CALLED TO BELONG

Acts 29 #6

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, November 9, 2025

“To pray for one another is first of all to acknowledge, in the presence of God, that we belong to each other as children of the same God.” –Henri Nouwen

(Hebrews 10:19–25, NLT) “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN

“The true Christian is one who knows God’s power working in himself and finds it his true joy to have the very life of God flow into him, and through him, and out from him to those around.” –Andrew Murray

1.  GOD’S FAMILY IS CALLED THE CHURCH

(1 Timothy 3:15, GW) “God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

(Ephesians 1:5, NLT) “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

2.  GOD’S CURE FOR ISOLATION IS TO ADOPT PEOPLE INTO HIS FAMILY

(Psalm 68:6, NLT) “God places the lonely in families….”

(Ephesians 2:19, NLT) “You are members of God’s family.”

3.  GOD CALLS ME TO FULLY JOIN IN HIS FAMILY’S LIFE

(Romans 1:6, NLT) “You are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.”

(Romans 15:7, Message) “Reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!”

GROWTHWORK

1.  I DISCOVER WHO I AM THROUGH CHRIST. IDENITY

(Hebrews 2:11, NLT) “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.”

(1 Corinthians 7:23, NLT) “God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.”

2.  I GIVE AND RECEIVE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST

“The book of Acts is about the profound love of Jesus Christ for sinners expressed through the Church.”  –Pastor Dennis Clanton, You Are Called to Be Loved, November 2, 2025, Woodland Church

(1 John 3:16–18, NLT) “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. … Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

3.  I UNCOVER MY ROLE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.  S.H.A.P.E.

(Ephesians 2:10, NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

• Spiritual Gifts
• Heart
• Abilities
• Personality
• Experiences

4.  I RECEIVE PASTORAL CARE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

(Acts 20:28–29, NLT) “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.”

(1 Peter 5:2–4, NLT) “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”