WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.029 Growing up, when someone said, we're going to 00:00:03.029 --> 00:00:06.250 church, nobody needed a dictionary. You got dressed, 00:00:06.389 --> 00:00:08.710 you found your Bible, you piled into the car, 00:00:08.849 --> 00:00:12.150 and you drove to a building. For me, that building 00:00:12.150 --> 00:00:15.490 was a tiny rural church in the Ozarks. It was 00:00:15.490 --> 00:00:18.769 not flashy. Nobody was ever going to confuse 00:00:18.769 --> 00:00:22.350 it with a production venue or some kind of concert 00:00:22.350 --> 00:00:26.550 venue. The lobby was maybe six feet wide, max. 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:32.840 a little wooden table on the other side with 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.140 a stack of our daily bread devotional booklets 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:39.439 sitting on top of it. That place was so important 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.420 to me. It mattered deeply. It was where I learned 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.439 scripture. It's where older saints prayed over 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.579 me. It's where faithful believers corrected me, 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:53.179 encouraged me, and occasionally handed me a job 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:56.280 long before I was old enough to realize that 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:59.719 I'd been drafted into ministry. That building, 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:03.170 holds some sacred memories for me. And because 00:01:03.170 --> 00:01:06.549 those memories carry emotional weight, it's incredibly 00:01:06.549 --> 00:01:10.489 easy to attach the word church directly to the 00:01:10.489 --> 00:01:13.909 physical place. We talk about the church down 00:01:13.909 --> 00:01:16.909 the road, meeting someone at the church, or the 00:01:16.909 --> 00:01:20.310 church needing a new roof. Everybody knows what 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:23.909 we mean. That casual shorthand is not sinful. 00:01:24.549 --> 00:01:28.790 But if we're not careful, Casual shorthand can 00:01:28.790 --> 00:01:32.849 quietly shape our theology. Church becomes somewhere 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:35.890 we visit on Sunday, instead of a people we belong 00:01:35.890 --> 00:01:39.870 to every day. The building becomes the center. 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:43.349 The weekend service becomes the main event. The 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:46.290 pastor can slowly become the person we expect 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:48.969 to carry most of the ministry, and the rest of 00:01:48.969 --> 00:01:52.230 us can settle into a predictable rhythm. We arrive, 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:57.400 we receive, we leave. That does not always happen 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.260 because a pastor asked for it. Sometimes we place 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:04.120 those expectations on our leaders. Sometimes 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.180 the pattern develops slowly over decades. And 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:10.819 sometimes everybody is doing the best they know 00:02:10.819 --> 00:02:14.280 to do. And none of us realize how much of the 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:17.539 life of the body has gradually been placed into 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:21.819 the hands of a few people. But whatever the reason. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:25.060 we still have to examine our own responsibility. 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:28.939 Am I treating church as something I attend or 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:32.039 as a body I belong to? Am I expecting someone 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:35.379 else to carry ministry that Christ has called 00:02:35.379 --> 00:02:39.020 the whole body to share? Because you can attend 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:41.979 a building faithfully for 20 years and still 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:45.960 remain mostly unknown. You can know where the 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:49.419 church is located without ever discovering where 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:52.879 you fit inside the body. Which brings us right 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.719 to the core question we are sitting in today. 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:59.539 What if the church is not primarily a place we 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:03.180 enter, but a people Christ has joined us to? 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:06.919 Welcome to Grace in the Grind, brought to you 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:08.560 by Arrow & Roots Coffee Company, where faith 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:12.080 meets the everyday. Here we take time to notice 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.120 God's presence in the middle of life's busiest 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:17.849 moments, to find encouragement, clarity. and 00:03:17.849 --> 00:03:20.969 a reminder of His grace right in the grind of 00:03:20.969 --> 00:03:23.930 daily life. So grab your copy and let's take 00:03:23.930 --> 00:03:29.090 a sip of this cup together. Today, we're unpacking 00:03:29.090 --> 00:03:31.849 a phrase almost every Christian agrees with on 00:03:31.849 --> 00:03:36.849 paper. The church is a people, not a place. It 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:39.610 sounds simple. If you asked a hundred believers 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:42.110 in a room, almost all of them would probably 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:45.150 nod their heads and agree. We know the brick 00:03:45.150 --> 00:03:47.310 and mortar building is not technically the church, 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:51.229 but the real test is not whether we can recite 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:54.210 the sentence correctly. The real test is whether 00:03:54.210 --> 00:03:58.449 our daily lives and our habits as church members 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:01.729 actually reflect it. If the church is a people, 00:04:01.909 --> 00:04:05.689 belonging cannot be reduced to attendance. If 00:04:05.689 --> 00:04:08.389 the church is a body, participation cannot be 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:11.490 reduced to watching. If the church is a family, 00:04:12.429 --> 00:04:16.050 relationships cannot remain optional. And if 00:04:16.050 --> 00:04:19.170 we're living stones being built together, Christianity 00:04:19.170 --> 00:04:22.550 cannot be faithfully practiced as an isolated 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:27.350 arrangement between me and Jesus. Today, we're 00:04:27.350 --> 00:04:30.329 going to look at 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:34.069 2, and 1 Peter 2. By the end of this cut, I want 00:04:34.069 --> 00:04:36.970 us to have a clear biblical picture of what it 00:04:36.970 --> 00:04:40.350 actually means to belong, not merely to visit 00:04:40.350 --> 00:04:44.079 a gathering. but to be joined to Christ and joined 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:48.079 to his people. And as we walk through this, the 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.819 first question is not, what is my church doing 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:54.620 wrong? The first question is, what responsibility 00:04:54.620 --> 00:05:00.439 has Christ given me within his body? Paul writes 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:05.180 in 1 Corinthians 12, For just as the body is 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:07.800 one and has many members, and all the members 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:11.399 of the body, though many, are one body, So it 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:16.120 is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 .12 Notice what 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:18.680 Paul does not say. He does not say the church 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.060 is an audience. He does not say the church is 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:24.160 a weekly lecture series. He does not say the 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:27.120 church is a spiritual drive -thru where people 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:30.620 stop by for religious goods and services. He 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:35.079 says the church is a body. This is not just a 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:38.259 metaphor. It describes our shared life together. 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:44.199 A body is alive, connected, and mutually dependent. 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:48.019 It has distinct parts with different functions, 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.839 but none of those parts is meant to exist alone. 00:05:52.680 --> 00:06:08.860 Paul continues, That single verse confronts two 00:06:08.860 --> 00:06:13.180 serious errors. One says, because my role is 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:16.720 not visible, my presence does not matter. The 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.199 other says, because I am mature, experienced, 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:22.160 or capable, I do not really need the rest of 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:26.160 the body. Paul rejects both. The unseen member 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:29.639 is still necessary. The strong member is still 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:33.860 dependent. Nobody gets to say, I do not matter. 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:38.399 And nobody gets to say, I don't need you. Biblical 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:42.259 belonging is not built around prominence. It's 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:46.199 built around connection and faithfulness. The 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.519 person quietly praying may be strengthening the 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.639 body in ways most people will never notice. The 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.860 older believer steadily discipling one younger 00:06:55.860 --> 00:06:58.800 Christian over coffee may be doing work that 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.600 lasts for generations. And the believer who brings 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:06.720 a meal visits the sick teaches a class, or sits 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:10.019 beside someone in grief is not doing secondary 00:07:10.019 --> 00:07:14.680 church work. This is the body functioning. And 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:17.459 when the body functions that way, ministry does 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:21.100 not have to rest on one person. Pastors and elders 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.339 lead, teach, shepherd, and equip. But the body 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:28.459 ministers to the body under the headship of Christ. 00:07:28.779 --> 00:07:32.360 Which means I cannot simply ask, is my pastor 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:37.019 caring for everyone? I also have to ask, who 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:40.600 has Christ called me to notice, encourage, and 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:44.740 help carry? In Ephesians 2, Paul shifts the image 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:48.060 from a human body to a temple. But the central 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:51.459 truth remains the same. He tells us that we are 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:54.740 members of the household of God, built on the 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.759 foundation of the apostles and prophets, with 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:02.079 Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him, 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:05.709 the whole structure. Being joined together grows 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:10.350 into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:12.610 are being built together into a dwelling place 00:08:12.610 --> 00:08:16.970 for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2, 21 and 22. 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:22.430 Look at that phrase, built together. Not stacked 00:08:22.430 --> 00:08:25.149 near each other, not occupying the same room 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:27.810 once a week while remaining spiritually disconnected. 00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:32.750 Joined together. Think about construction for 00:08:32.750 --> 00:08:35.789 a second. A pile of loose rocks dumped into a 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:39.529 field is not a temple. You can put a thousand 00:08:39.529 --> 00:08:43.009 bricks in the same square footage, but proximity 00:08:43.009 --> 00:08:46.990 alone does not create a structure. The stones 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:50.509 have to be placed, aligned, and fitted together. 00:08:50.929 --> 00:08:54.490 In the same way, standing in the same room once 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:57.490 a week does not automatically create biblical 00:08:57.490 --> 00:09:00.889 community. You can sing beside someone for years 00:09:00.889 --> 00:09:04.000 and never learn their name. You can listen to 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.820 the same sermon and never carry one another's 00:09:06.820 --> 00:09:10.179 burdens. You can sit in the same row every Sunday 00:09:10.179 --> 00:09:14.299 and still have nobody in your life who has permission 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:17.919 to ask you a hard question. That's attendance. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:23.759 It may be an entry point, but it's not faithfulness 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:29.039 of belonging. Scripture describes believers being 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:33.340 fitted together. And being fitted together means 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:37.019 I do not get to choose only the parts of the 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:40.179 body that are easy for me. Other believers will 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:42.639 occasionally annoy me. They will misunderstand 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:47.139 me. They will require patience from me. And painfully 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:50.220 enough, I will require grace and patience from 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:54.340 them. The church is not a showroom of finished 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:57.940 products. It is a people being shaped together 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:01.779 while Christ continues his work. Every one of 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:04.740 us. And that means the question is not merely, 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.480 have I found a church where everything fits my 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:11.399 preferences? The better question is, am I allowing 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:14.759 Christ to fit me into the life of his people? 00:10:16.059 --> 00:10:19.220 Peter picks up the same imagery in 1 Peter 2. 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:23.620 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:26.879 men, but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.309 you yourselves are like living stones. being 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:35.129 built up as a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2, 4, 00:10:35.230 --> 00:10:40.049 and 5. Christ is the ultimate living stone. We 00:10:40.049 --> 00:10:44.210 come to him, and in him, we become living stones 00:10:44.210 --> 00:10:47.330 being built together into something far larger 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:51.250 than our individual lives. The distinction matters 00:10:51.250 --> 00:10:55.850 because the church does not save us. Christ does. 00:10:56.490 --> 00:10:59.830 The church is not our savior. She cannot bear 00:10:59.830 --> 00:11:02.809 the weight that belongs to Jesus alone. Local 00:11:02.809 --> 00:11:05.750 churches can disappoint us. Leaders can fail. 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:09.750 Members can cause real wounds. Structures can 00:11:09.750 --> 00:11:12.769 become unhealthy. And when those things happen, 00:11:12.970 --> 00:11:17.029 we should tell the truth. Protecting the reputation 00:11:17.029 --> 00:11:19.929 of the church must never become more important 00:11:19.929 --> 00:11:22.750 than protecting the people, telling the truth, 00:11:22.789 --> 00:11:27.230 or pursuing repentance. That does not mean every 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:30.960 conflict is abuse and does not mean every disagreement 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.399 proves a church is unhealthy. It means real sin 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:38.379 should be confronted honestly, and real harm 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:41.159 should never be hidden behind religious language. 00:11:41.779 --> 00:11:45.139 At the same time, we cannot faithfully claim 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:48.179 to love Christ while treating connection to his 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:52.100 people as unnecessary. Christ joins himself, 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:57.980 and in joining us to himself, He joins us to 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:03.440 his people. That does not mean remaining in an 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.259 abusive, doctrinally corrupt environment. It 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:08.720 does not mean leaders should never be questioned. 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:12.759 Faithful leaders recognize that the church belongs 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.759 to Christ, and they should welcome biblical accountability. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:20.320 But permanent isolation is not the ordinary New 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.139 Testament pattern for Christian life. The church 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:27.950 is not. Precious because Christians behave flawlessly. 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:31.549 The church is precious because Christ purchased 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:35.370 her with his own blood and continues to build 00:12:35.370 --> 00:12:39.570 her. And even when we have been hurt, the question 00:12:39.570 --> 00:12:43.169 eventually becomes, how do I heal without allowing 00:12:43.169 --> 00:12:46.629 my pain to convince me that I no longer need 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:50.490 the body? Here's where the conversation gets 00:12:50.490 --> 00:12:53.009 uncomfortable. A lot of us have learned how to 00:12:53.009 --> 00:12:55.509 attend church without ever actually belonging 00:12:55.509 --> 00:12:58.710 to the body. We know the routine. We know when 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:01.490 to arrive. We know where to sit. We know how 00:13:01.490 --> 00:13:03.970 to have the quick lobby conversation where both 00:13:03.970 --> 00:13:07.230 people say, doing great, how are you? And neither 00:13:07.230 --> 00:13:09.990 person has the time to hear the real answer. 00:13:10.549 --> 00:13:13.889 Then we go home. Because we were physically in 00:13:13.889 --> 00:13:16.649 the room, we assume we have practiced New Testament 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:20.110 fellowship. But biblical fellowship is deeper 00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:23.820 than being polite. in the lobby. The Greek word 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:28.799 often translated fellowship is koinonia. It carries 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:32.720 the idea of sharing, participation, partnership, 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:36.399 and common life. It's not just drinking coffee 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.379 before the service. Though, as you know, I'm 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:42.779 a fan of really good coffee before the service, 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:45.620 after the service, during the service. Koinonia 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:49.220 means we pray for one another, carry one another's 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:53.480 burdens. Speak truth with grace and use what 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.340 God has given us for the good of someone else. 00:13:56.980 --> 00:14:00.179 The church becomes spiritually thin when attendance 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:04.059 replaces participation. And yes, structures can 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:07.100 sometimes make participation harder. But before 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.720 I critique a structure, I need to examine my 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:12.600 own posture. Have I been waiting for someone 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:14.720 to personally invite me to every opportunity? 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:18.519 Have I assumed that because I do not have a title, 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:22.509 that I don't have responsibility? Have I evaluated 00:14:22.509 --> 00:14:26.210 sermons, music, programs, and leadership while 00:14:26.210 --> 00:14:28.590 remaining mostly uninvolved in the lives of the 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:32.230 people around me? It's easy to criticize a church 00:14:32.230 --> 00:14:35.529 for feeling impersonal while guarding our own 00:14:35.529 --> 00:14:39.389 lives from being known. It's easy to say nobody 00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:42.789 noticed without asking whether we have learned 00:14:42.789 --> 00:14:46.549 to notice others. And it's easy to say ministry 00:14:46.549 --> 00:14:50.690 feels... concentrated in a few hands while keeping 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:54.629 our own hands safely in our pockets. That does 00:14:54.629 --> 00:14:57.610 not remove the responsibility of leaders to equip 00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:01.490 the saints, but it reminds us that the health 00:15:01.490 --> 00:15:04.509 of the body is not someone else's responsibility 00:15:04.509 --> 00:15:09.049 alone. Every one of us has a part. So the question 00:15:09.049 --> 00:15:11.929 is not first, what are they failing to provide? 00:15:12.649 --> 00:15:15.750 The question is, how am I participating in their 00:15:15.750 --> 00:15:19.840 life? Christ has placed around me. Being known 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:23.000 sounds warm and comforting until someone actually 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.980 knows you. Then it gets inconvenient because 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:28.679 being known means someone may notice when your 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.899 attitude gets a little sharp, when you quietly 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:35.100 disappear, or when a pattern in your life begins 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:38.340 moving in the wrong direction. It gets uncomfortable. 00:15:39.419 --> 00:15:42.279 But anonymity is not the same thing as safety. 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:46.820 Sometimes, anonymity protects the very patterns 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:50.519 Christ is trying to heal. We need brothers and 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.360 sisters who know us well enough to encourage 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.759 what is good, confront what is destructive, and 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:59.700 remind us of truth when our own thoughts become 00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:04.419 unreliable. And just as importantly, other people 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:08.639 need that from us. Belonging means I do not only 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:12.960 ask who is caring for me. I also ask, Who does 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.320 God place near me for me to care for? The body 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.360 does not become healthy when everyone waits to 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.700 be noticed. It becomes healthy when members learn 00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:26.580 to notice. That means sometimes I make a call, 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:31.279 send the text, stay after the service, ask the 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.299 second question, or show up when somebody else 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:37.600 needs help. Because responsibility to the body 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:41.539 is not abstract. It takes the shape of actual 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:45.309 people. I want to pull back for a second because 00:16:45.309 --> 00:16:48.129 this conversation can easily sound like one more 00:16:48.129 --> 00:16:51.789 heavy demand on an already exhausted life. You 00:16:51.789 --> 00:16:54.649 may hear all of this and think, great, one more 00:16:54.649 --> 00:16:58.909 area I'm failing. That's not the tone of the 00:16:58.909 --> 00:17:01.629 gospel. Christ is not standing over his church 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:04.109 with a clipboard, disappointed that we have not 00:17:04.109 --> 00:17:08.309 achieved flawless community. He is the cornerstone, 00:17:08.430 --> 00:17:11.650 holding the weight. He's the head supplying the 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:15.339 life. He is the shepherd who pursues weary and 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:18.980 wandering sheep. Grace allows us to tell the 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:21.799 truth about our disconnection without believing 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:25.720 we can repair it through frantic activity. Some 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:27.839 of you have pulled back because you were deeply 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.779 hurt. Some of you are exhausted. And some of 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:35.299 you are dealing with real social anxiety. And 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.019 some of you have served for years. And now you 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:42.500 hear every invitation as one more demand. Hear 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:46.319 me. The answer is not shame. The answer is not 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.740 pretending your limits do not exist. The answer 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:54.799 is an invitation towards healthy, truthful, Christ 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:59.000 -centered relationships at a wise and faithful 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:04.119 pace. Grace does not force fake closeness. It 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:08.319 makes honest belonging possible. And grace also 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:11.950 frees us to take responsibility. without needing 00:18:11.950 --> 00:18:15.849 to defend ourselves. We can simply admit that 00:18:15.849 --> 00:18:19.049 we have stayed disconnected, expected others 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:22.509 to carry too much, and waited to be noticed instead 00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:27.029 of learning to notice. We can confess that without 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:30.509 fear that Christ is done with us. He corrects 00:18:30.509 --> 00:18:33.769 the people he loves. He restores what has drifted. 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:37.589 He teaches living stones how to be built together. 00:18:38.690 --> 00:18:41.900 As we wrap up today, Let me give you four questions 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:46.240 to carry into this week. Who knows the real condition 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.599 of my soul? Whose burden am I helping carry? 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:55.460 Where is my spiritual gift strengthening the 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:59.660 body? And would my absence be felt relationally 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:04.740 or merely statistically? Don't try to solve all 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:08.420 four questions by Sunday or anything. Start small. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:11.839 Invite someone to a meal. Stay a few minutes 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:16.259 after the service for a real conversation. Step 00:19:16.259 --> 00:19:18.819 into a smaller gathering where people can know 00:19:18.819 --> 00:19:23.359 you. Ask someone how they are doing and wait 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.400 long enough to hear the real answer. Offer your 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:30.859 gift. Receive help without apologizing for needing 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:35.660 it. Belonging is rarely built through one dramatic 00:19:35.660 --> 00:19:39.420 event. It's built through small. Repeated acts 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:44.900 of presence. The church is not less than a gathered 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:51.079 people. We should gather. We should sing, pray, 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:53.640 sit under the faithful teaching of scripture, 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:56.940 and take the Lord's Supper together. But the 00:19:56.940 --> 00:20:00.079 church is more than the building where those 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.759 things take place. The church is a people Christ 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:09.089 has purchased for himself. A body with many members. 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:12.289 A household of brothers and sisters. Living stones 00:20:12.289 --> 00:20:15.730 being built together into a holy temple. So the 00:20:15.730 --> 00:20:19.190 next time you say, I'm going to church, you don't 00:20:19.190 --> 00:20:21.450 need to apologize or correct yourself. Everybody 00:20:21.450 --> 00:20:25.970 knows what you mean. But in your heart, remember 00:20:25.970 --> 00:20:29.769 the deeper reality. You're not merely visiting 00:20:29.769 --> 00:20:33.329 a place. You are gathering with a people you 00:20:33.329 --> 00:20:38.279 belong to. A people who need you. people you 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.000 need. The building is where the church gathers. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:46.200 In Christ, the people are the church. And the 00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:49.619 question for each of us is not simply, did I 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:54.559 attend? It is, am I faithfully loving, serving, 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:57.700 and belonging to the body Christ has joined me 00:20:57.700 --> 00:21:01.759 to? Before our next cup, make sure to tune in 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:04.900 for the extra shot. You cannot attend a body. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:07.960 We're going to dig further into the difference 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.759 between present at the gathering and actual participating 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:15.880 in the shared life of Christ's people. Then in 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:19.460 cup four, we'll talk about what happens when 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:23.839 the church gathers, gathered to be formed. We 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:26.319 will look at why gathering is not merely something 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.319 we attend for inspiration, but one of the primary 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:34.140 places Christ shapes his people together. Follow 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:36.180 Grace on the Grind wherever you listen, leave 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:38.480 a review, and share this episode with someone 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.119 who may need it. Thank you for listening to Grace 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:42.559 on the Grind, brought to you by Arrow & Roots 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.000 Coffee Company. Until next time, keep your coffee 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.359 strong and your faith stronger.