God’s Family Helps You Grow

[God’s Family Helps You Grow]( Current Teaching Series [God's Vision for the Rest of Your Life]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [God’s Family Helps You Grow]( By Rick Warren — 12/10/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) God doesn’t want you to remain a spiritual baby. He wants you to become like Christ. He wants you to grow. But here’s the catch: You can’t do it on your own. Babies don’t just grow up on their own. They need a family of some kind. And you need a spiritual family, just like you needed someone to help you grow up when you were young physically. The Bible says, “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT). My job as a pastor is to make sure the people in my church grow. It’s the job of all of our pastors, leaders, Bible study teachers, and small group leaders. In fact, the Bible says this about such people: “Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ . . . until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard” (Ephesians 4:12-13 GW). At Saddleback Church, we are always asking, “How can we help them grow, Lord?” The Bible has a word for this kind of growth. It’s called discipleship. Discipleship is the process of growth from a spiritual baby to a spiritual adult. It means you’re maturing in your faith. You’re getting stronger. You’re developing some muscle. So how can you grow as a disciple? The Bible says in Acts 2 how people grew in the first church: “Those who believed . . . were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer” (Acts 2:41-42 NLT). That chapter later goes on to say, “They worshipped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness” (Acts 2:46 TLB). First, you believe. Then you get baptized. And it’s important that you choose a church family and participate in large group worship and small group fellowship. Learn from your leaders in the church. Learn from your peers. Commit to growing spiritually as a disciple and a member of the body of Christ. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - In the past or present, what things have kept you from getting connected to a church family? - How have you grown as a disciple when you’ve been connected to the body of Christ? - Why do you think God wants other people to play a role in your spiritual growth? The post [God’s Family Helps You Grow]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get the brand new Daily Hope Prayer Journal when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( God has an adventure for you—and every day is an invitation to say ‘yes’ to his plans. We want to help you hear from him, follow his lead, and see his hand at work in your life with the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal—our way to say thanks for your gift below. And thanks to a generous $100,000 Matching Grant, your gift will be DOUBLED to bring the hope of Jesus to even more people! This soft, vegan leather prayer journal features... - Beautifully designed pages filled with stunning artwork - Inspiring Bible verses to encourage you each day - Special sections to help you keep track of your prayers It’s the perfect way to connect with the Lord through a consistent daily prayer time. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series God's Vision for the Rest of Your Life. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Choosing Your Future Message 2: Learning to Live Wisely Message 3: Embracing the Vision Message 4: Why You Need a Church Family Message 5: Enabling the Vision Message 6: How to Get Ready to be Used by God [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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