Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Lessons from Ecuador #5



This is a picture of the church!

Photobucket

Are we all one color? NO! Are we all one race? NO! Do we all speak one language? NO! Are we all from the same city? NO! Do we all worship at the same church? NO! Do we all love Jesus and want to serve Him with out lives, talents, and gifts? Absolutely! We did serve Jesus and Jesus did some amazing things through this group...HIS CHURCH!

The church is not a building as you can see in the photo above we are not in a church but in the lobby of a hotel. The church is not people who come once on Sunday and then do not serve, worship, praise, pray or anything else for Jesus in whom they claim they serve.

The church in the bible is referred to as the body in several places but I want you to check out these verses:

Ephesians 4:15-16

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26

12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And 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 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Did you catch what the church is here? Individuals who come together to serve Jesus with their God given gifts and abilities. It is essential that all believers come together to serve Christ because you can do things I can't and I can do things you can't. We need each other! Christ formed, loved, and died for the church. Get involved and serve our King Jesus. It is not an option, Jesus told us to do so!

Tom

No comments:

Post a Comment