This Sunday at South Side we will begin a new series entitled “Rethinking The Church.” In this series, we will talk about what the Bible says about the important responsibility every follower of Christ has to their local congregation.
This subject of our God given responsibility to the local church needs to be addressed because we live in a culture that is trying to “redefine Christianity” to fit into its definition instead of what God says the church is in His word.
Church is so much more than attending a service. It’s more than giving in the offering. It’s about connecting with a community of Christ-followers to pursue a common goal: being like Jesus, and doing what Jesus said to do. That’s real, authentic, original, unchanged, unaltered, unfiltered, God given Christianity! The church is meant to care for each other, grow together, and reach the world together!
However, the reality is many churches today in our nation are really messed up. We all know it. We’ve been in churches that had a wacky pastor, wacky people, or both. We’ve been in churches that cared more about buildings and budgets than believers. We’ve been in churches that liked to fight publicly and gossip privately.
The church in our nation is a mess. One of the main reasons it is in a mess is because it has become so disconnected within. People today have the idea that Christianity is just about them and God. However, the Bible teaches the church is so much more than that. For example, the church is compared to our physical body by the Apostle Paul in the book of 1 Corinthians. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 that, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” Rethinking the church means we understand that as Christians we are one part of one body called “The Church.”
Early believers understood this totally! Rick Warren says when talking about the original Christians, “First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God’s will they gave themselves to one another as well.”
If you are a true follower of Christ. If you’ve given your life to Jesus. If you’ve been washed in the blood of the lamb. That means that you are now one part of the body of Christ! You are part of something greater than yourself! You are a part of the eternal family of God! That means blessing, that means help, that means accountability, and that means responsibility!
Christianity is not about self-centeredness, but about community. Rethinking Christianity means as you read this passage you see that Christianity is about something greater than just you and God, but you are now a part of the body of Christ made up of many parts. You don’t go to church! You are a part of the church. As our physical body is made up of many connected parts we are called to worship and be connected with other parts of the body of Christ! Together, not alone, we are the body of Christ. That’s what the word of God teaches us. We must never let our culture change Christ and the Bible, or Christ and the Bible will not be able to change our culture. Once you understand this you either follow it or you do not. My prayer for you today is that no matter what your experience has been you will take action to be with the other parts of the body of Christ. The Bible teaches that we are stronger and better together!
I want to thank you for reading today’s article. I hope in some way it blesses your soul. This Sunday at South Side I will share week one of our new series entitled “Rethinking The Church.” Our onsite worship starts at 10:15, and our Children’s Ministry offers children’s classes for all ages. We are continuing to practice social distancing at our services. If you are unable to attend, our online services will be available at 3 on Facebook and our website. If you would like to give generously just text the word “help” to 84321 and follow the simple instructions. We would love to have you and your family worship with us! For more information visit us on our website at www.southsidewch.com or on Facebook.
