Why You Can't Grow Spiritually Alone (The Truth About Ephesians 4) | Growing Up

Описание: "My faith is just between me and God." We hear it all the time. And while faith is personal, Scripture is clear that it was never meant to be private.

In Part 2 of our Growing Up series, Lead Pastor Rodney Thrift tackles the subject of Building Community.

Using Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we discover why isolation makes our faith fragile and why spiritual maturity is impossible without relational connection. It is time to move from being a consumer in a row to a contributor in a circle.

Soul Tattoo: We’re not just better together, we’re stronger together.

WATCH THE FULL SERVICE: https://youtube.com/live/KB-woQRT0Us
DC TABLE TALK PODCAST: https://www.destination-church.org/po...

Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome & Series Recap
01:29 - Addressing Racism & National Division
04:18 - Growing Up: Building Community
06:44 - Soul Tattoo: Stronger Together
07:14 - The Myth of Private Faith
08:38 - Paul’s Message to the Ephesians
12:44 - The Purpose of Church Leadership (Five-Fold Ministry)
15:34 - Isolation Makes Faith Fragile
17:05 - Point 1: Moving from Consumption to Connection
19:49 - Point 2: Community Stabilizes Our Faith
21:27 - Point 3: Maturity Happens When Each Part Works
23:45 - Practical Ways to Build Community
25:22 - Closing Prayer & Salvation Call

Destination Church - Blackshear, GA
Pastor Rodney Thrift

Message notes below 👇👇👇

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MESSAGE NOTES:

GROWING UP
Building Community

Week 1 SOUL TATTOO: You don’t grow up by being perfect, you grow up by Knowing God.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)

CALL TO ACTION: Over the next few weeks:
👉 Be faithful to weekend worship.
👉 Establish a daily rhythm with God.
👉 Engage fully in prayer.
👉 Decide: “I’m not staying where I am.”

SOUL TATTOO: We’re not just better together, we’re stronger together.

My faith is just between me and God.

It is personal, but it was never meant to be private.

👉 Identity in Christ
👉 Unity
👉 Grace
👉 Belonging to one body

‘Now that you believe, let’s talk about how you behave.’

Paul is dealing with:
👉 Spiritual immaturity
👉 Disconnection
👉 People wanting independence, not interdependence
👉 Believers consuming teaching, but not contributing to the body.

Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)

Paul isn’t calling them to more information, he’s calling them to maturity.

WHY COMMUNITY IS THE SOLUTION:

That’s why he uses body language:
👉 Joined together
👉 Held together
👉 Each part doing its work

Paul believed spiritual maturity was impossible without relational connection.

Ephesians 4:11–14 (NIV)

Paul says without maturity we are:
👉 Tossed back and forth
👉 Easily influenced
👉 Spiritually unstable

Isolation makes faith fragile.

Ephesians 4:15–16 (NIV)

Growing up spiritually means learning you’re better together than alone.

We grow up by being connected, not independent.

SOUL TATTOO: We’re not just better together, we’re stronger together.

BUILDING COMMUNITY & MATURITY:

1.) Growing up means moving from consumption to connection.

Maturity shifts the question from: “What can I get?” To “Where do I belong?”

Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)

You don’t grow up by consuming, you grow up by connecting.

Community is where God moves us from spiritual childhood to maturity.

Small groups move us:
👉 From rows to circles
👉 From anonymous to known
👉 From listening to participating

SOUL TATTOO: We’re not just better together, we’re stronger together.

2.) Community is how God stabilizes our faith.

Ephesians 4:14 (NIV)

Isolation doesn’t make us strong, it makes us vulnerable.

Isolation makes faith fragile; community makes it resilient.

God often uses:
👉 Conversations to shape us.
👉 Accountability to protect us.
👉 Encouragement to sustain us.

Avoiding community may feel safer, but it slows spiritual growth.

SOUL TATTOO: We’re not just better together, we’re stronger together.

3.) Maturity happens when each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)

Growing up means showing up and doing your part.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

My one next step:
👉 Joining a small group.
👉 Rejoining community after drifting.
👉 Leading or Hosting a group.
👉 Staying connected instead of pulling away.
👉 Asking someone new out for coffee or a meal.

Direction, not perfection. One next step at a time.

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