Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Grace”
Our Bible verse for today: “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “God’s grace is experienced best and most often when we are with other Christians.
Over the years I have known many Christians – far too many, who were not active in a local church. Maybe they would occasionally attend a church service somewhere, but they were not actively and deeply involved in the life of a good church.
Their explanations for their lack of attendance and involvement varied, but none of them were good. The reason I say that is because the New Testament provides us with no example or model (not one) of Christians who were Lone Rangers – uninvolved in a local church, and it having been a good thing. Every positive example God provides us in the New Testament involves Christians being a vital part of a good church.
One of the best teachings on this subject that I have ever come across is from Pastor Rick Warren in his book, “What on Earth Am I Here For?” Rick reminds us that the Apostle Paul taught that being a member of a local church involves much more than just having your name on a membership role. Instead, in Paul’s mind, it meant that you are a vital organ of a living body, “an indispensable, interconnected part of the Body of Christ.”
Rick wrote, “If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and neither can you. Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist. This is why the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship services and other gatherings of believers. Whenever we become careless about fellowship, everything else begins to slide too.”
This is why my people at Oak Hill Baptist hear me speak so frequently about the vital importance of consistent and faithful attendance at the gatherings of the church. You cannot be, and will not be, spiritually healthy apart for participation in the life of a good church. God has ordained it that way. The place where we will most often experience the manifestation of God’s grace – His manifold blessings poured out upon us, is in the midst of other dynamic Christians gathered together as God’s family in a local church.
Again quoting from Rick’s book, “Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the Body, isolated from God’s family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics.”
If you are out of church right now, if you don’t have a church home and therefore are not regularly and faithfully participating in the weekly gatherings of a good church family, I urge you to correct that right away. For one thing, you are vulnerable; but also, you are missing so much! God’s grace is experienced best and most often when you are gathered with His people.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 