WORSHIP THE KING
God calls us to worship Him corporately
as well as individually. Can we really say
we worship, if we do it sporadically?
Maybe it's been a while since you have been
to worship. Isn't it time you returned home.
Church Membership
Church membership has never gotten anyone into
heaven. But this doesn't mean it's unimportant
to be committed to a local church. Every believer
should join a church. The Bible doessn't command
believers to "join" a church, because they are
already members of the "church", the body of Christ.
(Eph. 1:22-23). But the Bible does instruct Christians
to be actively involved in a local group of believers.
This includes identifying with Christ and His people
through baptism, the Lord's Supper, exercising
one's spiritual gifts, studying God's Word, fellowshipping,
praying together, and being accountable to one another.
(Acts 2:41-47)(1 Cor. 11:26)(Heb. 10:24-25)(heb. 13:7,13)
(1 Pet. 5:5). Each local church is the body of Christ
in miniature. Thus, the church is more than an
organization; it is a living organism, manifesting
Christ to the world (1 Cor. 12:12-31). Commitment
to and active fellowship in a local church is biblical.
Christ willingly identified with us by bearing our sin
in His own body. Shouldn't we be willing to identify
with Him by uniting with a local group of His people?
The church is a living body
and must have working parts!
Now you are the body of Christ,
and members individually.
(1 Corinthians 12:27)
Leadership Lessons
You are a leader. Yes, you! You may not be the
president or manager of an organization, but you
will be called on to lead others.
Do you teach Sunday school? You are a leader.
Are you a parent? You're a leader.
Have a job? You're a leader.
Have friends? You are a leader.
No matter who you are, others are looking at you
and being influenced by your example.
As you think about this awesome responsibility,
what should you do? Someone has said that a good
leader is one who "knows" the way, "goes" the way,
and "shows the way".
Joshua was like that. He "knew" the way, because
God had told him. He "went" the way by being obedient
to the Lord, and he "showed" the way by providing
servant-leadership.
Look specifically at what God told Joshua:
Be strong and courgeous (Joshua 1:6)
Obey all of God's laws for living (Joshua 1:7)
Think often about what God has said (Joshua 1:8)
Remember that God is with you (Joshua 1:9)
We need to keep these lessons of leadership in mind,
because people are following our example. If we learn them
well, we will "know", "go", and "show" the way that pleases
God...and we will be good members.
Leaders who serve will
serve as good leaders.
A Good Church Service
A television documentary showed several types of
worship services in American churches. Some were
good but some were troubling, because of the
emphasis on being entertained, instead of being led
in worship. The focus of many services was on
having fun rather than on worshipping the Lord.
This is more than a matter of differing styles.
The one indispensable element of a good church service
is the celebration of God's great redeeming
acts in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascention
of Jesus Christ. These saving events were the
theme of an early church hymn quoted in (1 Timothy
3:16) and they were to be central in the message
Paul urged Timothy to proclaim (1 Timothy 4:6-19).
We ought to praise God joyfully for all His blessings,
both spiritual and temporal. But we must also be good
listeners to the instruction and challenges of
God's Word. This combination of the inflow of
God's Word and the outflow of worship is what makes
for a good church service.
In some churches there is more commotion
and emotion than devotion.
The Lord has done
great things for us,
and we are glad.(Psalm 126:3)
What Kind Of Bone Are You?
It has been said that the "body" of a church has four kinds of bones:
1. The WISHbones--those who wish someone else would do all the work!
2. The JAWbones--who do all the talking and very little else!
3. The KNUCKLEbones--who knock everything anyone else tries to do!
4. The BACKbones--who get under the load and get the work done!
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2004
LivingFaith
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