God plants new believers in local churches to grow and to build one another up. God didn't call us to be "Lone Ranger Christians" off doing our own thing. His People are called to love one another in a committed way as they win the lost and make disciples. Jesus gives us gifts to build us up None of us have all the spiritual gifts and God planned it that way so that we would need one another. As we serve and encourage one another with God’s Word, everyone will grow. God made the church like a family. When we love one another, the world will know that we are His disciples. Our love is so important for the Gospel to have credibility. Is There a Perfect Church?You will never find a perfect church. However, God loves His Church, calling her the "Joy of the Whole Earth." If Jesus loves His Bride, we can love her, too. So, how do you find a good church? Look for one where the Bible is preached and respected as inerrant and inspired of God. Look for a church where the people love Jesus and one another. Be faithful to attend services and Bible studies, not just so that you will grow, but so that others will grow too. Are There Any Perfect Christians?You will never find a church with perfect people. In Heaven, Christians will be perfect. Here on earth, we will battle our flesh and sometimes we will lose. We will sometimes hurt others and Christians will sometimes hurt us. That can make life hard. You will probably have disagreements, hurts, and differences of opinion with other believers. That is okay. It’s more important how you resolve those differences, than whether you have problems with people or not. God gives us a great blueprint for that in Matthew 18 where we sit down with one another and work it out without involving others (through gossip). In the same chapter, He teaches us how to forgive. Mark got into an argument with his new friend Jack at church. For weeks, he avoided him. Finally his dad noticed that Mark and Jack no longer seemed to be getting along. When Mark told his dad what had happened, his father encouraged him to follow Matthew 18 and talk it out, just the two of them. Mark felt really awkward about it, but he did it anyway. After their talk, the two resumed their friendship and became even closer than before. Conflict is inevitable. You will make the choice to reconcile or not. For centuries, believers have met Sunday mornings to celebrate and remember the Lord’s Resurrection. What a glorious privilege to gather together to honor Christ and be part of His family. Remember that main reason we go to church and plug into a church family is to honor Christ. At Powerline Productions, we offer many resources to help you grow in your walk with the Lord, be a blessing in your local church, win the lost, and make disciples. Click on the Photos below to learn more about these resources. And don't forget to go to church! Blessings! Meredith Curtis
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsMeredith Curtis Archives
February 2020
Categories
All
|