Goals are an important part of life. Someone once said, if you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it. God wants each one of us to aim at his goals for our lives and He wants to empower you to reach those goals. Reaching new goals for God is the only way that this year is going to be better for you than last year. So, that’s why we are in the message series, Goals 2013. We’re looking at some general goals that God wants each of us to grow in during the New Year.
Last Sunday, we looked at the goal of Seeking God’s Face, growing in our communication with God. Today, my message is entitled “Grow In Your Church.” We’re going to be looking at how God wants you to grow in your relationships with other believers in your church.
So, first of all today, we want to look at the question “What is a church?” Many see a church as simply a building or a set of programs existing for the benefit of their family.
If that is truly the definition of a church, than churches are basically interchangeable. These people shop for churches, looking for a church that is the most convenient and offers the most in programs for the least effort. It is a consumer mentality in looking for a church. The result of this consumer mentality, which we’ll see is not biblical, is that there is a pronounced migration of people from smaller churches to mega churches. The thinking is that the bigger the church, the more it must offer. Yet, despite this migration to larger churches, the overall church attendance in America is declining. Something’s wrong with this picture.
Let’s look at God’s definition of a local church. Today, our Scripture passage is taken from the book of 1 Corinthians. This book is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the local church at Corinth. How does God define the local church in His Word? Let’s look at the last verse in our passage today first.
1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV) Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Remember that this verse is written to the local church at Corinth. God’s Word defines a local church as the body of Christ, made up of believers, each one being part of that church body. So, let’s remember God’s definition: local church = body of Christ made up of believers
Today, God wants to teach you how to grow in the church body where God has planted you. So, now let’s go to our passage in 1 Corinthians 12 and unpack how God views His church, which is very different from the prevailing understanding today.