Preacher: Andre Pradhana
Recall the illustration from the Toy Story clip above.
– What thoughts regarding identity come to mind after watching this clip?
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks distinguishes between happiness and joy found in the Old Testament. Happiness can be self-centered while the joy found in the Bible is a shared joy.
– Is your concept of “happiness” limited to yourself or does it consider the dimension of shared joy in the community that you are a part of?
Rom 12:4-5 defines Christian reality as each member belonging to God AS WELL as belonging one to another.
– Meditate on the fact that you belong to God.
– Are there people in your life that can say of you, he/she belongs to me/us?
David Brooks describes the truth that we belong to the body of Christ as operating at the level of transcendent magic (Eph 4:4-6) and the level of the gritty reality (1 Cor 12:12-13).
– How do these two levels describe the distinction between the universal church and the local church?
Brother Andre shares his personal testimony.
– Is Christian community really necessary? Why or why not?