Please hit "WEBCASTS"
Hello brothers and sisters, peace be to you all.
As a Christian, I belong to a church. A church is a community that comes together to worship and praise God, encourages and grows together while establishing mutual relationships as a body. We should not just know the truth, but also participate in church to live out the love of Christ.
I can watch a football game in an audience, but I am just a bystander. When the players play well, I can cheer; if they don’t play well, I can jeer. But if I belong to a church, how should I participate or involve myself within the church?
First, in terms of worship.
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Not giving up meeting together means I need to constantly encourage myself to participate in worship at church regardless of how busy I am. I must worship God in church every week. If a person does not participate in church often, this person will become cold over time, like a piece of firewood taken out from a fire, the flames quickly extinguish. Therefore, the life of worship is indispensable to every believer. Remember, every Sunday is God’s time and you must not steal God’s time. We have to return the time to Him and worship Him.
Second, in terms of faith.
Ephesians 4:13 says, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” And Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
The early church focused on fellowship and gathering to center themselves around Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, we are not to depart from the Word of God today. When we go to church and listen to the Word, we are to long for the Word of God. We can be proactive by attending Sunday school and cell groups to regularly and systematically examine the Word of God, so that our faith is rooted and grounded in the Lord. Also, we should read spiritual books and regularly discuss the subject of faith with our teachers. By doing so, we grow deeper in our faith and know God more intimately - our lives will be influenced by Him and change – more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ. This is good.
Truth is a link that cannot be ignored. Hence, we must listen to the truth and know the truth well. Don’t spend your time in a cafe or doing other things during Sunday school hour; instead, study the Word systematically and read it regularly at home.
Third, in serving the Lord.
Romans 12:3-8 say, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Friends, God blesses everyone with different gifts. What is your gift? What aspects of church ministry can you participate in?
First of all, we must understand and know our gifts. Please don’t say you have no gifts straight a way. But how do I recognise my own gifts? For example, let’s say the pastor assigns you to teach Sunday school with 5 other people. A year later the class is only left with 3: your 2 cousins and your household helper. Friends, I afraid you might not have the gift of teaching. However, if you were given 5 children or people to teach and the class grows to 10 people a year later, that means your teaching has blessed many, and that could be your gifts. You are to put your gifts into regular practice, to try them out, and make it a blessing to others.
After we understand our gifts, we are to put them into further use. You can look for your group leader, ministry advisor or pastor and share with them what you wish to get involved in. There are many aspects in the church that allow you to participate, for example:
in Worship service: choir, usher, hospitality, extended care after the service;
in Cultivation: Sunday school teacher, ministry co-worker, small group leader or equipping new believers;
in Care: visitation, counselling, dedication, intercessor (please take note that if you have the gift of counselling, your counsel can accelerate others);
in Witnessing: evangelism, short-term missions, as a counsellor, gospel visits etc.
in Administration: financial management, publicity design, magazine editing, if you think that maybe you do not speak well.
In short, if you are willing to offer yourself with the gifts God has given you, the opportunity to serve will open.
Finally, in terms of evangelism.
Pray for your family members and friends regularly. If you have family members that have not yet accept Jesus Christ, pray for them - ask God to prepare them and surround them with good Christians, to get connected to a church so that they can hear the Word. Perhaps your child is in a foreign country today. Pray for him/her to be connected with good Christians in that country that could lead him/her to the church.
Also, care for the needs of your family members, relatives and friends especially those who are sick. Your regular visits and care can move their hearts. Do not visit them only when there is an evangelistic meeting in the church. Like farmers, we must be ready to plough the soil all the time.
In some cases, our family members may not ready, or have a chance to attend church services, but if you have spiritual books or audio tapes, bring and lend those to them. Sometimes, if you play the audio for yourself, it could be a chance for the family to listen in as well. This could intangibly influence their understanding of the Word and open themselves to the gospel.
Be proactive in inviting family members, relatives and friends to attend special functions or evangelistic meetings in church. Jesus tells us to “go” and invite them instead of calling them. Evangelistic meetings during Mid-Autumn Festival, Easter, Christmas and Parents’ Day are great opportunities provide a time to hear God’s Word. Perhaps, let them participate in church fellowships or small groups so that they feel the zest of Christians. Brothers and sisters, if the church has any good events or important evangelistic meetings, be quick to invite your family members, relatives and friends.
Another way is to invite the pastor or group leader to visit your family or friends who have not yet believed in the Lord. My father might usually be unwilling to listen to the gospel, so I invite church elders whom he knows to visit and pray for him when he is unwell. That’s a good opportunity. Patients want to be blessed with prayer and cared for. So, let us seize these moments to serve God.
How to establish a mutually supporting relationship with brothers and sisters?
According to Acts 2:42-47, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who 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 favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Here we see that the believers in the early church had family groups where they communicate with one another (the original text is ‘fellowship’), and at the same time they partake Communion, praising God together, praying and encouraging each other. The Bible says that they were living together in one accord. In terms of material things, the wealthy believers would sell their possessions and provided for anyone who had a need, establishing a mutually supportive community.
Such love is concrete and tangible – we help brothers and sisters who are in need, and are open to receive assistance from others when in need. Today, when we face pressure, temptation, difficulties and pain. We must return to the church to worship, fellowship and intercede with one another, not just warm the pews for a few hours and go home. We can help each other within the body of Christ, and this type of community is indispensable to the church today.
Different Denominations
Different denominations such as Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist and so on, are just a banner caused by historical factors. Although we are under different banners, all of us believe in Jesus Christ and we are Christians. We might put on different clothing, but we share the same faith. So, let’s put aside our denominations and worship God as one.
Today, besides knowing the truth of the church, we are to participate in the church and serve God together. Let us glorify Him as one.
Thank you for spending this time with us today. Next week, we will be discussing another interesting topic - baptism. Please stay tuned.