

willingness and safety to be who we are called to be AND who we truly are in Christ.

We aren’t perfect, but this is what we are called to (9)

Hypocricy

A Christian isn’t sinless, but a Christian doesn’t love their sin.

What do we have that the world is missing? We have a love that desires goodness for every member of our community that is centralized around humility and the grace of Jesus that is necessary for every failure and every act of hypocrisy.

What does authentic belonging look like?

Deep familial love (10a)

“These are my brothers and sisters and mother.” ()

You won’t always like someone, but there is a deeper love that flows from shared blood.

ILL: When someone picks on your little brother.

Sacrificial love (10b)

Sacrificial love seeks to lift up others at your own cost.

, “In humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”

, “Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.”

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

Example of Jesus (These are my mother and sisters and brother…)

Kingdom Love (11)

Key: “serve the Lord”

Gifting in 6-8 is about carrying out our service in God’s Kingdom. (6-8)

The relationship between brothers in Christ is greater than a natural brotherhood because of our shared purpose.

How does Jesus give us greater belonging than we can find in any other group, club, or clique?

Body of Christ (4-5)

Analogy

Flipped Purpose

Flipped Purpose

Clubs and cliques are about what the club or clique can do for you.

The Kingdom of God is about what has already been done for you.

In a club you have to pay your dues to belong.

In the Kingdom, Jesus paid for you to belong with his blood.

Freedom of the Gospel

You don’t spend your life hoping to get in.

You spend your life doing what is actually valuable to do (12-18)

Not a list of things to do; this is a list of ways you can and should use your time and energy, living out the implications of the Gospel in life now and for eternity.