FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Todd Gaddis

Jesus’ words to His disciples, “Fear not little flock” (Luke 12:32), are just as pertinent today as they were 2,000 years ago. Since, like a hungry coyote, our “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), as a church and its members, we must depend on Christ for protection and provision rather than trying to survive on our own strength. Family— When you were born, you became part of a physical family. If you’re born again, you belong to a spiritual family, the church. You have or had a father, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. As a believer, you have God as your Father. Your fellow believers are brothers and sisters in Christ. Scripture says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 2:26). Therefore, church is not a place we go to, but a family we belong to. More importantly than traveling to a place this Sunday, you are connecting with people. For much of our vocational ministry, my wife and I have been separated a rather long distance from our extended family. In recent years, our daughters have gone to college, later marrying and moving to start lives of their own. You can see why then, we need our church family now more than ever. You can also see why Paul refers to “the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth,” as a “ household of God” (1 Timothy 3:15). Building— Since a household needs a place to live, this verse dovetails nicely into the one above: “You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). I preach on Sundays at a church made of brick and mortar. More importantly, on those days I fellowship with other “living stones.” While gathered in a visible, temporal structure, we worship together as an invisible, eternal building. And best of all, “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, this “spiritual structure” has as its cornerstone “Christ Jesus Himself” (Ephesians 2:20). Bride— No symbol speaks more prominently of Jesus’ great love for the church than this one. And if the church is the bride, then obviously Christ is the bridegroom. John the Baptist made reference

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