Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

the church

The Purpose of the Church

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the church,new testament church,following Jesus,American dream,comfort,ease,footsteps of Jesus,following Christimage © Dmitriy Shpilko – Fotolia.com

Why does the Church exist? To clarify, I am speaking about both the Church of Christ, that is all who profess to believe and follow Jesus, and the local institutions where we gather together for worship, fellowship, and growth. There really should be no distinction between these two definitions, but at least in the West there seems to be an ever increasing divide between what is meant when we speak of the body of Christ (the Church) and the buildings where we meet (churches). It is revolting and heartbreaking to experience the watered down, feel-good message that is being preached in weekend services, while the true mission of the Church is left neglected.

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Brothers and Sisters

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persecution,church,body of Christ,unity,brothers and sisters,prayer,pray for the persecuted,justice,injusticeimage © africa – Fotolia.com

If you are fortunate to live in a country where you are free to worship as you please, it is vitally important to pray with those in countries where they are not. Notice I said to pray with them and not for them. It is a subtle, yet significant difference. Praying for someone sets up a sort of invisible boundary between you. It invokes thoughts of “us” and “them”. When we pray with someone, we identify with their situation. We place ourselves in their shoes the best that we can. It’s the difference between praying for a family member and an unknown person we have been asked to remember.

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We Could Feed the World

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rick grover,feed the hungry,feed the world,blck friday,christmas spending,christmas shopping,stewardship,the church,life mission

Every now and then you hear a statistic that nearly knocks you off your feet. This week my pastor mentioned in his sermon that $450 billion dollars will be spent on Christmas shopping this year. That’s mind-numbing enough, but he had one more statistic to add. We could feed the entire world for $15 billion. Quick math shows we could feed everyone who is hungry 30 times over, just on what we will spend on Christmas this year alone. We’ve gotten things upside down in the Kingdom. We love to say, “Jesus first”, but our spending habits dictate otherwise.

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Living Light

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kari jobe,we are,light of the world,bill hybels,willow creek

I recently heard a song by Kari Jobe called, “We Are”. The lyrics say, “We are the light of the world/ We are the city on a hill”. Combined with the beautiful melody, it was very moving. Then I began to reflect a bit more and do what I do best: ask questions. As Christians, are the lives we lead really lighting up the world? Are we truly a beacon in the darkness? How many believers listen to songs like the one mentioned above, feel good about the message, and then carry on with their lives as usual? It’s the modern equivalent of always hearing but never understanding (Matthew 13:14). We don’t put our faith into action, or more specifically, we are ever learning but never doing.

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Building the Church

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fiscal responsibility,church buildings,building campaign,unity,church budget

I’ve heard many preachers talk about building the church. It sounds like such a noble thing to say, but it depends on the context. I’ve seen far more churches concerned with building the structure that houses the Church, rather than building up the people who actually comprise the church. Most of the time, I hear the need for a larger building justified by saying that it is required to reach more people for Christ. Really? Jesus told us to go out into all the nations to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20). He never said to build a large facility so that the people of the world would come to us.

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