LifePoint Church

A believer's identity is in Christ. In Him we find true life, meaning, and purpose. Yet, it is common for believers to take their eyes off of Jesus and begin substituting other things in His place. We look for other ways to identify ourselves often choosing how we want to be identified: achievements, titles, politics, gender, race, addictions, disabilities, etc. Sometimes pronouncements are made to us or about us that become our identities: “You’re so beautiful...You’re so good at that...OR...You’re a failure...You’ll never amount to anything...You’re worthless.” The truth is that God sees all believers as His sons and daughters, uniquely gifted parts of the Body of Christ. He has redeemed us and loves us. Any other identity is a counterfeit and falls short.

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It shouldn’t surprise us that through the centuries, superstitions arise and thrive even among well-meaning church people. Most of these superstitions are based on a desire for a kind of good luck charm in a life filled with uncertainty and hardship. Even the practice of baptism can be surrounded by all kinds of superstitions. If baptism doesn’t save us, what then is it for? Baptism is a way for a believer in Jesus to say, “Count me in! I want people to know that I identify with Jesus.” Maybe it’s time for all of us to engage with God in a fresh way as we identify with Jesus and the family called the Church.

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It is great to gather as the church. But we are also told by Jesus to “go” as the church, sharing God’s word with others and making them disciples. Fulfilling the Great Commission is not an option or a suggestion. It is a command to each of us as believers to actively and intentionally seek opportunities to influence people to find and follow Jesus.

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While God never changes in His nature, He does change the way He works with human beings. Jesus announced a significant change when He held up a cup and identified it with His blood that would establish a new covenant. After being raised from the dead, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. They waited and the Spirit came! The Church was born. That day, God began working in a brand-new way. And to this day, we are participants together with God as He works uniquely among us.

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The church can be described as a body, a family, an army. It’s a movement of influence—one that seeks to bring glory to God and point people toward the Savior. On the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, He initiated the movement with a meal. He chose food and drink as a picture of His body that would be broken and His blood that would be shed. Through the simple act of eating a meal, the movement called the church is to be reminded of what Christ accomplished on the cross.

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Many people say that kids and students are the church of tomorrow but that statement could not be further from the truth. They are the church of today. There is so much hope and promise in the younger generation. Throughout the summer, we have talked about how to be spiritually healthy as a church. One of the best ways that we can remain spiritually healthy as a church is to embrace this amazing vision of family ministry. We’ll discuss how all of us can do that no matter where we are in life.

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It might seem natural to equate spiritual health with an absence of weakness and vulnerability. Maybe it’s exactly the opposite. Sometimes power and strength are found where we least expect them. Could it be that running from weakness is actually a weakness? We become spiritually healthy when we see the value of humility, weakness, and vulnerability—all-powerful responses when combined with trust in God. When it comes to strength, God’s ways can seem upside down.

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If we said we had a personal relationship with another person, we’d all assume, at the very least, some degree of regular, back-and-forth conversation. So how does a “personal relationship with God” work? We talk to God through prayer, but how does God talk back to us? Of course He uses the Bible, which provides general information, but to say we have a personal relationship, there must be more and deeper conversation, where we “hear” God’s words, not just in general, but specifically for us. We’ll discuss how this works and how to move in that direction if you’ve not experienced this intimate level of communication with God.

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God has gifted each of us to contribute to the spiritual well-being of the body of Christ. Being good stewards of our gifts means using them to impact the lives of others. Loving one another, serving one another, accepting one another, and encouraging one another are some of the ways we can use our gifts and experiences to grow strong and find fulfillment in the Lord individually while promoting the caring nature of the Christian community and contributing to our spiritual health.

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Our past marks us. Those experiences go into making us the people we are. But some of those experiences we would rather forget. Guilt, shame, and regret can carve deep gashes in our souls—permanent reminders of another life we would prefer to leave behind. But God reminds us that He can free us from the unwanted narrative of past failures and sins. Through Christ, freedom is real and rewarding. And it’s possible for all who follow Him.

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