The Big Lie: Your Part

Yesterday, we started the Big Lie series at PCC. I want to clarify a little and then offer some additional steps you might take.

First, the Big Lie is this: If you eat right and exercise and read your Bible, you'll be healthy. But that's just not true. Those things ARE required, of course, but they are not the ONLY ingredients in being a healthy person.

Don't you know people who go to the gym 3 times a week, eat pretty healthy food, and read the Bible but who are clearly NOT healthy? There's a reason: a healthy life requires more than those things. Each aspect of healthy living is not stand-alone. They all go together. So, yesterday, we looked at one aspect of truly healthy living - your relationship with the church.

Your Part. Beth Stoddard did a cool post on her blog about some folks who were finding their part and the part they played in our 9/11 service. You might take a look at that by clicking here.

We looked yesterday at the marriage of John 17 and 1 Cor 12. It resulted in the notion of unity among members of the body in which every member is doing it's part. If you weren't at PCC yesterday, this may not make sense to you. (The message is in 2 parts on Ustream. Click here for part 1 and go to 41 mins & 28 seconds into it. When it ends, go here for the rest of it.)

Unity. It's important that we define this correctly. Unity is not built around personal preference, but around common purpose.

Conclusion: If you are a Christ follower, you cannot be healthy apart from being your part of the body that is moving in unity.

Next Steps: Find your part. If you are at another church, talk to someone in leadership and plant your feet, get involved, do your part. If you are not a part of a church somewhere, you need to find one. You can't be healthy until you do.

At PCC, you can talk to a ministry team leader if you know your part. Or, you can take our SHAPE class if you aren't sure. (SHAPE will be offered on 10/2 &10/9 from 5-7pm at the Powhatan campus. Email shape@pccwired.net to sign up for this 2 part class.)

Further Study:

• Read Romans 12:3-8. What does it mean to 'belong' to the other members of the body?
• John 17 and circle the word "one" every time Jesus uses it. What does it mean to you for Jesus' followers to be "one" in the same way that Jesus and the Father are "one"?
• Read 1 Cor 12. There are many questions that come out of this text that are worth considering. But Paul goes out of his way to talk about 'parts' that want to be different parts and parts that are less visible and seemingly less important. The 'many parts of one body' image really does work for us in an understandable way. What is YOUR part? Do you know? Some of us are this part for a season and another part for another season. How do you reconcile that with 1 Cor 12? (I think you can and that this is both appropriate and necessary, by the way, but it's worth thinking about how such thinking fits with the Bible's teachings.)