In this sermon, we discuss how Christians can find their role in the body of Christ by considering their God-given abilities, the needs of the church, and their commitment to spiritual growth. We are encouraged to use our talents to serve God and fill needs in the church, while also striving to grow more Christ-like. This sermon concludes by urging non-Christians to become part of Christ's body through baptism and new Christians struggling with sin to seek help from their brethren.

Transcript

There is something I know kind of powerful about having the last word the last word in an argument with somebody. The last word as the teacher of a class. We have political debates going on. There's something powerful about having the last word among all of the candidates who are up on the stage, and sometimes that's a good thing.

Sometimes that's a bad thing, but there's always some power in having the last word. I. Thank you. It is true. I think and it's true, and one area where this is true is, is when I go and I, I preach other places and then preach and hold a meeting and, or a revival, whatever you wanna call it, over the course of a week each night I have, I guess, the longest word on that as I preach my sermon, but I, I don't have the last word that, that's the local preacher or the song leader or the announcement maker who gets up afterwards and

And that person has the last word. And sometimes what they say in regard to the service and the lesson is just so insightful and it's so powerful. And I think to myself, standing in the back, why didn't I think about that? That's what I want everybody to think about is they leave the service and then other times it's like, were they listening to the same lesson that I was preaching?

Like that's not at all. That's not at all what I wanted people to get out of this. I wish they had not said anything at all. Well, we just had a gospel meeting over the past this last week and Sean Bain was here preaching lessons out of Romans chapter 12, and this idea of our transformation in Jesus Christ.

And he covered that whole chapter over the course of the week from verse one to verse 21, and, and I found those lessons so very helpful to me. So, so personally motivating and convicting and, and hopefully I'm gonna be a better Christian because of this past week. So turn to Romans chapter 12, if you would.

Romans chapter 12. It's my turn to have. Last word. As we think about what we find here in these very powerful verses, that, that sound in many ways, very much like the Sermon on the Mount. This is, this is who you are as a kingdom citizen. This is who you are as a Christian. And so let's begin reading, if you would, with me in Romans chapter 12 and verse one.

We'll read down through verse eight this morning. Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse one. Familiar to us. I beseech you, I beg you. Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, what, what he's been talking about for the last 11 chapters, what God has done by his mercy and his grace. That you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You may prove, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? For I say through the grace that was given to me, to everyone who is among you. He's writing to a local church there in Rome, in this local church.

Everyone should not think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one, each Christian, each person, there a measure of faith. As we are many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function. So we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, let us use them. If prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry, let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts and exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.

Now, as we think specifically about those verses and verses three through eight, Sean in one of his lessons talked about our assignment from God as Christians in a local church, as as transformed individuals, the things that we should be doing in the church, the body of Christ. And he, he admonished us. He besieged us about how we have a need to accept and fulfill our role, our assignment from God in the church.

And it was a good lesson. A very good lesson, but, but two different people after that lesson approached me with, with the same basic question. But how do I know what that is? How do I find my role? What, what is my assignment specifically in the local church? Another way of putting that is where is my place in the body to use the terminology that Paul uses right here in Romans chapter 12?

Where do I fit? What is it that I should be doing? I'm supposed to be doing something. I've been given this assignment from God, but what the will of God? Yes, I know that, but what exactly can I and should I be doing in the body, in the church? Well, what I would like to do is look at another passage this morning that might be helpful to us in answering that specific question.

Where is my place in the body of Christ? And that's Ephesians chapter four. If you want to turn over there with me as you're turning there, I want to thank you for being here as others have thanked you. So I thank you too, and I pray that the things we talk about will be helpful to you as you strive to be more what God has called you to be.

And Ephesians chapter four, we find that the Apostle Paul uses similar terminology to what he uses in Romans chapter 12. To talk about our various roles in the body in the local church. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna read these verses 11 through 15, and I wanna show you three different factors that we should consider in identifying our place in the body.

So Ephesians chapter four and verse 11, and he himself, that is God gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists. Some pastors and teachers, verse 12, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

To a perfect man, a complete man, a mature man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Verse 14. We should no longer be children. Toss two and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love.

They grew up in all things unto him. Who is the head, Christ from whom the whole body joined and nipped together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share. It causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself and love. I think what the Apostle Paul does here is he gives us, he gives us some steps that we can all go through.

Some, some factors to consider if we're gonna say, where is it that I fit in the local church? What is my role? And just to make sure that I'm not, you know barking up the wrong tree here. Raise your hand if you've ever had that question. Where do I fit? What am I supposed to be doing in the local church?

Right? So it's not just those two people who have had that question. I think all of us, at some point in our growth and maturity as individual Christians have said, what is it that I'm supposed to do in this body, in this temple, in this church that God has set up? Here are three factors. For every single one of these.

What I'm gonna do to show that this is practical and applicable, I'm gonna give you an example, a real example of someone in this congregation who has found their role by considering these three things, not by name, but to show you that this is something that Christians should be doing and are doing in finding their place in the local church, number one.

Let's look there in verse 11 again. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Now, this is not the be all, end all list of all of the roles that are found in a local church, but I think what we find here is the first factor is ability. He gave some who gave, well, God gave.

We are all more naturally suited for certain roles than others. We have all been given certain abilities by God, talents, things that we're good at. What God expects us to do is use those things that he has given us and his service. In the service of our, our brothers and sisters in Christ. So marking your spot there in Ephesians, go back again to Romans chapter 12.

And we're not gonna read all of these verses, but I do want you to see this concept is found right there in what we read. Notice there in verse three, Romans chapter 12 in verse three. For, I say through the grace given to me. Paul says, the things that I know, the things that I have, the things that I do, those things have been given to me by God's grace.

And he says, God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. There at the end of that verse, now we drop down to verse six, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. And in the first Century Church, there are some miraculous gifts that are given by the Holy Spirit, and some of those are included in this list, but it's not just those miraculous gifts.

There is also what we would call just everyday common gifts and abilities that we have even today. If prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Ministry. That's just a word for service, right? Let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches if you have the ability to teach, use that ability in teaching.

He who exhorts to build one another up will use that in exhortation. He who gives do so with liberality. He who leads use that ability with diligence. He who shows mercy, do so with cheerfulness in your heart. So what the Apostle Paul is showing us is that all of us have been given certain gifts by God's grace and everything that we have, everything that we are ultimately comes back to what God has given us.

My abilities, my talents, and my opportunities to serve others are all by God's grace. It is God-given it is on loan from him. So how am I using what I've been loaned by God? Am I a good steward of those blessings that he has given me? You have different gifts, but God expects us to use those gifts, those abilities in his service and, and really that's the message of the parable of the talents, isn't it?

Gifts and opportunities that God expects us to use in his service. Turn to Matthew Chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25.

What we find here in Matthew 25 is the progression of parables that talks about God's judgment. And how are we going to be judged? Well, we're gonna be judged based on our responsibility and our ability, what God has given us, and we see that very clearly in the parable that's found beginning in verse 14, usually called the parable of the talents.

For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them and to one, he gave five talents. Now, a talent is just a unit of weight, and so it depends on what he's giving. If it's silver or gold, it would be a different amount, but he's giving them an amount of money.

Talents he gave five to one, another two, and another one each according notice to his own ability. And immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents, went and traded them and made another five talents. Likewise, he had received two, gained two more also, but he had received one, went and dug in the ground and hid his Lord's money.

After a long time, the Lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. There's a reckoning to say, what have you done with what you have been given? So he who had received five talents, came and brought five other talents saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look, I've gained five more talents besides them.

His Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. He also who had received two talents, came and said, Lord, look, you delivered to me two talents. I have gained two more talents besides them.

His Lord said to him, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Now you notice he doesn't say, why didn't you make as much as this other guy who made more than you? It was based on what they had been given according to their ability.

But each of these returned something to God from what they had been given. There was one that was different in verse 24, and he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And, and I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Look, there you have. What is yours? His Lord answered and said to him, you wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers and at my coming, I would have received back my own with interest.

Therefore, verse 28, take the talent from him and give it to him. Who has 10 talents for? To everyone who has more will be given and he will have abundance. From him who does not have even what he has, will be taken away. What does that mean? I think practically what that means is you need to use and develop what you have, what you have been given by God.

And if you fail to do that, maybe even what you have is going to disappear. And the sad truth, verse 30, and cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So we've all been given abilities and opportunities by the Lord. He created you and when he did, he, he had in mind what you should be doing and, and maybe not what you've actually done, but what you'd be good at if you would only try put in the work to do those things.

And, and maybe you are, maybe you are a five talent person and there are lots of things that you could and should be doing. Maybe it's just a few things. There is something that you are supposed to be doing in the body of Christ. There is grace that he has given to you as his workmanship. And I think what we see in this parable are, are two thoughts on grace that I think can be helpful to us.

We often use the definition, I say we, people use the definition of unmerited favor as a definition for grace, and that's. That's not a bad definition. It's incomplete. But the idea that we haven't deserved anything, we haven't earned anything because of who we are or what we've done, but God has given us, has shown favor on us and given us some things that that we haven't deserved.

That's the idea of unmerited favor, but I think sometimes that incomplete definition leaves us with the wrong idea. In regard to unmerited favor. We learned from this parable and the rest of the Bible to go with it is number one, that unmerited does not mean unconditional unmerited favor doesn't mean that it's unconditional favor.

God can steal and does place conditions on many of the things that he has given us by his grace. God has the right to take those things away if we do not fulfill those conditions. And a lot of times the application we make is in regard to God saving grace, that God has shown His grace in Jesus Christ in order to bring about our salvation.

But there is still a response by faith that is required of us in order to receive that grace. But may I suggest that this concept that unmerited does not mean unconditional applies to the other graces that God has given us, including the abilities that he has given us to work in his service and the service to others.

God gave you those things, not because you deserve them or earned them so many of the gifts that you have. Gifts of intellect, gifts of personality. Those gifts are just something that you have been given by God, but God expects those gifts that he's given to you to be used. And if we're not careful, if we take that ability and we dig a hole and we put it in the ground, we have to be careful that, that God doesn't take those things away if we do not fulfill the conditions that he's given us.

Abusing those things. God did not give us his gifts. So that we could hide them, so that we could bury them in the ground. God expects us to use those abilities. And secondly, I think we see from this parable in the rest of the Bible that unmerited favor merits a response from us. God's blessings to us demand us use those things because of our gratitude for what he has given in thankfulness in.

Diligence for what he has done. We should respond by using those things. So here's the question you should ask yourself that I wanna encourage you to ask yourself. And for each of these, I have a question and, and if you look there in the racks on your way out in the foyer, there's handouts for this lesson.

What I'd I'd ask you to do, and I can't tell you to do anything, but I would ask you to take one of those handouts. And answer those questions for yourself in regard to these three factors. Here's the question for ability. What are you good at? Now my mother isn't here. That is not good grammar. She would not like that, but I tried to express it correctly and I was like, oh, that is so awkward.

I'm asking, what are you good at? What do you have the ability to do and how are you using that ability in service to God in service to others? And I think sometimes what the devil wants to do is whatever that is, and there's something that popped in your mindset. I'm good at that. I can do that. But you say, but, but that's not a church thing.

I mean, that's not something that I can use in, in service to God and others. What are you talking about here, preacher? But. May I suggest that every good and every perfect gift comes from God and I, I know that's primarily talking about the word of God in that context there in James, but if there's something that you're good at in this life, I want to suggest that there's a way you can use that in the kingdom.

Again, I want to give you a real example of what this might look like. There is a, there's a brother here who told me this is a couple of years. He told me this story. He said when I was a kid, I bemoaned. I bemoaned the fact that the thing that I was really good at, the thing that I was really interested in, the thing that I had kind of devoted myself to as a teenager and gotten really, really good at, I bemoaned the fact that here's this thing that I'm good at, but there's, there's no place to use that in the church.

There's, there's nothing that, that I can do to use this ability that I have. And you know what it was that this guy was really, really good at as a teenager, computers. And I want you to look right back there at all that stuff that we have in that sound booth. Be careful what you wish for. He wanted to use this in service to God.

Now, in the world in which we live, there is a great and fervent need for people who are good at that, to use it in service to God, in service to others. And so God provided a way for him to use His ability and now not telling you who he is. This guy's more indispensable than me in regard to the, the local service that we have on Sunday.

If you have a, an ability, use that ability in service to God and service to others, and maybe, maybe someone else could do your role, but I know two things, and I stole this from a theologian named Harold Hancock. I know two things. Number one, If you have a God-given ability and you're refusing to use it, how will you justify that in the judgment day?

Will you say to God, here, there you have, what is yours? Or Will you be able to show God a return on what he is given? Not because you've earned something, but in gratitude for what he's given? And then number two. However good somebody else is, and maybe you say, I've got this ability, but so does Sister so and so, or brother such and such, so, so what can I do?

Well, however good someone else is, they cannot do everything that they can do plus everything that you can do as well. There is always room for more workers in the Kingdom of God. Maybe the question then is, well, does that include doing things I'm not as good as, the only things I'm supposed to do in the local church are those things that I'm really, really good at.

I've got all of this ability. Well, that's where the next two things come in. Go back to Ephesians chapter four. If you would go back to Ephesians chapter four. Let's read the next verse there in verse 12. So, ability is the first thing to consider, and in some ways, that's the biggest one. But these other two I think are also very, very important.

God gave these people who did these things, verse 12, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. The second factor in determining what I need to do is, What needs to be done? What needs are there? In order for the Saints to be equipped in order for the work of the ministry to be done, in order for the body of Christ to be edified, we need to fill the gap where there is need, and it is a beautiful thing when ability matches up with needs in the local church.

That image of the church as a body is, is expanded upon by Paul in one Corinthians chapter 12. If you wanna turn over there, one Corinthians chapter 12. I got a little cutesy with the PowerPoint this morning, and you've got these little characters that's a nose and an ear, and all those other body parts I had up on the screen.

But that's exactly the image that is found here in one Corinthians chapter 12, as the apostle Paul is describing the local church. Begin reading with me in verse 12, one Corinthians 12 and verse 12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ for by one spirit, we were all baptized in the one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves are free, and we have all been made to drink into one spirit.

Now in Romans chapter 12, it seems he was talking about among you more in the context of a local church. Here he is expanding it out to you have a role to play among all Christians, everywhere in the world, in the body of Christ. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. Verse 15, if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I'm not of the body, is it not of the body?

And if the ears should say, because I'm not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing? Where would be the smelling? Verse 18. But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body just as he please.

Two points. Number one, the body needs what I can do and what you can do in it. We need each other with our different skills, our different personalities, our different experiences, our different backgrounds. And secondly, there are some things that that I shouldn't have to do because maybe I wouldn't be that good at them, and my brethren can do them.

Now, I definitely shouldn't do certain roles or or responsibilities if God hadn't put me into that role, but that's not really what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the fact that we have different roles in the body and with the physical body what is supposed to see. The eye is supposed to do the seeing and the eye shouldn't have to hear and the ears shouldn't have to try and see.

But the reality is sometimes with a body, we are forced into that role because one of the members is not working in the way that it should. And so the eye has to hear through sign language or reading lips because the ear is not working, or the ear in the, the hands have to see in a, in a dark house at night because the eyes cannot function properly in that environment.

And yes, there is a sense in which the eye can hear or the hands can see, but that leads to everything not working as efficiently as it ought to work. But the reality is, and we're dealing with reality, sometimes we have to do what needs to be done, even if that's not our primary ability in life, because there is no one else to do those things because there is a need.

That must be filled. My father-in-law says all the time, and it's passed on to Stephanie and our girls and so forth. See a need, fill a need. If you see a need and you can fulfill that need, fill it. And we can take that pretty literally if we think about it. Look around. What do you see? What needs to be done?

Where is there a problem or an opportunity? Can you fill that need in this local church? What if we all looked around maybe in this kind of literal way, what if we all as local members here looked around where we normally sit in our regular assemblies and took the initiative to contact brothers or sisters in Christ who, who were just not there at those regular assemblies?

Doing so in love, giving the benefit of the doubt, seeking to help how and where we can, not to accuse or criticize, but to show our interest and investment in their life. You see a need or a possible need fill that need. Taking it a step further, I've seen multiple Christians take a younger Christian under their wing in that very way.

They invite them to come and sit with them, and then they are there for them, and they encourage them. They see a need, they fill a need. I was talking with another Christian this time, a sister in Christ about this very thing, and she, she said to me, and this is what inspired me to use this as the example, she just said, you know what we do?

We just . We kind of just always check on and try and keep up with the folks around us. That is an easy thing that everybody can do, but it's a need. It's a need that is then passed on to all of us in the congregation to care for one another. Maybe that's not it. Maybe instead you drop off groceries or a prepared supper for a struggling family or a mom with young kids or new parents, or a college student.

For a widow or a widower or a family mourning a loss, you see a need and you feel the need. Maybe you greet and seek to get to know new Christians and Christians who are new to our number to do whatever you can to welcome them. You see them, you see a need, and you feel the need. Maybe you read in the keeping in touch or the paper about a funeral or visitation for someone who is in our number, and you go and you just attend.

You just are present. For those loved ones, maybe you take the keeping in touch and you pray for each member by name and then ask yourself, is there anything that I can do to answer the prayer that I have just prayed? Maybe you go to the back in the hallway there where we have those sign up lists, and maybe you sign up for a month to lock the building at the end of services, or you volunteer to host a devotional or to teach the ladies class.

Or maybe you grab someone who hasn't taught before and say, look, there's a place to teach here. Will you teach with me? You see a need and you feel a need. You wanna know where it is. You can be working. Look, look and see where there are needs. Strive to fulfill those needs. And then finally, the third thing there from Ephesians, if you wanna turn back to Ephesians chapter four,

the third factor in identifying my place in the body is growth. I have certain abilities, now. I see certain needs, but all of us as Christians are required to grow. And the things that we have and the things that we've been given. Keep reading with me beginning there in verse 13, down through verse 15, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Now that is a high and noble goal that we're gonna be working on the rest of our lives here on earth. But in striving to grow in that way, verse 14, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up and all things into him, who is the head Christ. So that begins with our knowledge and understanding of the word of God. And as we grow in that knowledge and understanding with a good and pure heart, that's gonna manifest itself in all sorts of other ways. As we work for God and we work for others from whom?

Verse 16, the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does. Its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself and love. When I grow, when I grow as a Christian, the body of Christ, the church. His temple grows, and as I grow, others grow around me and we grow together.

We need to be looking for those roles where we fall short and strive to improve ourselves to fill that role too. And if we are seeking to be more Christlike, to grow up into him who is head that is Christ, then we can't help but grow in what we are doing in the body. As well. If you drop back there to verse seven of Ephesians chapter four, go back to verse seven of Ephesians chapter four, but to each one of us, each and every one of us who are Christians, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Christ is the measure. Christ is the standard by which these gifts are administered. And he is also the standard to which we are striving to obtain. And if I am growing more Christ-like I'll be growing in my roles in the local church as well. And in so doing, the whole body grows and is edified in love.

Isn't that the case? Aren't we all growing when we see somebody else growing in a visible way? Aren't we encouraged and edified when we see that, when we see younger people stepping into new roles, how encouraging and edifying is that? Or even older people doing something that they've never done before and yet still they are striving to grove to be more Christ-like.

Using, again, a real example. There was a brother here who used to not teach at all. He just didn't teach. And, and then he decided he was gonna sign up. So he signed up and he taught, he taught a class in the back, and I knew about that and we talked about that some. And so here, just recently, I asked him to teach an adult class, and his, his, his response was great.

It was so encouraging. He said, no,

I'm not ready for that. Yet, but give me a year. Give me a year and I'll do it again. I, I'm willing to do it in a year. Don't stop asking.

That's a commitment to growth. It's an encouragement to me, and hopefully an encouragement to all of us. The body needs you. The body needs you now, and what you can do now with, with your experience and your abilities and the things that you can do now, but the body, the body will likely need you in a different way in the future.

So our third question that I want you to take home and answer for yourself as think about these three factors. Are you growing and developing to be of greater or maybe just different service in the future? This, this local church is not always going to be exactly the same with these same people here.

That is just not the reality of the world in which we live. People move. People die, sadly. People fall away. There will be needs here that we don't have now, that we will have in the future. And the other reality is you might not always live in luck, Texas. It might be somewhere else where you move to another congregation where they have different needs than this one.

Well, by that I mean there are other roles that need to be filled, that are filled here, that aren't filled there, and you need to step into those roles. Thinking about that personally my, my cousin Caitlin is here this morning. I didn't know that when I was preparing for this lesson. But growing up after I became a Christian, we went to a very small congregation in West Texas.

But we were blessed in that congregation to have some really, really good, talented song leaders. Some people who could lead singing in a great, great way help us to worship in that way. And so after I became a Christian, you know, they got me to do that a few times, but I didn't really like . I didn't really commit myself to getting better at that because why should I?

We've got these people who are really good at it. And so I, I didn't learn how to get the proper pitch. I didn't learn how to beat time. I didn't learn how to do any of those things. And it's not that you can't worship God sincerely without knowing to do those things, but it can be helpful in the worship to know them.

And so then I move off and eventually I find myself not here, but in a congregation where there were. There were basically no really good song leaders. And and how did I know that? Because the song leaders themselves said, I'm not any good at this. This is something I have to do. And so what did I have to do?

I had to step into that role. I had to learn some things. I had to grow, and I come here and we're even more blessed in regard to the people who lead us and worship in that way. And so a different place, I'm not needed in the same role and for every single one of us that holds to be true. There are some things that you're gonna be great at, that you're gonna do wherever you go.

There are gonna be other places where there is need, there is a need for something different maybe than what you're best at. And in those moments, what is required of you? What's required of you is that you start growing now. So when the moment comes that that need is there, you will be ready to fill it.

So where is your place in the body? In the body of Christ? Well, I, I don't know. Not for sure, but I know that there is one. And if you consider your abilities, if you consider the needs of our group or the group where you are a member, and if you're willing to, to grow in your faith and in your knowledge and in your service, you will find that place, and ultimately you will have the last word.

On where you are gonna choose to serve in God's body. You're here this morning and you're not yet a Christian. Well, that means that you're not a part of the body yet, and God has a role for you, A place where you fit, a place where you belong, a place where you're supposed to be working. And the body of Christ is never gonna function as efficiently and as powerfully as it's supposed to if you're not there to fulfill your God-given place.

So I encourage you, and the scriptures encourage you. Christ calls you to come. To come to him in faithful loving submission to say, it's not my will, but yours be done to repent of your sins, to put Christ on in baptism and rise to walk and newness of life. And if you're already a Christian and you say, I'm not fulfilling my role because there is sin in my life and I need some help, well, maybe the role that we can fulfill for you even this morning is to be that help to pray for you and to pray with you, to do all we can to assist you.

All you have to do is come now while together, we stand and while we sing.