Quotes About Community

In Europe's Neolithic past, long, long ago when human communities were mostly tribes, in the ancient days of our ancestors well before the introduction of any spiritual path we know—or could possibly imagine—earth-centered spiritual practices were customary.

Our sight is dimmed by the tyranny of the urgent, by the siren call of success, by the seductive beauty of physical things, by our inability to admit our own problems, and by the casual relationships within the body of Christ that we mistakenly call fellowship.

Does it surprise you that God presents himself as a model for human community?

Sin's self-centeredness cuts us off from God and others

Jesus' language on this point is striking. He welcomes us into this divine community with Father, Son, and Spirit so that we can experience community with one another.

God will dwell in community with his people so that they can know community with one another

What does all this biblical and experiential data tell us? That you cannot talk about human beings made in God's image without talking about relationships. Yet it is often the first thing we overlook. Only when human beings live in community do we fully reflect the likeness

The circle of human community is only healthy when it exists within the larger circle of community with God.

Our experience of reconciling grace is expressed every time we pool our resources for the kingdom of God.

The Macedonians gave in the context of their lack of resources.

Relationships are best built upon godly, mutual dependence.

Good relationships are always built on the foundation stones of identity and worship.

Christian friendships do not simply help us bask in the sunshine of God's grace; they also help us to roll up our sleeves and strive after holiness.

Change within community is counterintuitive to the way we often think, but Scripture clearly presents it as God's way of making us more like Christ.

Worship is first an identity before it becomes an activity.

As we live with each other in the middle of the already and the not yet, we need more than elevated emotion and accurate understanding. We need eyes to see this one amazing reality: we are Christ's and he is ours. We need to see that it is spiritually impossible for us to ever be alone. His amazing resources of grace are constantly at our disposal.

In short, we are called to help each other see the unseen reality of our active, present, and personal God.

To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in his body that are his tools of change.

God has a bigger agenda for our relationships than we do

Maintain the unity of the Spirit

In other words, you can't take the gospel seriously and not take your relationships seriously.

Yet we are most true to our identity and calling when we live in the midst of broken people.

Father, Son, and Spirit were torn apart so that we might be united with them and with each other.

Because it is grounded in the Trinity, our unity also allows us to celebrate our diversity in the body of Christ.