The Resurrection Life is A Connected Life

 God’s Blueprint for His Church…

Wouldn’t it be great if we could find the blueprints for the Church? What if we could get our hands on the original design for God’s Church? Not only would it help us know who we are to be as a Church, but how we all fit into what God’s plans are for His Church.

1. We are God’s Household: 

Jesus connects us with God’s Kingdom People and Family.  In God’s Household, every person belongs and every person is significant. There are no second-class citizens and no lone rangers. God has designed His church to be an interdependent organization of love, where everyone is wanted and needed. Everyone has a role to play and everyone has a gift to share.

In God’s Household, we are meant to do life together, to work out our faith with others in community.  We are going to begin neighborhood groups soon. In these groups we will learn to put our faith into practice with each other through the rhythms of daily life. It is through these groups we can truly “be the church” with each other and with our neighbors.

2. Built on the Sure Foundation: 

Jesus connects us to the apostles and prophets.  The best image God gives us here is of Jesus as the cornerstone. In ancient buildings, the cornerstone was everything. It had to be strong enough to support what was built on it, and it had to be precisely laid, because every other part of the structure was oriented to it. The cornerstone was the support, the orientor, and the unifier of the entire building.

Here the idea is that Jesus holds the church together in unity. Move away from the cornerstone and the church will move from its foundation. Apart from him we drift. Apart from him we do not grow. With Him we grow strong and unified together.

3. By the Master Builder:  

Jesus connects us with one another.  Here we are identified as the building stones of His Church, and He is the craftsman who masterfully fits us into what He is building. What this tells me is that Jesus has a purpose in His Church for every person here. There are no misfits in His family! Every misfit actually does fit in with Jesus!

4. To Be His Personal Residence:  

Jesus builds us together to be His dwelling place.  What that means for us is this: whenever we gather to worship, serve, pray or just be together, God in His Spirit is present with us. He builds us together so He can be with us! Just like he said in Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”