“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” – Romans 8:29 (NLT)
“The brain functions that determine our character are most profoundly shaped by who we love…In the human brain, identity and character are formed by who we love.” – Jim Wilder
“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” – Romans 8:29 (NLT)
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you. ” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” – 1 Corinthians 12:18-21 (NLT)
“It’s not good for man to be alone.” – Genesis 2:18 ESV
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT)
13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. – Mark 3:13-15 (ESV)
Cultural Currents
“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…Let him who is not in community beware of being alone…Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Crushing Expectations
“Those who love their dream of a christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Church Commodity
He was with them.
He put up with them.
He wept with them.
He loved them.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. – John 15:9 (ESV)
How do we practice this as a church?
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- Gatherings
- Groups
- Hospitality
“It was not Christian worship that attracted outsiders; it was Christians who attracted them.” – Alan Kreider