Week 3 Made for Community with the Local Church
Monday — In Jesus’ Name
Read: Matthew 18:20
SOAP: Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
Into the Text
The disciples came to Jesus with a lot of questions. While in Galilee, Jesus revealed to them for the second time that He was going to die, and they were worried. They had given up everything to follow Jesus, and now the community they loved was going to change—drastically. The disciples wanted a plan. They wanted to know who Jesus thought was the greatest among them. Instead, Jesus taught them about humility, seeking the lost, and restoring relationships.
Biblical community is a group of like-minded Christians who are devoted to learning and living out God’s Word in their lives. It is more than a social club or group of friends with similar interests gathering together. Cultivating a biblical community in your life means going beyond surface conversations to intentional time spent together encouraging and building each other up in God’s Word. The motive behind the fellowship is a love for God, a love for each other, and a desire to help each other live our lives in obedience and honor to God.
That is what Jesus was teaching the disciples and what we can also learn from our reading today. Our relationship with God is personal, and it is meant to be lived out in community where we can encourage one another, hold one another accountable, and support each other—and we don’t do it alone! Jesus promises that, when even just a few believers are gathered together in His name, He is there.
When we gather with our biblical community, motivated by a desire to love God greatly and help others do the same, Jesus is there with us. That’s what the local church is: a gathering of like-minded people who love Jesus and have a desire to grow, teach, learn, encourage, and support each other while also providing accountability and connection. You were made for this type of community with the local church! What a blessing!