The local church is not some abstract idea with nameless members—it’s a family of real people who are personally connected with one other. That’s what we learn in Romans 16. After all the great doctrine in Paul’s letter, he greets real people with real names and commends the real labor they performed in the Roman church. His words read like a family photo album as he illustrates what grace looks like in a local church body. This is what God intended for church life—that it be alive and fruitful, like a family.

Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/696dc90a6dae751850c3cffa

Message to daughters — when it comes to your gender, the most terrifying thing the Devil sees is a faithful mom raising her children at home. This beautiful picture is in direct odds with a culture at war with God. While feminism’s lies say that the Bible’s limitations on women are restrictive, they’re actually liberating. The submissive woman is wise and undaunted. She smiles at the future, not frightened by any fear (Prov. 31:25). She radiates the fragrance of Christ in every place. She’s formidable, because she’s following God’s perfect design for her role. So, parents — encourage your girls to exalt Christ by living out this lovely image.

The church is not simply an idea, a platform, or a live stream. It is physicality expressed in her people, buildings, writings, meetings, and evangelism. While many tend to despise the physical over the spiritual, the Bible objects to such a view with these doctrinal truths that manifest the physicality of the church: First, the incarnation. God saves through flesh and blood, not through a ghost. Second, we are image bearers. The invisible God is made visible through human lives. Third, every spiritual reality has a physical expression. What we believe shows up in where we go with our bodies, and what we build with our hands. So don’t minimize the physical aspects of church life — but serve the physical body of Christ with devoted purpose.