Christ’s Church & His Sacrifice

Every believer should be a faithful and active member of a local church. Over the past two articles, I have tried to support this truth. I have attempted to establish it with two initial points: (1) every believer should be part of a local body of believers, and (2) becoming a formal, recognized member of

Is Church Membership Biblical?

Last week we considered the idea of the Church and the reasons why every believer should join with a local church. I do not know if the reasons given were compelling or not. Either way, I want to press the issue a little further. Not only is it a necessary expression of our faith to

It’s Time to Re-engage

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. (Joel 2:25, ESV) We are living in odd, difficult, and uncertain times. What we have experienced and are experiencing cannot be easily summarized or readily processed. But

Why Join A Local Church?

(adapted from Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever) Perhaps you have met someone, or you’re related to someone, or maybe, you ARE someone who doesn’t believe in “organized religion.” You might prefer to keep your faith a private matter between you and God – after all, the experiences you’ve had in church

The Sufficient Word of God

The Word of God ALWAYS produces a response. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “…you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood

Our Calling: Make Disciples

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And

When God Seems Absent

We’ve all been there. Some of us have been there more times than we want to remember and more recently than we care to admit. We have been on our knees, asking the Lord God to intervene on our behalf. Maybe for you it was in the midst of chemo. Maybe you have been calling

Passing On the Faith

I enjoy track and field. It’s one of my favorite things to watch when the Olympics roll around every four years. (Sidenote: I really missed the Olympics last year.) Of course, in the world of track and field, the fan-favorite races are the sprints, especially the relays. I have never been much of a sprinter,

Gospel Reinforcement

…they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:21-22 (ESV) Oops. He did it again. Paul is back at it. After being threatened, beaten, stoned, and

What Does It Mean to “Be the Church”?

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Many talk about the church. It seems everyone has an opinion, even if that opinion is: it’s not worth having an opinion. But through all the talk and opinion and emotion and preference, all too often, “church” does not