Uncommon Community

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given
you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had
when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” 1 Peter
1:13-15

“‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed
to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’” Matthew 16:15-18
“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” Ephesians 5:25

Four of the many benefits of belonging…

1. When I’m connected to God’s family, the church, I learn my true identity

“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of god’s very
own family, citizens of god’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. What
a foundation you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is
Jesus Christ himself! We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful,
consistently growing temple for God. And you also are joined with him and with each other by the Spirit,
and are parts of this dwelling place of God.” Ephesians 2:19-22 (LB)

Our identity in Christ
a. We are declared “not guilty” of sin (Romans 3:24)
b. No condemnation awaits us (Romans 8:1)
c. We are free from the vicious circle of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
d. We are acceptable to God through Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2)
e. We are pure and holy (1 Corinthians 1:30)
f. We are brand new people inside (2 Corinthians 5:17)
g. We are full of God’s goodness (2 Corinthians 5:21)
h. We are one in Christ with all other believers (Galatians 3:28)
i. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Ephesians 1:3)
j. We are holy, faultless, and covered in God’s love (Ephesians 1:4)
k. We will live with Christ forever; we are gifts to God (Ephesians 1:10-11)
l. We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
m. We will have eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10)

“Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is
not ashamed to call them brothers.” Hebrews 2:11

2. When I’m connected to God’s family, the church, I belong and am supported by others

“”Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself the chief cornerstone. In him the whole build is joined together and rises to become a holy
temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives
by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you
and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1:11-12

3. When I’m connected to God’s family, the church, I discover my purpose

“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say,
‘Because I’m not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not be for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear
should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to
be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole
body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts of the
body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-18

“You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27

4. When I’m connected to God’s family, the church, I’m defended and cared for

“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his
pasture.” Psalm 100:3