Hey everybody, we are so glad you're here with us.

Today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, Rick Warren continues with an inspiring new series called

What Does It Really Mean to Follow Jesus?

Now in this powerful teaching, Rick dives into God's Word to explore how we grow spiritually, represent Christ in the world, and

find our place in God's family through the church. It's a fresh look at discipleship, purpose,

and the life-changing power of spiritual community. Okay, so let's get started with part one of a message

called We Are members of God's

family. Following Jesus is far more than just believing. It's not enough just to believe in Jesus.

The Bible says we're not just believers, we're belongers. We are to belong in the family of God, which is called the church.

And once we belong, then we become. So we believe, then we belong, and then we become all that

God wants for us to be in the first place. Now the Bible says this. There on your outline,

Romans chapter 12, verse 5, let's read it aloud

together. In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Now, circle the word belong. The Bible says that if you're a follower of Jesus, you don't

just belong to God. You don't just belong to Jesus.

You belong to me. And I belong to you. And we belong to each other. And you belong to every other

believer. You're in the family now. You're in God's family. Now, it's interesting that in the

Bible, two of the descriptions of the church are the church is a body and the church is a family.

The church is the body of Christ and the church is the family of God.

And in both of those cases, membership means something.

In fact, the English word member that we use for membership actually comes from the Bible.

And the word membership has far more to do with life than simply like a, you know, wear a hat or

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