Bodies are complex. They are intricate. Sometimes they work the way they are supposed to… and sometimes they don’t. Everybody is made up of thousands of different parts, each of them created for a unique purpose. No one body part can function without the others, and when one is sick, it affects the health of the whole.
The Bible tells us that in these ways, the church is a body; and not just anybody: we are the body of Christ. We receive from him our direction and power and life. We are the physical expression of his presence on the earth. We are growing and maturing into his likeness. As the body of Christ, we are each only a part. Every person saved through the gracious work of Jesus Christ plays a role, and he has gifted us uniquely to fulfill his calling so that his body, the church, would grow.
From March 2 through April 5, we are going to be studying how God intends for us to function as the body of Christ. We will work through the key passages on spiritual gifts and being the body of Christ through a daily reading plan, a sermon series, Gospel Community Leader training, and Gospel Community discussions. Our prayer and hope by the end of this series are that we would more fully “Grow in Christ-like maturity through serving one another as stewards of God's powerful grace."
