Last Sunday, Pastor Jason Finley continued our series, The Church and Me,with a sermon from Luke 2:41-52 called “The Church and Her Youth.” We learned that we must find our identity in Jesus in order to experience abundant life. The abundant life of Jesus consists of worshiping Christ as our greatest treasure, pursuing true wisdom in Christ, initiating fellowship with his church, remembering our Heavenly Father’s approval, and striving after our mission from Jesus to make disciples of all people for God’s glory.

Read: Ephesians 4:11-16

This Sunday, John Henschen will preach a sermon called “The Church and Her Adults” from Ephesians 4:11-16. We will consider how the church is united in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God through maturing in Christ together. We are all saved as individuals, but we are saved into the body of Christ. Apart from the rest of the body of Christ, we will never grow to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Therefore, we must strive to build each other up through speaking the truth in love.

Milton Vincent illustrates this well in A Gospel Primer for Christians, reminding us that daily gospel reflection naturally leads us to love our brothers and sisters by speaking the truth of the gospel to them in the midst of living out the gospel before them.

Reflect: “Loving My Brothers and Sisters”

The more I experience the gospel, the more there develops within me a yearning affection for my fellow-Christians who are also participating in the glories of the gospel. This affection for them comes loaded with confidence in their continued spiritual growth and ultimate glorification, and it becomes my pleasure to express to them this loving confidence regarding the ongoing work of God in their lives (Philippians 1:3-7).

Additionally, with the gospel proving itself to be such a boon in my own life, I realize that the greatest gift I can give to my fellow-Christians is the gospel itself. Indeed, I love my fellow-Christians not simply because of the gospel, but I love them best when I am loving them with the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:8)! And I do this not merely by speaking gospel words to them, but also by living before them and generously relating to them in a gospel manner. Imparting my life to them in this way, I thereby contribute to their experience of the power, the Spirit, and the full assurance of the gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

By preaching the gospel to myself each day, I nurture the bond that unites me with my brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, and I also keep myself well-versed in the raw materials with which I may actively love them in Christ.

“Loving My Brothers and Sisters,” in A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent

Sing: Song List for Sunday

1. “Oh How Good It Is,” by Keith & Kristyn Getty
2. “How Great Thou Art,” arr. Paul Baloche
3. “Cornerstone,” by Hillsong Live [arr. Shane & Shane]
4. “All I Have Is Christ,” by Sovereign Grace Music
5. “O Praise the Name (Anástasis),” by Hillsong Worship [arr. Shane & Shane]