Category: Body of Christ

Connectivity

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NIV) Something extraordinary took place the moment you transferred your trust from yourself to Christ alone for salvation. In that moment, you became a child of God. Your sins were forgiven and placed as far as the east is from the west. You received the imputed righteousness of Christ and you were sealed by the Holy Spirit. In that conversion moment, you were adopted into God’s forever family and you became a vital part of the Body of Christ. Just as your human body is made up a many parts, the Body of Christ is made up of many believers who together form one body. As followers of Jesus Christ, we make up the Body of Christ. Every believer is valuable and vital to the mission of multiplying members of the Body of Christ. In Christ, there is a dynamic connectivity that surpasses our ethnic, economic, and emotional differences. Though we are each uniquely designed by God and for God, we form the eternal Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is our common denominator. He has taken up residence in each one of us. As the Body of Christ, we individually have the privilege of being the walking tabernacle of the Presence of God. The Holy Spirit unites us, empowers us, and mobilizes us to accomplish God’s agenda upon the earth. You are never alone. Your fellow believers are wearing the same jersey as you and serving the same living Lord as you! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Lead Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Body of Christ Church

Connectivity

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Cor 12:12-13 (NIV) Something extraordinary took place the moment you transferred your trust from yourself to Christ alone for salvation. In that moment, you became a child of God. Your sins were forgiven and placed as far as the east is from the west. You received the imputed righteousness of Christ and you were sealed by the Holy Spirit. In that conversion moment, you were adopted into God’s forever family and you became a vital part of the Body of Christ. Just as your human body is made up a many parts, the Body of Christ is made up of many believers who together form one body. As followers of Jesus Christ, we make up the Body of Christ. Every believer is valuable and vital to the mission of multiplying members of the Body of Christ. In Christ, there is a dynamic connectivity that surpasses our ethnic, economic, and emotional differences. Though we are each uniquely designed by God and for God, we form the eternal Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is our common denominator. He has taken up residence in each one of us. As the Body of Christ, we individually have the privilege of being the walking tabernacle of the Presence of God. The Holy Spirit unites us, empowers us, and mobilizes us to accomplish God’s agenda upon the earth. You are never alone. Your fellow believers are wearing the same jersey as you and serving the same living Lord as you! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

Body of Christ Equipped Serve Spiritual Gifts Unity

Gifted To Serve (5)

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Eph 4:11-13 (NIV) You are in the process of becoming. God is building you, growing you, developing you, and equipping you. God is placing people in your path to help you in the maturation process. Have you positioned yourself in an environment where you consistently sit under the preaching and teaching of a godly pastor-teacher? Are you currently being equipped for service? It is important that you shadow a godly man or woman who faithfully exercises his or her spiritual gifts. Observe their lifestyle and take note of how they walk with God and how they serve to benefit others. You may want to consider taking a spiritual gift inventory in order to discover the spiritual gifts God has given you. A vital component to being equipped is that of participating in ministry opportunities that enable you to develop the spiritual gifts you have discovered. God’s desire is for you to be built up within the body of Christ and to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Are you becoming mature? Are you attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ? You are gifted to serve! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Body of Christ Serve Spiritual Gifts

Gifted To Serve (4)

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 (NIV) You are unique. God has formed you and fashioned you for His glory. You were created by God to fulfill His purposes in your generation. Part of His plan for your life includes you becoming part of the body of Christ through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Your expression of that relationship takes place in a local church setting with fellow believers. You become a vital member of the body of Christ with the privilege and responsibility of serving in and through the local church. You complete the body of Christ in that local church by fulfilling the function God has gifted you for. Each member of that local body of believers adds value to the redemptive purposes of God through faithfully employing the spiritual gifts given by God. Though diverse by design, the local expression of the body of Christ is unified as each one fulfills his or her function within the body. The beauty of the local church is that you belong to all the other members. You are linked to other believers within that local expression of the body of Christ. You are valuable and you are vital to the effective functioning of the church. God has gifted you to serve alongside other members of the body. You belong because you believe in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. You matter to God and you matter to the local church. Are you currently serving faithfully in the ministry of your local church? Are you using the spiritual gifts God has given you in service to Him and to others? If not, why not? If so, how so? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Body of Christ Serve Spiritual Gifts

Gifted To Serve (3)

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Cor 12:7 (NIV) God gifts you to serve others. The spiritual gifts you receive at salvation give evidence to the reality of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19). The Holy Spirit expresses Himself to the body of Christ through spiritual gifts. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is to benefit the body of Christ. God values unity. This unity is displayed relationally within the Trinity. God desires that you display the same unity within the body of Christ as you serve to benefit others by employing the spiritual gifts you have received. Why does God manifest the Holy Spirit through the spiritual gifts? God does this for the common good of the body of Christ. You have been given spiritual gifts for the common good of those within the family of God. The local expression of the body of Christ, God’s family, is the local church. God desires that you serve to benefit others by exercising your spiritual gifts through the life of your local church. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Body of Christ Serve Spiritual Gifts Trinity

Gifted To Serve (2)

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” 1 Cor 12:4-6 (NIV) The Trinity is working for your productivity within the body. You will notice that there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds of service, and different kinds of working. That’s a reality of the diversity within the body of Christ. Then you will notice that the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God works all of these in all of the members of the body of Christ. That’s a reality of the unity within the body. Your productivity within the body is determined by the activity of the Trinity through your life. Are you willing to allow God to accomplish His plan in you and through you? God does not want you to operate in isolation from the body of Christ. You are a vital part of the body and every part is necessary to accomplish God’s kingdom agenda. What is the level of your receptivity to God’s activity? You are not expected to produce for God. God wants to produce through you. You are not expected to work for God. God wants to work through you. So, it’s not about you. It’s all about God and His activity through your life fully yielded and fully devoted to His activity. What adjustments do you need to make in your life right now in order for God to have His way? What is inhibiting the activity of the Trinity in and through your life? Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor

Body of Christ Serve Spiritual Gifts

Gifted To Serve (1)

“Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” 1 Cor 12:1 (NIV) What’s in your toolbox? You need tools to do life and to meet needs. Repairs around the house require certain tools. Whenever you are in need of a pair of pliers, it seems that a screwdriver just won’t do. Specific tools help us in various facets of life in the physical realm. Within the body of Christ, God has equipped us for service. The tools God gives us are spiritual gifts. We receive these gifts at the moment of our conversion experience. When we turned from our sin and to Christ alone for salvation, we instantaneously received the Person of the Holy Spirit. When He came to indwell us, the Holy Spirit brought spiritual gifts to impart to us in our new life in Christ. You cannot serve God and fulfill His mission apart from His enabling. God equips us for service with specific spiritual gifts for us to employ. God is the giver of the spiritual gifts. It is our job to discover the spiritual gifts God has given us and to utilize them in service to Him. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor