Sunday, July 6, 2014

Be a member of local church

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.1

I love this passage because it is the best one teaching about the local Church. Jesus started this and it is his Idea so we need to learn about this so we can be in a local church. They got convertedc and were baptized and then they were added to the church. I think it is important for the local church to have this in common and that we need to have a membership. Note that people were saved, they came to the personal knowledge of Jesus and a personal relationship. The person comes to the fact they are a sinner who broke Gods laws then they saw Jesus died for them. Jesus died so we need to repent and embrace the death of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus comes into the life and one is saved. He asked us to be baptized and then added to a LOCAL place for your growth and faith. You commit to a body that commits to you. In the local church you submit to the leadership and you serve the body with your gifting.

In the church we help the needs of the members. We in our church have a fund we collect that goes to the needs of the body. We collect money to fund the things like what the poor need. In the church the family breaks bread and we do that on the first Sunday remembering the death of Jesus and what that means to each of us. We are to eat together and we are to know each other.
1 The New King James Version. (1982). (Ac 2:40–47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.


  1. It’s biblical. Jesus established the local church and all the apostles did their ministry through it. The Christian life in the New Testament is church life. Christians today should expect and desire the same.
  2. The church is its members. To be a church in the New Testament is to be one of its members (read through Acts). And you want to be part of the church because that’s who Jesus came to rescue and reconcile to himself.
  3. It’s a prerequisite for the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a meal for the gathered church, that is, for members (see 1 Cor. 11:20-33). And you want to take the Lord’s Supper. It’s the team flag that makes the church team visible to the nations.
  4. It’s how you officially represent Jesus. Membership is the church’s affirmation that you are a citizen of Christ’s kingdom and therefore a pass-port carrying Jesus representative before the nations. And you want your representation to be authorized. Closely related to this…
  5. It’s how you declare your highest allegiance. Your membership on the team, which becomes visible when you wave the flag of the Lord’s Supper, is a public testimony belongs to Jesus. Trials and persecution may come, but your only words are, “I am a Christian.”
  6. It’s how you embody and experience biblical images. It’s within the accountability structures of the local church that Christians live and experience the interconnectivity of the body, the spiritual fullness of his temple, and the safety and intimacy and shared identity of his family.
  7. It’s how you serve other Christians. Membership helps you know which Christians on planet Earth you are specifically responsible to love, serve, warn, and encourage. It enables you to fulfill your biblical responsibilities to Christ’s body (for example, see Eph. 4:11-16; 25-32).
  8. It’s how you follow Christian leaders. Membership helps you know which Christian leaders on planet Earth you are called to obey and follow. Again, it allows you to fulfill your biblical responsibility to them (see Heb. 13:7, 17).
  9. It helps Christian leaders lead. Membership lets Christian leaders know which Christians on planet Earth they will “give an account” for (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2).
  10. It enables church discipline. It gives you the biblically prescribed place to participate in the work of church discipline responsibly, wisely, and lovingly (1 Cor. 5).
  11. It gives structure to your Christian life. It places an individual Christian’s claim to obey and follow Jesus into a real-life setting where authority is actually exercised over us (see John 14:15; 1 John 2:19; 4:20-21). It’s God’s discipling program. 
  12. It builds a witness and invites the nations. Membership puts the alternative rule of Christ on display for the watching universe (see Matt. 5:11; John 12:34-35; Eph. 3:10; 1 Pet. 2:9-12). The very boundaries, which are drawn around the membership of a church, yield a society of people that invites the nations to something better. It’s God’s evangelism program. 
  13.  
    1. Stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24)
    2. Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16)
    3. Build up one another (1 Thess 5:11)
    4. Be of the same mind as one another (Romans 12:13, 15:5)
    5. Comfort one another in the face of death (1 Thess 4:18)
    6. Employ your spiritual gifts in serving one another (1 Peter 4:10)
    7. Pray for one another (James 5:16)
    8. Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)
    9. Be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50)
    10. Encourage one another (1 Thess 5:11)
    11. Greet one another (2 Cor 13:12)
    12. Don’t become boastful in challenging one another (Gal 5:26)
    13. Be kind to one another (Eph 4:32)
    14. Abound in love for one another (1 Peter 1:22)
    15. Live in peace with one another (1 Thess 5:13)
    16. Love one another (2 John 5)
    17. Fervently love one another (1 Peter 1:22)
    18. Have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7)
    19. Don’t judge one another (Romans 14:13)
    20. Take communion (the Lord’s Table) with one another (1 Cor 11:33)
    21. Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
    22. Regard one another as more important than yourself (Phil 2:3)
    23. Bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)
    24. Admonish one another (Rom 15:14)
    25. Serve one another (Gal 5:13)
    26. Do not lie to one another (Col 3:9)
    27. Bear with one another (Col 3:13)
    28. Forgive one another (Col 3:13)
    29. Teach and admonish one another (Rom 15:14)
    30. Care for one another (1 Cor 12:25)
    31. Cloth yourselves with humility toward one another (1 Peter 5:5)
    32. Be hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
    33. Do not complain against one another (James 5:9)
    34. Show forbearance to one another (Eph 4:2)
    35. Speak to one anther in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19)
    36. Give preference to one another (Rom 12:10)
    37. Don’t bite and devour one another (Gal 5:15)
    38. Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21
    39. Seek the good of one another (1 Thess 5:15)
    40. Don’t forsake assembling with one another (Heb 10:25)
     


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