Community
Added
If you are still standing against the fence, fingers clutching the metal rings, hoping against hope that today just maybe you might get picked, I’m here to tell you – you have been added. You’re on the team. You’re on the roll. You’ve been picked. The “less thans.” The “missing outs.” Welcome to the assembly of the wanted. The added. That includes you.
April 30, 2023
Devoted
What the New Testament calls for is intimate connection through deep commitment within a covenant community. One that blesses those inside, blesses those on the outside, puts the world on notice and causes the world to take notice. A people who inspire because they have been inspired.
The Apostles' Teaching
What teaching were the first disciples devoted to? It must have been powerful. It must have been interesting. It must have been centered and focused. If you compare the speeches in Acts, you discover that the Apostles' teaching is simply the gospel.
FELLOWSHIP
We share faith. Let me say that again. We share faith. Because we share Christ. And the most visible place where that is put on display is in the church assembly. It’s what the word means.
Breaking Bread
Isn’t it funny how a meal can nourish and sustain you—literally give you life—and we hardly even notice? What if we paid attention to what was happening inside? What if we noticed who else is being given life by this meal?
Prayer
Charles Hodge was once asked if he believed in the power of prayer. “No,” said Hodge, “I believe in the power of God; therefore, I pray. The early church believed in the goodness, majesty, and power of God; so they prayed.
A Sense of Awe
That God who created us, who lives in us…is with us today. He’s here in this place. And as we sing, the God who sings listens to our praise. Our praise joins with the praise of all the ages, and all the angels. Sense the awe!
A Gifted People
Does God give to his church today gifts to encourage and strengthen them, to help defend his message and make it known to those within and without that the gospel of Jesus is true? The answer is a resounding “yes!”
All Things In Common
Creating unity has often failed us (Gen 11). Maintaining unity is what will heal us (Eph 4). By the Spirit, we have “all things in common” (Acts 2:44). The only question is this: what will we do with it (John 17)?
As Any Had Need
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9 ESV).
Glad and generous hearts
Any married couple can tell you this lesson learned the hard way: there is no substitute for quality time together. And while quantity does not equal quality, increasing the quantity provides more opportunity for the quality. But hearts on fire for Christ, solely focused on the one their hearts adore, long for this. With glad and generous hearts, the church loves and serves.
Having Favor With All
You may be the only Bible our neighbors ever read. You know and I know “there is no way to love Christ and not love his church.” But they don’t know that. We want people to love Christ. What Christ are they seeing in you and me? Christians are called to live “a life that needs God’s love to explain itself.” So be winsome to win some.
how churches grow
Church growth is about the Spirit at work through genuine relationships. “Our good news didn’t come to you only in words. It came with power. It came with the Holy Spirit’s help. He gave us complete faith in what we were preaching. You know how we lived among you for your good” (1 Thess 1:5).