I listened to the same podcast again this morning as it was laid upon my heart that I needed to hear it again. I heard Tony Evans say that if we are not part of a local body of Christ, then we are sinning. “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:1-3)

Within the church body there are many members, all with different talents. “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” (1 Cor 12:12-14)

In the epistle to Ephesus we read the purpose of the many who makes the whole: “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.” (Eph 4:11-13)

So it is only as an active member of the body that we can build up the body of Christ for the unifying purpose of expanding God’s kingdom for His glory; helping each other to stay focused on right teaching and growing in all aspects of Christ for the building up of the body in love. “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what 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.” (Eph 4:14-16)

I told y’all about a church I had started attending, but something just didn’t feel like it is where God wants me. The other night I noticed a church near me that I had wondered about several times. I looked them up this morning, and I will be there on Sunday. So excited they even have Sunday School before church — I really have missed that! I encourage you to become part of a local church because it is what the Lord tells us to do, and we must be obedient!