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 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul is explaining the analogy between the human body and the Church, which is Christ's body. Just as each part of the human body has its own function and no part can stand by itself apart from the rest of the body, so it is with the Church. God designed the church, just as he did the human body, so that each individual member has his or her function in the body, and he designed it in such a way that no individual member can stand alone. Also, the Church cannot continue to exist apart from Christ, the head.

Apparently the Corinthians were not getting it. It sounds like each of them had in mind what function they thought would be good to perform in the church -- probably what they thought would bring the most benefit to them in terms of human glory, judging by what Paul wrote to them in earlier chapters of 1 Corinthians. Some of them were evidently saying in effect, "I am a foot and because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body." or, "I am an ear and because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body." That is, "If I can't do what I want, I'm not going to do anything."

But, just as the whole human body can't be an eye, neither can the body of Christ consist only of apostles. And just as the whole human body can't consist of only ears, neither can the whole body of Christ consist only of prophets. God gave different gifts to different members of Christ's body so that they could work together to support and sustain all of the other members -- and in so doing, to perform a very, very important function -- to reveal Christ.

In chapter 12 verse 12, Paul actually uses "Christ" interchangeably with "the Church": "The [human] body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. SO IT IS WITH CHRIST." Also, when Jesus spoke of the judgment where he would separate the sheep from the goats, he spoke as follows:

"Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'"

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" (Matt. 25:34:40)

We (that is the Church) are the brothers (and sisters) of Jesus Christ. When we do anything for his body, we are certainly doing it for Christ. Pray for us to very naturally be the body of Christ with each part doing what God designed it to do, so that the beauty and glory of Christ are revealed.

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