Lesson 13, September 21-27
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Exodus 32:1-14, 1 Peter 2:12, Philippians 2:15, Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 10:23-25.
Memory Text: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” Hebrews 10:23, 24
In seeking to fulfil the Christian mission, we should not underestimate the potential of the church as an organized community of believers. We have already noted the challenges that we can face when seeking to deal with injustice and poverty. But by working with fellow believers in a community of faith, we can be a blessing to those around us.
The temptation is that when we get together as a church we become distracted with keeping the church itself going, forgetting that the church exists to serve the world in which God has placed it. As a church body, we must not ignore the suffering and evil that exists all around us. If Christ didn’t ignore it, we must not either. We must be faithful to our mandate to preach the gospel, and along with that preaching comes the work of helping the oppressed, the hungry, the naked, and the helpless.
Together as a church community and organization, we are the body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-20). As such, we as a community should walk as Jesus walked, reach out as Jesus did, and serve as the hands, feet, voice, and heart of Jesus in the world today.
