Benefits of Church Membership Eph. 4:11-16 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
People have asked me about the benefits of church membership. The local church gives us:
Praise for God – Eph 3:21 – “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus…” – God is glorified by the praises of his saints in church – when we offer our praise to him from our hearts in congregational singing bot only are the saints taught and admonished but he is honored – and when God is given the opportunity to set the members in the church it pleases him.
Perfection for Saints – Eph 4:12 – we don’t become sinless by being in church but we are perfected – Noah was perfect in his day, as was Job – both of these men were perfect for the purpose God intended to use them – and in church we are perfected through the preaching and teaching of the words of God.
Preparation for Ministry – Eph 4:12 – God calls men into the ministry in local churches – the call to preach is a call to prepare – in church you learn doctrine and you learn the ministry – when our men study in The Bible Doctrine Institute it is refreshing to hear them say that their studies are confirming what they learned in church – the pastors here agree that we want to train our young people as far as we can to prepare them for the next step in God’s plan for their lives.
Place for Service – Eph 4:16 – everyone of us has a place of service in the church – God prepares the person and reveals the need so that, in time, each person who is suitable for a place of service finds his place within the church – no one’s job is more important than another’s when we are all doing what God wants us to do – we always recommend our folks to “sit a spell” until their ability and the church’s need merge together perfectly like synchronized gears.
People for Comfort – 2 Cor 1:3-7 – the Holy Spirit is our Comforter – however, the additional comfort we receive from people in church is beyond compare to anything the world knows – I have heard more times than I can remember from families grieving over the loss of a loved one, “I just don’t know how people without a loving church family make it at times like these” – in a good church you’ll never have to find out.
Prayers for Souls – Eph 6:18 – church is a remarkable place to meet for prayer – Wednesday night services are special times here when we pray for each other and when we hear testimonies of answered prayers from our missionaries and folks for whom we have prayed – a small group of men and a small group of women have been praying on Sunday mornings each week – now a larger group is meeting on Sunday morning at 8:30 to pray for the services and for lost souls to whom we have been witnessing.
Preaching for Sinners – Rom 10:14 – many of us here today were saved in a church service under the preaching of the gospel – church is a great place for lost souls to hear the gospel and be saved – if you are lost we have a couple who will gladly show you the gospel after the service – we don’t want you to leave here without Christ.