Building the Body. Advancing the Kingdom.
Ephesians 4:11-16
Kristal and I spend the first part of our marriage renting apartments and houses or living in a parsonage. All we wanted was to have a place of own.
Now, for the past 20 years we have had just that, a place to call our own and I have spent part of that time regretting it because now we are responsible for all upkeep and repairs. Gone are the days of calling a landlord or building chairman and saying, the hot water leaks, the air conditioner is out, the roof needs replacing, or the house needs painting, or the drain field is shot.
There is something about home maintenance that never ends. If you own a house, even if the bank owns it with you, then you know what I mean. The list never gets shorter. It only grows longer.
We can respond in a few ways.
We can be discouraged and give up, becoming that house, the house that every neighborhood has, the one all the others fear is lowering their property value. Right now, in our neighborhood...it's us.
We can begrudgingly and half-heartedly maintain it, fixing only what is absolutely necessary.
Or you can embrace it and enjoy working to improve and expand your home.
Though things are a bit of a mess right now, I normally fall into the second group, the begrudging and half-hearted group. My brother on the other had falls into the third. He is always working on something. A project is forever in the works whether it is building a new deck, adding a patio to the pool house, refurbishing the barn, working around the pond, working on deer stands or just sprucing up the landscape. It exhausts me just thinking about it.
The church is like a home. It requires ongoing work, not just to maintain, but to grow, strengthen and expand. This is how Paul presents it in Ephesians 4.
He describes it as a body that needs to be built up and requires the constant effort and attention of its members.
The church is not just a collection of individuals but a livi ...
Ephesians 4:11-16
Kristal and I spend the first part of our marriage renting apartments and houses or living in a parsonage. All we wanted was to have a place of own.
Now, for the past 20 years we have had just that, a place to call our own and I have spent part of that time regretting it because now we are responsible for all upkeep and repairs. Gone are the days of calling a landlord or building chairman and saying, the hot water leaks, the air conditioner is out, the roof needs replacing, or the house needs painting, or the drain field is shot.
There is something about home maintenance that never ends. If you own a house, even if the bank owns it with you, then you know what I mean. The list never gets shorter. It only grows longer.
We can respond in a few ways.
We can be discouraged and give up, becoming that house, the house that every neighborhood has, the one all the others fear is lowering their property value. Right now, in our neighborhood...it's us.
We can begrudgingly and half-heartedly maintain it, fixing only what is absolutely necessary.
Or you can embrace it and enjoy working to improve and expand your home.
Though things are a bit of a mess right now, I normally fall into the second group, the begrudging and half-hearted group. My brother on the other had falls into the third. He is always working on something. A project is forever in the works whether it is building a new deck, adding a patio to the pool house, refurbishing the barn, working around the pond, working on deer stands or just sprucing up the landscape. It exhausts me just thinking about it.
The church is like a home. It requires ongoing work, not just to maintain, but to grow, strengthen and expand. This is how Paul presents it in Ephesians 4.
He describes it as a body that needs to be built up and requires the constant effort and attention of its members.
The church is not just a collection of individuals but a livi ...
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