I don't know how many of you have been by the
church property in recent days, but it's starting
to get out there so you can see things. And that's
exciting. I go over there about every day. I
never quite get enough done to satisfy me, but
I guess that's the way it is. It'll just be that
way until I get done, I'm sure. We are told that
it's still five months from the day they start
that we'll be in there. Now, I'll tell you, as
I look at that, it takes a lot of faith. And
I remember somebody told me one time, faith is
only as valid as its object. In this case, the
object is the word of the contractor, and I trust
him to be a fine man, but they've got a lot of
work to do in three months. But we'll trust that
they're going to do it, and we'll be in there,
Lord willing, in the fall. A number of people
have tried to get a date established, including
myself, but that isn't possible at this point.
We're excited, though, to see what's taking place.
You keep praying for that project over there.
God has given us tremendous weather for the last
three weeks, four weeks, once the monsoon season
was over. And now they've got it to the point
that if it does keep on raining like it did before,
at least they'll be able to keep on working because
they're out of the ground onto the blocks so
they can keep right on working even though it
might be a little bit muddy underneath. So we
praise God for all of that. and for your faithfulness
in that ministry of our building. We're going
to turn together to the Word of God, the fourth
chapter of the book of Ephesians. We have been
studying together the various metaphors of the
Church in the New Testament. We are undertaking
now a little more of an in -depth look at this
metaphor of the church as a body. The church
is a body, a vital, functioning organism. Its
purpose is to express the life of the one inhabiting
it, just as the purpose of your body is to give
expression to your life. to what you want to
accomplish, where you want to go, what you want
to say, and so on. So the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the expression of his life in the world.
He is the one who inhabits his body, which we
are. It's interesting that the church is not
a statue. A statue is a model. It is a frozen
facsimile. of perfection. It's a work of art
intended to be admired. That is not what the
church is all about. It's not a statue. Nor is
the church a corpse. A corpse is a real thing.
I mean, it's a real body, but there's a problem
with the corpse. It doesn't have any life to
it, and the church isn't to be that way. Furthermore,
a corpse is usually in some state of decomposition.
And hopefully a church isn't that. A church is
not a corpse, but rather a church is a living,
vital body which functions. The church is the
representation of Christ in the world right now.
The Lutheran theologian and pastor Bonhoeffer
said, the church is nothing but a section of
humanity in which Christ has really taken form.
I like that statement. The church is a section
of humanity in which Christ has taken form. There
is nothing like the body in the Old Testament.
The other metaphors that we've talked about and
may still talk about all have some kind of an
equivalent in the Old Testament. The church is
a bride. Well, Israel was the bride, the wife
of Jehovah. We've talked about the church as
a building, a temple. Well, there was a temple
in the Old Testament. But when we talk about
the body, we're talking about a metaphor that
is unique to the church, to the New Testament.
There is not an equivalent in the Old Testament.
A body is a single unit of diversified members
functioning together to accomplish a central
task. And so a local church is not many, but
it's one. One single entity, although it is composed
of many and diverse members. And yet the many
of us function together as one to accomplish
a central goal or set of purposes. It's exciting
in my estimation. To help believers understand
what they are as members of the body. And to
begin to practice in their lives the truth of
being a member of the body of Christ. It's also
a challenge to do that because somehow we don't
seem to act on this truth very well. We don't
seem to act like a body very well. John MacArthur
has written, Given that all Christians have received
this unity and are one in the body of Christ,
still they have a tendency to pull apart and
to isolate themselves in smaller groups. They
scatter into cliques, joining themselves to little
groups of people who act and think the same way.
It's possible for Christians to go to the same
church meetings, sit together, and even talk
superficially, but at heart still be far away
from each other. They are tightly closed to most
fellow believers even though they may be open
to a few. They have not learned to care and to
express oneness in practical ways. They operate
contrary to the way the body is supposed to function
and therefore the whole body is hindered. Much
of our ministry, says MacArthur, involves getting
people who are theoretically one to relate to
each other. or to put it in another way, getting
the members back together into the experience
of the whole body as God intended. I hope as
we talk about the church as the body of Christ,
that is something that will happen in the lives
of many of us, that we will begin to see ourselves
not as isolated people coming together for worship,
but rather what we are, a single entity, a living
organism of people. The church, the body of Jesus
Christ, called out to function together as one.
How do we get a hold of this biblical teaching
that we are a functioning unit, a living, vital
body of people who are living out the life of
Jesus Christ? Well, I think that there are three
truths that are essential to know. If we would
see our church function as a body as God intends.
Three essential truths that you and I need to
know if we are going to function as a body as
God intends us to. I'm going to base my remarks
this morning upon Ephesians chapter 4 beginning
in verse 1. So let's take time to read that text.
I'm not going to expound the text verse by verse
today. That will come later. I want to talk about
three truths that are derived from here nonetheless.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called, with all humility
and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance
to one another in love, being diligent to preserve
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one spirit. Just as also
you were called in one hope of your calling,
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in all. But to each one of us, grace was
given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says, when he ascended on high,
he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to
men. Now this expression, Paul says, parenthetically,
he ascended. What does it mean? Except that he
also had descended into the lower parts of the
earth. He who descended is himself also he who
ascended far above all the heavens, that he might
fill all things. Now, after that parenthetical
expression, which expounds on the fact that he
gave gifts to men, he goes on to say in verse
11, and he gave some as apostles. and some as
prophets and some as evangelists and some as
pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the
saints for the work of service, to the building
up of the body of Christ, until we all attain
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure
of the stature which belongs to the fullness
of Christ. As a result, From whom the whole body...
being fitted and held together by that which
every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each individual part, causes the growth
of the body for the building up of itself in
love. Now based upon that text, there are three
essential truths that you and I must get a hold
of. If we are going to begin to practice this
oneness as the body of Jesus Christ in our local
church, Grace Church Roseville, truth number
one, as a believer, you are a member of the body
of Christ. You say, well, that's nothing new.
No, it's not. But it's something that some of
us perhaps have not grappled with and gotten
a hold of. Now please understand, first of all,
that I'm talking to believers. I'm not talking
today to those of you who may have come to our
service who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior. Our prayer for you today is that
you would come to know Him. To whom to know is
what? Life eternal. Knowing Him means the forgiveness
of sins, past, present, and future. It's to have
eternal life. If you don't know Him, if you're
not a believer, In that very special, personal
sense, we hope today you will come to trust Christ.
But I am addressing myself today primarily to
those who are believers. As a believer, you are
a member of the body of Christ. That is the calling
that verse 1 talks about. He says, I entreat
you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling.
with which you've been called. What is that calling?
It is our calling to be a member of the body,
whether Jew or Gentile. Our calling in Jesus
Christ is to be a member of his body. Now that
calling is further described back in chapters
1 and 2 and into chapter 3 as well. But let's
especially look at chapter 1 and just quickly
think about our calling. Notice in chapter 1,
verses 3 through 14, give us the content of our
calling. What it's all about. It's to salvation.
That's the content of it. That we might be saved.
And you'll notice that in these verses, 3 to
14, he tells us that each person of the Blessed
Trinity has a part in our salvation. He talks
about the work of the Father. In verses 3, 4,
5, 6. He talks about the work of the Son. Verses
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. And then he concludes with
the work of the Holy Spirit in verses 13 and
14. To make that abbreviated, what he says the
work of the Father is, is that he chose us. His
is the work of election. Now, that may trigger
all kinds of red flags in your mind. You say,
what about free will? Listen, we're not talking
about that this morning. We're just talking about
this text for now. He says that the truth is
that God chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. That's the work of the Father,
planning it. Planning it. What's the work of
the Son? The Son is the one who accomplished
it. The Father planned it. The Son accomplished
it. And the one word I would use is the word
redemption. The work of the Father is election.
The work of the Son is redemption. He is the
one who came into the world, incarnated Himself
with sinless humanity, and went to the cross
and paid the price for man's sin. His is the
work of redemption, and it is through the shedding
of His blood that we have the forgiveness of
sins. And then the work of the Holy Spirit. Well,
in one word, it's sealing. The work of the Holy
Spirit is administrating the salvation which
the Father planned and the Son purchased and
accomplished. The Holy Spirit administrates that.
And he says the Holy Spirit seals us into Jesus
Christ. He indwells us as the down payment, the
guarantee of our future complete salvation. That's
the work of the Spirit. And so the content of
our calling is that God has called us out of
sin to salvation. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit each had a part in accomplishing
and administrating that salvation. Then in verse
15, we have the proof of our calling. How do
you know someone is genuinely saved by the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit? He says, There
are two key words there. You see them, don't
you? What is the proof that a person is saved?
Two things are in his life. Faith toward the
Lord Jesus Christ and love toward his brothers
and sisters in Christ. If one says that he has
faith in the Lord but does not love his brothers,
he's a liar, says John. He's not saved. He's
still a child of the devil. If one loves people,
but does not have a personal faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, as the God -man who came and died
and was raised from the dead, is exalted in heaven,
if he loves, but he does not have that faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, he's not a true believer.
Maybe a nice guy. He may wear a white hat and
all of that sort of thing, but he's not a true
believer. He hasn't been called. One who is called
gives evidence by his faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ and his love toward other believers. That's
the proof of the calling. And then the apostle
begins to express to them his prayer for them,
verse 16. And in verse 18, we come to the hope
of the calling. He says, I pray that the eyes
of your heart may be enlightened so that you
may know what is the hope of his calling. What
is that hope? It is all that we have in Christ.
It is our position in Jesus Christ. What Paul
is really praying for is that they may be able
to tap into the resources that are ours as those
who are members of the body. He says, I pray
that you may know the hope of his calling, the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints and the surpassing greatness of his power
toward us who believe. He prays that we may get
a hold of our great inheritance and the great
power that is ours because of our calling. That's
the hope of our calling. In verses 22 and 23,
we have the result of our calling, and that is
the formation of the body. He says, And he, the
Father, hath put all things in subjection under
his, Christ's, feet, and gave him as head over
all things to the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all. The
church is called Christ's body and it's called
His fullness. His fullness. The result of your
calling is that as a saved person who proves
it by the way that you live, your faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, your love toward others, as
a saved person who has the hope And this great
inheritance and the great power, as a saved person,
you are also placed, as a result of all that,
in the body. The body is being formed. He goes
on to say in chapter 2 that the body is the object
of God's grace and His mercy and His kindness
for all of eternity to come. Verse 7, He has
placed us in Christ in order that in the ages
to come, he might show the surpassing riches
of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. My point in reviewing all of this is simply
to underscore in your mind that as a believer
in Jesus Christ, you are now a member of a new
group, a new entity, a body, which God is calling
out from every part of the world. Jew as well
as Gentile. You are a part of a body, an elect
group of people who are being called out by God,
a work he began at Pentecost and which will conclude
someday just prior to the rapture of the church.
You're part of a special group. You're a member
of the body of Jesus Christ. As a believer, you
are a member of the body of Christ, the church.
I'm thinking about the church now in that universal
aspect. But frankly, it's a little hard to relate
to that, isn't it? Because that has been called
the church invisible. That describes a lot of
churches during the summertime. But the church
invisible is a term that's sometimes also applied
to this universal aspect of the church. It's
only those who are really saved, and it's those
who've been saved for... Hundreds of years who
are in heaven and some perhaps who have not even
been born yet. It's hard to relate to all of
that. And so God has done a very wonderful thing.
He has established a little picture of it, a
little piece of it in localities all over the
world. It's called the local church. And if you
read your New Testament, you will find that most
of the time when the Bible talks about the church,
it's talking about that local expression of this
body. Because we can identify with that. It's
where we live. It's people we know. We can relate
to that. And so I come to truth number two. As
a member of the body, you have a function in
it. have a function in the body. Now, in that
universal aspect, that is true, but it's really
expressed in the local church. That's where you
see it. That's where you can do it. That's where
your function really takes place, at least right
now. In Ephesians chapter 4 again in verse 7,
he says, each one of us, to each one of us, grace
was given. According to the measure of Christ's
gift. That grace is a function and the ability
to fulfill it. In verses 15 and 16 he says, We
are to grow up in all aspects into him who is
the head. That's Christ. And then he says, From
him, the head, the whole body, being fitted and
held together, By that which every joint supplies.
You're a joint. Did you know that? And part of
your function is to supply the glue that holds
the body together. He goes on to talk about the
proper working of each individual part. That's
you. Now, as we are fitted and held together
with everybody doing his thing, he says the result
is growth of the body for the building up of
itself in love. So you see my point. Truth number
two is that as a member of the body, you have
a function in it. And that is true of all of
us who are saved. There is none who is not given
by God a role to fulfill. There is no such thing
as a hierarchy in the body. That is, where there
is clergy and laity and a division between the
two. There is an appointed authority, there is
appointed leadership in the church, but there
are no positions of superiority and inferiority
spiritually. There is no hierarchy in the body.
One of the distinctives which we believe, and
which some... do not believe is that there is
an equal priesthood of all believers. There's
no hierarchy with some who represent others before
God. We're all priests. No hierarchy. Nor is
there any such thing in the church as a few who
are super saints who are responsible for the
ministry of the body. It should not be true.
that 20 % of the people do 95 % of the ministry.
That is never God's plan. Despite the fact that
may be the predominant or the common statistic
that one would hear in a church, that is not
the plan of God in a local church, that 20 %
of the people do most of the work, or for that
matter, that 25 % of the people give 80 % of
the money, which is also a typical evangelical
church in the United States, which would describe
us. That's about what the statistics are for
Grace Church Roseville. God's plan is that each
one of us have a function. There are not just
a few who are given the responsibility for carrying
on the ministry of the church, who carry that
load. All of us have a ministry. That's the point.
Nor is there any such thing in the church as
a loner. That is the person who is... kind of
all by himself, and he doesn't need others. There's
no such thing in the church as that. Because
God's plan is for each member to be related to
the others. Not only that, to be dependent. Did
you hear that word? Dependent upon the others.
Every member has a function in the body. Now,
there are four things I want to say about that
in a positive way. Number one, that function,
whatever it is, is for the good of the whole.
God doesn't give me a purpose or a function in
the body just so I can sit around and look at
my own belly button, if you'll pardon the expression.
God intends for me as one who has a function
to relate to other people in the body. It's for
the good of the whole body, not just me. I hear
people talk about some spiritual gifts and they
say, well, I exercise that in my closet. God
never gave any gifts for the closet, my friend.
Gifts are for the body, for the good of the whole.
Number two. Gifts are given to enable each to
function in his capacity. Gifts are given to
enable each of us to function in that God -given
role. I don't know what God has designed you
to do in the body. I don't know if you're an
elbow or a big toe or some inner organ that's
invisible. I don't know what your function is
in this body, but God has gifted you to function.
Number three, gifts must be used in the spirit
of love. That was the big problem in Corinth,
wasn't it? They were abusing the gifts, not using
them in love, but rather in a selfish way. Gifts
must always be exercised with appreciation for
other people, and not only for that, but also
with forbearance for others and patience with
others. That's why he says what he does in verses
2 and 3 about humility and gentleness and patience
and forbearance and love. That's how gifts are
to be exercised, and we need that. Because any
time you get a group of people coming together
to work, who still have the principle of sin
in them, you're going to have friction and potential
problems. And that's why we're exhorted, let
love be the grease in the body so that it does
its thing well. Number four, that function, whatever
it is, somehow fits each one of us. into the
whole body, the universal body, for eternity.
I don't know how that works. I really don't.
I don't understand that. But I believe it's true.
I believe that the gift that God has given to
each of us, or the function and the gifts that
God has given to us here, are not only for here
and now, but somehow by exercising them now,
we are being prepared for an eternal duty. For
something that's to come. This is not the end
of it all. We're right now being prepared, aren't
we? And whatever I do now, I should learn to
do well, to exercise my gifts fully, so that
when I get to heaven, when God's great eternal
plan has unfolded, I can step into that plan
where he has planned for me to be and do my thing.
That's why it's important. that I fulfill my
function now in the body. As a member of the
body, you have a function in it. There are no
exceptions. There are no exclusion clauses. You
have a function in the body. Now truth number
three. As one with a function, you are vital
to the health of the body. As a member who has
a function in the body, you are vital to its
health. Now, there are some of us that have been
sold the idea by the devil or ourselves or somebody
that it doesn't really make a lot of difference
if we do our thing, if we minister, if we exercise
our gifts, if we're really involved and committed
in a part of it. That is the ministry of the
local church. That is a lie. it makes a great
deal of difference to me and to the body where
I should be. Because as one with the function,
you and I are vital to the health of the local
church. Now I want you to go back to 1 Corinthians
as we see this. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 14. This
is probably the... The most elongated passage
in the New Testament dealing with this truth
of the church is the body. You can see how Paul
is drawing the parallels here so clearly. He
says in 1 Corinthians 12, 14, For the body is
not one member, but many. That's right. My body
is not just one big foot. That would be a mess,
wouldn't it? Many members. He says, if the foot
should say, because I am not a hand, I am not
a part of the body, it is not for this reason
any the less a part of the body. And if the ear
should say, because I am not an eye, I'm not
a part of the body, it is not for that reason
any the less a part of the body. If the whole
body were an eye, Where would the hearing be?
That's a fantastic picture. If your whole body
is one big eyeball, how are you going to hear
anything? You have to have ears. If the whole
were hearing, where would the sense of smell
be? If you were a big ear, how are you going
to smell that roast beef that's cooking for your
dinner today? That'd be no fun. How are you going
to eat it, for that matter? But he says, now
God has placed the members, each one of them,
in the body just as he desired. And if they were
all one member, where would the body be? But
now there are many members, but one body. You
know what he's saying here? That as those who
have a function, we are to function in harmony.
If I fail to do my thing, whatever that may be,
There are others who will lack fulfillment because
of me. In some way, the body will not be as healthy
as it ought to be if, as one part of it, I fail.
Therefore, I must do my thing. I must fulfill
the function, accomplish the role that God has
set before me. There's no place within the body
for a nagging, persistent friction like arthritis.
Nor is there any place in the body for open,
flagrant resistance, as in the case of an organ
transplant rejection. I read recently that one
of the reasons that heart transplants have only
more recently begun to... be successful is because
they've finally learned how to curb the natural
rejection of the body of a foreign organ. That
organ may be just like the one that was taken
out and pumped just the same way, etc., but it's
a foreign substance, and the body knows it and
it rejects it. It's dangerous if you're depending
upon that heart to live, and most of us do depend
upon our hearts to live. That open rejection
It can kill you. Let me tell you something. It
applies to the church, too. When there begins
to be rejection of the members of one another,
flagrant rejection, it'll kill a church. It will
flat kill a church, and it may not take very
long. But just as painful are those what I call
nagging, persistent frictions. Arthritis may
not kill you right away, but it sure makes your
life miserable. There are a lot of churches that
have spiritual arthritis. Because somehow there's
just friction among the members. There's no harmony
there. Members of the body are to function in
harmony, he says. Each doing his part. And the
result is the body is one. It's whole. It's healthy.
But he goes on to say in verses 21 to 27 that
members are also to function in, note the word,
interdependence. He says, and the eye cannot
say to the hand, I have no need of you. Or again,
the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
I mean, how's a head going to get around if he
doesn't have feet? And how is an eye going to
get what it wants if it doesn't have a hand?
See, they're dependent upon each other. He says,
on the contrary, it is much truer that the members
of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary,
and those members of the body which we deem less
honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor.
The idea seems to be there by clothing them.
And our unseemly members come to have more abundant
seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no
need of it. But God has so composed the body,
giving more abundant honor to that member which
lacked, that there should be no division in the
body, but that the members should have the same
care for one another. Interdependence. And if
one member suffers, all the members suffer with
it. If one member is honored, all the members
rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body and
individually members of it. Members are not only
to function harmoniously, but they are to function
in interdependence. Interdependence. The idea
is that we need each other. We need each other's
encouragement. We need each other's counsel.
We need each other's rebuke. We need each other's
correction. We need each other's instruction.
We need each other's stimulation. We need each
other because we are members of the same body.
But too often, don't we reflect really what is
the characteristic of our humanistic society,
which believes in autonomous man? And we carry
that idea into our lives, and we think, I am
independent. I am spiritually mature, and I don't
need others. I can do it myself. I am in my own
little world, and I'll take care of me. Oh, folks,
how tragic. Because you see, God's plan is for
all the members to be interdependent. We need
each other. You need to be a part of a local
church. If you're a believer, you're a part of
the universal church. But where are you going
to go to that church next Sunday? You're going
to have to get involved in a local expression
of it that meets somewhere, someplace. Hopefully
here. You need, other believers, other believers
need you. This is not theory. We're talking about
something that's real. Something that's vital
to the health of our church. If you're a member
of the universal body, I repeat, you need to
be a member of a local body, a local church.
It is never the plan of God for us to spend long
periods of time floating around trying to find
a place to light in a church. I recognize that
there are periods of time that we go through
when we have to find another church for one reason
or another. And in those periods, we may visit
several churches to see... where there's the
kind of ministry that we can agree with and identify
with and be a part of. But may I say in love
to each of us today, it is never the plan of
God for that period to be any longer than it
has to be. Because God's plan is for us to get
plugged in to a local church somewhere and to
begin serving. Because we need others, and they
need us. If you're a saved person, where are
you a member this morning? Is a local church
in this area where you can be involved or is
it in the hometown where you're from where you
can be involved and others are looking to you
and you're looking to them and there's this kind
of relationship because you're one, you're a
body? Your faithful and humble service in the
body is essential, not only for it, but for yourself
as well. Because, you see, this is a matter of
eternal significance. We're not talking about
a little club that gets together once a week
so everybody can be nice and smile and go home.
We're talking about something that God is doing
forever. So what I do in the church is eternal,
and it's important. And what you do in the church
is eternal, and it's important. I really believe
this, that if I fail in my life in becoming a
part of a vital church, or if I move several
of them, then I have missed one of life's most
central purposes. I've missed it. I dare not
make that mistake, nor do you. We are the body
of Jesus Christ and individually members of it.
He expresses his life in the world through us.
Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey in their book,
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, make this helpful
statement. Jesus departed. leaving no body on
earth to exhibit the Spirit of God to an unbelieving
world, except the faltering, bumbling community
of followers who had largely forsaken him at
his death. We are what Jesus left on earth. He
did not leave a book or a doctrinal statement
or a system of thought. He left a visible community.
to embody Him and represent Him to the world.
That's good. That's what we are. A living community
embodying Him and representing Him to the world.
After World War II, there were some German students
who volunteered to go to England. to help rebuild
a cathedral that was there. It was the casualty
of one of the many bombings of the German Air
Force. As the work progressed on that cathedral,
there was a debate that broke out regarding how
to restore a large statue of Jesus with his arms
outstretched and which had the familiar caption
on it, Come Unto Me. You see, careful patching
of the statue would repair almost all of the
damage except for his hands, which had been completely
destroyed by bombs. The question that was debated
among the students was, should they attempt the
very delicate and difficult task of trying to
reshape the hands of Jesus on that statue? Finally,
together, they reached a decision which affects
the statue still to this day. For at the bottom
of the statue, there is a new inscription which
now reads, Christ has no hands but ours. Whose
life have you touched for Jesus Christ this last
week? As a member of the body, who will be the
object of your ministry tomorrow? As a part of
the functioning body of Christ, what will you
do this week to fulfill that function as God
enables you? You are a member of the body, the
functioning body of Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
Lord, help us to grasp this truth, that what
that inscription says is true, that your hands
are ours, that we are your members in this world.
Father, forgive us because all around us are
people who have needs, and we go on our little
ways. thinking ourselves to be self -sufficient,
concerned about our problems, so nearsighted
that we cannot look around and see those who
are hurting worse than we are and who need the
touch of Jesus Christ in their lives. Lord, make
us that touch. This week, within this body and
to those outside of it, I pray that we will minister
to each other. Show us how badly we need each
other. Teach us to work together harmoniously.
Lord, we give you ourselves afresh today. And
I pray that whatever decisions may need to be
made, whatever... Areas of life need to be yielded
to you that as we close this service, you'll
focus on those personally in each one of us and
bring us to the place of submission and obedience.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.