What are
Churches
FOR?

II. The Church is a Gym where you grow strong

Grunts, huffing, weights clanging, or sweat dripping, are not usually the thoughts associated with church! But one image that you find over and over in the New Testament is that of the church as a body ... Christ’s Body! The Church is the Body of Christ on earth. Before, He walked the hills of Judea, showing the Father’s love and doing His will. Now, He is risen and glorified in heaven, and He does the Father’s will through us now. In a sense, we’re His “hands and feet.”

That’s why this “body” needs to be strong. Its job is the most important one on earth. So, Paul says that “the whole body, joined together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). Christian bodybuilding!

What does it take to get strong?

II.A. You need the Bible to grow strong

You can’t grow if you don’t eat! Some eat too fast. Some eat too much junk. But the bottom line is, you can’t get by without food. Your bones need the calcium: your muscles need the protein and the carbos. Your brain even needs fat to function!

Food is what the Bible often calls itself. It says it is milk (Hebrews 5:12), meat (Hebrews 5:14), bread (Deuteronomy 8:3), seed (Mark 4:14), and even honey (Psalm 119:103). Peter says that just like newborn babies can hardly eat enough of that sweet milk only God could provide, so we ought to be aching with hunger for the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). That’s why at our church, we serve a lot of meals from the Scriptures, We want there to be plenty of nourishment to go around.

We think the most balanced diet comes through “expository” teaching. This means taking a book of the Bible and systematically, sequentially, studying or teaching it, from beginning to end. We strive, in handling God’s Holy Word, to be accurate, clear, and practical.

The best way not to be bullied around by false teachers, who would lead you astray, is to be strong through knowing God’s Word. The best way to not be weak when temptation calls your name, is to be strong of heart through knowing the Scriptures.

Our goal is to teach God’s Word consistently, accurately, and thoughtfully, preparing simple, honest meals for the soul. We don’t want you walking around hungry!

II.B. You need fellowship to grow strong

You can’t grow by yourself. You need other Christians. We need one another. It’s as simple as that. Have you ever noticed how many things there are that you can’t do by yourself? You can’t sing in a choir by yourself; who’ll sing the other parts? You can’t play on a basketball team by yourself; even if you’re open under the hoop, who’ll pass it to you? You can’t seesaw, run a relay, have children, do surgery, or square dance, by yourself. And you can’t be a mature Christian by yourself.

Hebrews 10:24-25 is a key passage of Scripture for understanding why we need each other.

"Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

We need each other for encouragement. And you can’t do that by yourself! Even if you don’t need encouragement at the moment, you can’t give it without someone to give it to!

Have you ever noticed the “one another’s in the Bible?” Here’s a list of just some of the things Christians are to do for each other:

Romans 12:10 “be devoted to one another in love.”
Romans 12:16 “live in harmony with one another.”
Romans 14:13 “stop judging one another.”
Romans 15:7 “accept one another.”
Galatians 5:13 “serve one another.”
Galatians 6:2 “bear one another’s burdens.”
1 Thessalonians 4:18 “comfort one another.”
Hebrews 3:13 “encourage one another.”
1 Peter 1:22 “love one another.”

Whew! That’s enough to keep us all busy! And think of which of these assignments you could pull off by yourself. It’s like trying to clap with one hand!

II.C. The Body is strongest when it’s on its knees

Jesus did incredible, never-before-seen wonders. Eyes bulged and mouths dropped open at feats of power, accomplished often by only a word from our Lord. “Be still!” He said, and a blustery storm, in an instant, was still. “Be cleansed,” was His command, and a leper’s skin went from looking like the moon’s surface to being Oil-of-Olay smooth, in one second. He gave thanks for a few buns and dried sardines, and more than 5,000 people feasted! What a king! Almighty God in human form!

Yet once, after Jesus had been preaching and healing late into the previous night, His disciples awoke and found Jesus had gone off early, before sunrise, to pray to His Father. Think of that. Jesus spent time in prayer! He created the world. He was called “Immanuel”- “God with us.” Thomas called Him, “my Lord and my God!” And yet, while He was on earth, doing His Father’s will, Jesus had to pray! God the Son, praying to God the Father. It goes beyond our comprehension!

Yet we do learn one lesson from this. If Jesus had to pray when He was here on earth, how much more do we! The Father has work for us; He has a plan and mission for us to accomplish. If our Lord needed to pray to the Father in order to see His mission fulfilled (and He is Lord of Lords!), it just makes sense that we normal humans have to learn to pray for our needs, goals, and brothers and sisters in Christ as much and as well as we can!

"We still find it hard to believe today that Prayer is more important than action." -Jacques Ellul