Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray for the church (and other things -- 7:00 PM Wed., LHF time).

In Ephesians chapter 3 verses 19 through 22, the apostle Paul pictures the Church as a building built of all believers with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. That building is a temple in which God lives by his Spirit. Thus, just as a building or a temple is a much greater thing than simply a collection of building blocks scattered over the ground, so the Church is much greater than the sum total of all the individual believers.

In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul also pictures the church as a body, the body of Christ. As opposed to the temple in which God lives by his Spirit, which just gives the picture of a container, the body is a living organism. Christ is the head: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Eph. 4:15,16)

Paul also uses the idea of the Church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The individual believers form the members of his body. Paul makes it clear that though there are many parts of a human body, and that though the parts are certainly not all the same, they still form only one body. Furthermore, it is absolutely necessary for the parts of the human body to not all be the same in order for it to function as a body. Not only that, but each part needs all the rest of the body in order to function at all.

God arranged all the parts of the human body as he saw fit in order for it to function as he wanted. In the same way, he has designed and is arranging the individual members of Christ's body, the Church. No part is indispensable. Every part needs every other part. "If one part suffers, every other part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every other part rejoices with it." (1Cor. 12:26) And Christ is the head. He guides and directs all of the parts. Without the head, the body immediately ceases to function and all of the parts quickly die.

We need to pray to learn to think according to Paul's analogy of the human body. If you hurt your finger, you are careful to not put the normal amount of stress on it. If you do, you feel the pain. Also, you bandage it up and try to do the things necessary for its healing. The analogy breaks down somewhat in the case of one member rejoicing, but certainly our relationships with each other should be such that we will all truly rejoice when any member is blessed (as opposed to rejoicing because it's our duty or because it's expected). Also, Christ is the head. We absolutely must receive guidance from him. To do this, we need to study the word of God and to pray.

Come on Wednesday and pray for the Church. The Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way.

Grace and peace,
Dean Svoboda

PS: You can also bring you own prayer requests and pray for them with your brothers and sisters in Christ (i.e., with the Church). Bring your requests to God with thanksgiving and receive his peace.

PPS: Pass this invitation along to others in your household or to someone who doesn't have an e-mail address in the LHF directory