THE VALUE OF THE CHURCH

“The local church is the hope of the world" ~ Bill Hybels

"Church isn't where you meet. Church isn't a building. Church isn't what you do.
Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus
Christ. Let's not go to Church, let's be the Church." ~ Bridget Willard

"I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." ~
Jesus

"My prayer is that we will let God build the church His way as we await our
Lord’s return." ~ John MacArthur

"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her
to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless." ~ The Apostle PaulSome people hate church...some have
childhood memories of church, but feel like church is irrelevant to their lives
today. Some people seem to thrive on the connections and relationships that they
find in church. Regardless of your feelings about church, the church is God’s
primary way to accomplish His purposes on earth today.

You might hear statements like, ''I don't have to go to church to be saved. I
don't have to belong to a church to be a Christian. I can worship God in my
heart.'' I’ve heard this popular dodge numerous times. It's sometimes difficult
to refute because it happens to be true . . . to a point. Nothing you do and
nothing you can join makes you a Christian. The Bible makes it abundantly clear
that Jesus is the only Way; that no one comes to the Father except through Him.

So what is the value of the church?


Consider this:

Church is a family....a shelter, a place of safety and friendship, hope and
direction. In church, Pains are divided, joys are multiplied. Members weep with
those weeping and rejoice with those rejoicing! Life is shared. There is nothing
like the local church when the local church is working right! It transforms
lives heart by heart… soul by soul… life by life.

This isn’t new....its how God designed the Church. There was once a community of
believers who were so totally devoted to God that their life together was
charged with the Spirit’s power. In that band of Christ-followers, believers
loved each other with a radical kind of love. They took off their masks and
shared their lives with one another. They laughed and cried and prayed and sang
and served together in authentic Christian fellowship. THAT’S THE CHURCH!

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled
with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All
the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their
possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the
favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were
being saved. ~ Acts 2:42-47