Series: 23&Me
Sermon: How Do I Fit?
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
ICE BREAKER: Would you rather wear the exact same outfit every day but get to wear unique accessories/jewelry/hairstyles/piercings/tattoos/etc., OR wear whatever clothes you want but never change your hairstyle and not wear any accessories/jewelry/piercings/tattoos/etc.??
REVIEW:
This week we continued our focus on Identity by talking through the tension of Uniqueness vs. Conformity. It is not secret that our culture today highlights being unique. Every company seems to have a motto like, "Be Yourself" or "Live Your Truth" or "You Do You."
This is rooted even deeper in how we think about creating our identity today. We saw this week that for all of modern history, people have believed that their identity is shaped in conjunction with the community around them. More specifically, people held that there were standards and norms and your identity was found by participating in these institutions.
In the last 100 years, the idea of identity has been flipped upside down. No longer do we look outside of ourself to help shape who we are - now we depend fully on our own ideas, desires, emotions, and thoughts. In other words:
TODAY, IDENTITY IS NOT FORMED BY HOW WE FIT INTO OUR COMMUNITY
IT IS EXPECTED THAT COMMUNITY WILL FORM ITSELF TO OUR IDENTITY
This is simply an overcorrection. The desire to find "YOUR TRUTH" is based on an assumption that there is not A TRUTH that we should all be seeking to find. Shaping your identity based only off your thoughts and emotions is admitting that you don't need the collective wisdom of others to help you become your best self.
Throwing out all standards and norms and overturning all institutions, including the Church, has brought our culture square into an identity crisis!
What we find in scripture is the Church movement coming into existence as the PERFECT bridge between the value of each person as incredibly unique AND the need for all of us to be shaped by a community seeking transcendent truths. The Apostle Paul describes the church as the Body of Christ and each member as a unique part of that body. Everyone has a unique role to play, but we all work together for something bigger and more impactful than just ourself.
IN CHRIST, you become a part of the Church - which means participating in the local church is a part of your identity!
APPLY:
Becoming active in the Body of Christ is life giving both to you, and to the broader church community. This is where we find community with other, use our gifting, experience life-change, and get molded more and more into who we were created to be.
There are many ways to get active! If you are reading this in a Life Team, you are doing it! We also need more Life Team Leaders and people serving with us in Sunday Service. It also takes ALL of us giving sacrificially for us to meet our potential!
If you are already doing those things, commit to praying that God would bring more people into active participation in the body of Christ. If you are not currently moving in those ways, ask the Holy Spirit for direction and take the bold step of getting engaged!
PRAY:
Ask God to show you the areas where you are relying solely on yourself to define your identity. Pray for humility in a world that has become so prideful in how we approach things like truth, identity, and purpose. Commit to Jesus to being an active part of His body on the earth - the Church.
