Orphan Care Is For The Church

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. INTRODUCTION Welcome, once again to Orphan Sunday at Grace Church. This year, the Christian Alliance for Orphans (the ministry that promotes/oversees Orphan Sunday) has chosen collaboration for the cause of the fatherless as the theme. The simple point they’re trying to make is that caring for orphans in the fullest possible way always involves working together with others. Of course, as Christians, we know better than anyone the power and necessity of collaboration. For to be a Christian is to be saved by God into the “body of Christ,” where every part needs every other part to properly function. I hope to help you see that more clearly and embrace it more fully as we consider 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 this morning. That is, I hope to help you see that in a way that is even more effective and essential than you probably thought, orphan care is for the church. To properly ground that claim, we’re going to consider it under the banners of (1) God and orphans, (2) Christians and orphans, and (3) The Church and orphans. Because I’ve spent a good deal of time on the first two banners in previous years (you can read/listen to them from 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021), I’ll only briefly cover them. The main thrust of this sermon is the third banner—the Church and orphans. The big idea is that God cares for orphans, God calls Christians to care for orphans, and Christians care best for orphans within the Church. Let’s pray that the Spirit would make all three would be clear and compelling. GOD AND ORPHANS God cares for orphans, God calls Christians to care for orphans, and Christians care best for orphans within the Church. Let’s begin by taking a closer look at the first clause: God cares for orphans. This, as I hope to help you see, is the foundation for everything that follows. To help you