WE BELONG BECAUSE OF JESUS.

18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. 22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 1 Peter 1:18-22 NLT

 

BECAUSE WE BELONG, WE ARE TO LOVE AS JESUS LOVED.

34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 NLT

 

WE LONG TO BELONG TO SOMETHING BIGGER THAN US. 

• We don’t want to just live and die.

• We want to be a part of something that matters.

• We want to be a part of something that has purpose.

 

THE CHURCH IS A POWERFUL PLACE TO BELONG.

17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Colossians 1:17-20 NLT

 

16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT

 

WE ARE JOINED TOGETHER.

21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.  Ephesians. 2:21-22 NLT

 

WE ARE HEIRS TOGETHER.

6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:6 NLT

 

WE ARE HELD TOGETHER BY JESUS CHRIST. 

19b For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. Colossians 2:19b NLT

 

WE WILL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER.

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT 

 

Next Steps for me today…

• To join a Bible-believing Church.

• To take Serve Class to discover where I fit best in the body of Christ.

• To love others as Christ has loved me.