{"id":1827,"date":"2024-09-28T14:58:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T18:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/?p=1827"},"modified":"2024-10-22T14:18:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T18:18:11","slug":"living-the-new-life-in-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Living the New Life in Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><figure id=\"attachment_1824\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1824\" style=\"width: 780px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1824\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2078\/2024\/09\/DALL%C2%B7E-2024-09-28-14.39.33-A-lifelike-real-life-scene-depicting-a-diverse-group-of-people-gathered-in-a-church-community-setting.-The-group-includes-individuals-of-different-ag.jpg\" alt=\"Living the New Life in Community \/ Image courtesy of Enterprise College\" width=\"780\" height=\"445\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1824\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Living the New Life in Community \/ Image courtesy of Enterprise College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are called to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2023\/11\/understanding-adoption-by-god-in-christianity\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">live a new life with God<\/a> and each other, based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/05\/understanding-core-christian-beliefs\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">teachings of Scripture<\/a>. This call is about unity, love, and support, as found in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012%3A12-31&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 Corinthians 12:12-31<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20John%204%3A7-21&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 John 4:7-21<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%203%3A16&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"> John 3:16<\/a>. These passages guide us in building deep relationships with others, emphasizing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/exploring-agape-unconditional-divine-love\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">love<\/a> and community. Living this new life means loving God and each other in meaningful ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Church as One Body<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012%3A12-31&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 Corinthians 12:12-31<\/a>, Paul describes the Church as one body made up of many parts. Each part has a specific role, but all work together as one. No part is more important than the others, as each has a unique purpose. For example, some people may be teachers, some may serve in hospitality, and others may lead in prayer. When each person uses their gifts, the community becomes stronger. Just like a body needs all its parts to function, the Church needs each of us to contribute to the whole.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>God\u2019s Love Calls Us to Love Others<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20John%204%3A7-21&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">1 John 4:7-21<\/a>, we learn about the importance of loving one another because \u201cGod is love.\u201d God loved us first, and because of this, we are called to love each other. This love shows that we truly know God. For instance, when a community member is in need, offering support shows the love of God in action. Whether it\u2019s comforting a friend, visiting the sick, or giving to those in need, our love reflects God\u2019s nature. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/forgiveness-brings-joy\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">love<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/lessons-of-forgiveness-and-joy\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">forgiveness<\/a> for others is the evidence that we live in God and that His love is made complete in us.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>God\u2019s Sacrificial Love<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%203%3A16&amp;version=NKJV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">John 3:16<\/a> beautifully expresses God\u2019s love for humanity: \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.\u201d This love is sacrificial and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/exploring-agape-unconditional-divine-love\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">unconditional<\/a>. It shows us that true love often requires sacrifice. For example, giving up time to help a struggling neighbor or offering support when it is inconvenient shows sacrificial love. Just as God gave His Son for us, we are called to make sacrifices for one another. These actions bring us closer together and reflect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/exploring-agape-unconditional-divine-love\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">God\u2019s love<\/a> for everyone.\u00a0 \u00a0We learn this through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/07\/eternal-life-through-jesus-resurrection\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Resurrection<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/03\/jesus-resurrection-on-easter\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">Jesus Christ<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Embracing Unity, Love, and Support<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To live the new life in community, we must embrace unity, practice love, and support one another. We are encouraged to live out these teachings every day. By embracing our role within the body of Christ, we honor the gifts God has given us. For example, organizing events to bring people together, offering emotional support, and encouraging others are ways to live out this call. Through unity, we recognize the value of every individual. By practicing love, we show God\u2019s presence in our lives. Supporting each other helps create a strong, united community where everyone feels valued and connected.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Living the New Life in Community<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Living the new life in community means embracing God\u2019s love and sharing it with others. As reflected in the Scriptures, we are called to love deeply, support one another, and be united in Christ. Together, in unity and love, we experience the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/08\/find-joy-and-strength-in-gods-words\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">joy<\/a> of living the new life in community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are called to live a new life with God and each other, based on the teachings of Scripture. This call is about unity, love, and support, as found in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, 1 John 4:7-21, and John 3:16. These passages guide us in building deep relationships with others, emphasizing love and community. Living this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5360,"featured_media":1824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[80,11,165,140],"class_list":["post-1827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-christian-living","tag-forgiveness","tag-jesus","tag-joy","tag-resurrection"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Living the New Life in Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Living the New Life in Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Dr.David.Ewen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-28T18:58:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-22T18:18:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2078\/2024\/09\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-09-28-14.39.33-A-lifelike-real-life-scene-depicting-a-diverse-group-of-people-gathered-in-a-church-community-setting.-The-group-includes-individuals-of-different-ag.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"445\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. David K. Ewen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. David K. Ewen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/\",\"name\":\"Living the New Life in Community\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-28T18:58:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-22T18:18:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/409144be401f26d1ead48ae361aed9bf\"},\"description\":\"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Living the New Life in Community\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Matters\",\"description\":\"Exploring the Christian Journey\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/409144be401f26d1ead48ae361aed9bf\",\"name\":\"Dr. David K. Ewen\",\"description\":\"Dr. David K. Ewen is a compassionate and dedicated ordained minister whose mission extends to individuals, couples, and families seeking spiritual guidance and support. Beyond his pastoral work, Dr. Ewen's commitment shines through in his outreach efforts, where he fervently advocates for the welfare of the incarcerated and homeless, exemplifying the transformative power of faith in action.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.bravehearted413.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Dr.David.Ewen\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Bravehearted413\/videos\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/author\/dewen\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Living the New Life in Community","description":"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Living the New Life in Community","og_description":"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/","og_site_name":"Faith Matters","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Dr.David.Ewen","article_published_time":"2024-09-28T18:58:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-22T18:18:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":445,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2078\/2024\/09\/DALL\u00b7E-2024-09-28-14.39.33-A-lifelike-real-life-scene-depicting-a-diverse-group-of-people-gathered-in-a-church-community-setting.-The-group-includes-individuals-of-different-ag.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dr. David K. Ewen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. David K. Ewen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/","name":"Living the New Life in Community","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-09-28T18:58:10+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-22T18:18:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/409144be401f26d1ead48ae361aed9bf"},"description":"We are called to live a new life with God and each other. This call is about unity, love, and support. According to the Scriptures,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/2024\/09\/living-the-new-life-in-community\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Living the New Life in Community"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/","name":"Faith Matters","description":"Exploring the Christian Journey","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/#\/schema\/person\/409144be401f26d1ead48ae361aed9bf","name":"Dr. David K. Ewen","description":"Dr. David K. Ewen is a compassionate and dedicated ordained minister whose mission extends to individuals, couples, and families seeking spiritual guidance and support. Beyond his pastoral work, Dr. Ewen's commitment shines through in his outreach efforts, where he fervently advocates for the welfare of the incarcerated and homeless, exemplifying the transformative power of faith in action.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.bravehearted413.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Dr.David.Ewen","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Bravehearted413\/videos"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/author\/dewen\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}