The Christian community was always designed by God to be more than just a “community”. As there are many such “communities” in our world, all defined by shared values and identities, the Christian community was supposed to be a family of God.
Observations:
- You have an obligation and accountability to the Judge
- God’s aim for our maturity involves our free expression of obedience that comes from love
- In Christ we are transformed into a family
Conclusions:
- A Life Group aims to provides the relational creditability for accountability
- A Life Group ought to obligate us, one to another, in love
- A Life Group should take upon the characteristics of a family
Application: 3 Kinds of folks here today:
- Circle which you are (1) Running (2) Ready (3) Resistant
2 Corinthians 5:9-10
“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 8:8-12
“I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”
1 John 3:17-18
“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”