Sunday, October 14, 2012

Why Should I be a member of a church? (Part 1)

In today's society of independence and self-reliance, the thought of becoming a member of a local church seems unnecessary to a lot of people. Also, many Christians feel that being a member of the Body of Christ is sufficient for them to please God. The following confirms the necessity and benefits of belonging to a specific local church.

Church membership keeps your fire burning for the Lord. If a coal in a fire is removed or isolated, it’s flame will eventually go out.  The same is true for the Christian.  Membership provides opportunities for refueling, kindling, and staying connected to the fire.

Church membership protects us from self-deception. James 1:22 says to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. It's easy to think we are walking in truth when in actuality we can be fooling ourselves. In right relationship with other believers, any deception will be recognized. Remember, whatever we possess in our relationship towards God that doesn't translate horizontally into our relationships with people isn't genuine.

Church membership leads to maturity. In the case of our natural families, some of the hardest lessons of life were learned from the conflicts with our brothers, sisters, and parents. If you had good parents who disciplined you and taught you to resolve the differences in your family, then you know that you are a better and more mature person today because of your family environment. The same is true for the church family. Listen to Proverbs 18:1, "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment" and Proverbs 12:1, "Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." Commitment to a local church gives God the leverage to mature you as His child. This isn't always easy, but it is necessary and proper.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Church Membership - activ8


On Sunday, October 28 we will be having a special baptism and membership service.  You were created to be a part of a local church family.  Perhaps you’re newer to Christian Life but want to be an active part of our church family?  We want you to feel welcome to become an important part of what God is doing at Christian Life.

Jesus commissioned his church to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and that is a calling we take very seriously.  Last year at Christian Life we went through our discipleship program called activ8.  The videos of these sessions are available to borrow in our Welcome Center and are available for you to watch 24/7 online at www.christianlifechurch.org, just click WATCH NOW and then choose activ8.  

The name activ8 came from a number of discussions within our church leadership on what it meant to be a disciple.  There were eight principles that kept coming up again and again in our talks, and it wasn’t good enough just to know about these eight principles of discipleship, we needed to be active in each of these as we follow Christ as modern-day disciples.  Here is the list of our activ8.

  • Active Love 
  • Active Attending 
  • Active Devotional Life
  • Active Learning 
  • Active Serving 
  • Active Evangelism 
  • Active Giving
  • Active Integrity 

Take time this week to do a discipleship check up on yourself.  Are you active in each of these?  Be a part of Christ’s church means being an ACTIVE disciple!