When the pandemic started there were workers deemed essential: hospital workers, emergency services, and government officials among others were declared to be essential. We agree they are but I believe there is something else that’s also essential and that is the church. I am going to share a few things I believe concerning the Church.

1. We believe in the Church.

We believe the Church is essential because Jesus is building the Church, Jesus loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25), Jesus died for the Church and the Church is the bride of Jesus. Not only is the Church, Jesus’ bride, it’s His body where He is the head and each one of us are members. The Bible says that we belong to the family of God, so the Church is Jesus’ family.

2. We behave as a Church.

The word ‘church’ comes from the Greek word ‘ecclesia’, which means assembly. That means you are not a church unless you are an assembly. Are you still part of the body when you are outside of the gathering? Yes, you are but it’s not complete.

For example, it can be likened to a car. When all the pieces are assembled, you have a car. When you only have a tire, it is not a car. Each one of us is a piece and part of the assembly.

God says in His Word that we should attend church regularly in Hebrews 10:25. Worshipping together is a powerful experience, (Matthew 18:20).

When Apostle Paul wrote to the churches, he used phrases like ‘when you come together as a church’ or ‘when the whole church comes together’ in 1 Corinthians 11:18 and 1 Corinthians 14:23. The Apostle Paul also gave specific instructions on what believers should do in the actual church gathering. He also talks about discipline that should be given in the church. If one believer upholds heresy or creates an amoral lifestyle, refusing to change, he says present it to the church and let the church judge as a corporate body.

I’m an individual, I don’t care about organized religion. I just serve God, listen to podcasts and read my favorite books. God and I are cool. I just hate church. If you have that approach, you are deceived confused and not scripturally sound.

3. We are belonging to a Church

The idea of membership has a negative connotation in our culture. We don’t like memberships. It is a wrong mindset. God wants us to work, be responsible and have certain commitments in our lives.

Concerning the local church, I’m going to advocate why every person who claims to be a genuine believer needs to belong to a church. You might not like the ‘spice’ or ‘flavor’ of a church, similar to how you might prefer strawberry ice cream to raspberry or chocolate but they are all still ice creams. In the same way, I encourage you to find a church that you like and belong to it.

In Acts 2:41-47, when people believed, they were baptised and added to the church. Take note of what it does not say – it does not say added to the Kingdom or the book of life but the church. That is proof that church membership is biblical! It is not about believing, getting baptised then floating around and church hopping. It is about making a decision to be planted in the church you feel God is leading you to.

A local church is not only a place where we fellowship, study the Word and are added to the church but it’s a place of signs and wonders. A local church is a place where people are constantly falling in love with God, not just because of the music but because of the miracles that they see: demons are cast out, the sick are healed, prophetic words are released.

The local church is not only a place of the supernatural but verse 44 tells us of radical giving as well. Many people live above their means but God wants us to give above our means. As believers, we want not just to bless our church but to be a blessing through our church.

In verse 45 it tells us that we will have goodwill in our community, meaning people will speak well of us not because we are trying to please them but because we are trying to serve our community and God will be adding people daily to the church. It is God’s will for the churches to grow.

Prayer

I bless you in Jesus’ name! We pray God will continue to grow you as you follow His Word.

Sermon by Vladimir Savchuk; Blog by Edward Gardiner