‘I Belong Because I Believe’ – 11.12.2023

November 12, 2023
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WE ALL FEEL THE NEED TO KNOW AND BE KNOWN. 

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the  breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many  wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were  together and had everything in common. Acts 2:42-44 NIV 

  • The early Church is a great picture of knowing and being known. 
  • They devoted themselves to something they believed. • They were a community of faith. 

I BELONG BECAUSE I BELIEVE. 

26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who  have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on  new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and  female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to  Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s  promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:26-29 NLT 

I BELONG BECAUSE OF MY FAITH IN JESUS. 

16“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ,  not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we  might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we  have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying  the law.” 17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in  Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law.  Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a  sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried  to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to  

meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been  crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live  in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave  himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if  keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for  Christ to die. Galatians 2:16-21 NLT 

1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning  of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a  picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you  receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You  received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about  Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit,  why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have  you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? 5I  ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among  you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the  message you heard about Christ. 6In the same way, “Abraham believed God,  and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of  Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. 8 What’s more, the  Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles  right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to  Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through  you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham  received because of his faith. Galatians 3:1-9 NLT 

  • We aren’t made right by following the law, but by faith. • This is not just believing there is a God, or something is out  there. 
  • This is believing to the point of commitment, trust, and surrender. 

I BELONG BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED INTO THE BODY OF  CHRIST. 

13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are  free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all  share the same Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT 

  • This is a spiritual baptism into the Body of Christ. 
  • Water baptism is going public with your faith. 
  • Water baptism announces your salvation but does not produce salvation. 

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit  for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we  have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s  masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the  good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT

17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and  not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. 1 Corinthians 1:17 NLT 

  • Are you trying to earn your salvation by keeping the law or the  rules and expectations? 
  • We can receive salvation by believing in Jesus by faith.
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•    The parent must provide the center with a pre-school/child immunization certificate, or Blue Slip. This is to be kept updated, if it is not, the center will send out a notice stating that the required immunizations are out dated. The form can be obtained through the health department or your pediatrician.

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