By: Mrs. Strub
Our oldest child, Rebecca, just graduated from high school. You’ll recognize her as Miss Strub from the riflery and tomahawk throwing ranges! I’m thinking about what words of wisdom I can give her as she begins life on her own. One thing I hope every young person knows is that being in church each week is part of a successful life.
1. The Church is the body of Christ
First, I want you to know that the church is the body of Christ. We know what a church is, and we know what our bodies are. How is the church a BODY?
READ Colossians 1:18 “He is head of the body, the church…”
In our bodies the head is VERY important! Our high school principle recently lost part of her thumb in an accident. But you can live without thumbs. We can function without many body parts, but one part we can’t do without is our head. Our head directs all of our other body parts. And Jesus is the head of the church. HE is responsible for keeping it going and deciding where it will go and what it will do. And if you are in the church, he is your head - your Lord, too.
What else does the Bible say about church being Jesus’ body?
READ I Corinthians 12:18-27.
In church, we get spiritual, emotional, and physical help. We go through life’s up’s and downs together. We depend on each other, and we need each other. We’re all different; we’re all needed. And church isn’t just for us.
READ John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son...”
When we’re willing to be the hands of feet of Jesus in this world, people around us feel Jesus’ love for them.
2. Commit to being part of a church
Secondly, I want to challenge you to commit to being part of a church. The church is a wonderful place to be, but it’s also challenging. It’s just like family.
Real and lasting love was highlighted in a famous marriage in 2018. Barbara Bush died on April 17, 2018. She and her husband, George Bush, were married for 73 years. They promised to love each other “until death do us part” and they were married until death parted them. Real love, and great church life involves commitment to each other. You know from the very start that the relationship is going to take hard work. You refuse to walk away when things get tough.
READ Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
How does knife sharpening work? When you’re using a file, one piece of iron smooths off the rough, uneven edges of another piece of iron. In the church, we smooth off each other’s sins and character flaws. The process may be painful, but the end result is wonderful! We help each other learn and grow. I’ve heard many people say that they don’t want to be part of a church because somebody hurt them, or because of drama, or people are not living out their beliefs. I’ve seen young people stop attending church because they don’t think it helps them. But if we do church the way Jesus tells us to, we learn and grow from the challenge. Our rough edges get worn off. We look and ACT more and more like our Lord. Don’t miss out on being part of church!
READ Hebrews 10:25
Today I wanted to encourage you to make church a part of your life. While it might seem like people are in charge of the church, Jesus is the true head of the church and of each member’s life. In the church, members support each other. And while church life might be messy and difficult at times, God still wants us to experience church life together. It’s good for us personally, and good for our world.
Apply what you learned:
1. What are some of the ways Jesus leads us?
2. How have you grown from being a member of a church in the past or present? If you’re not a part of a church yet, how did being part of our Christian group at SEP help you?
3. What do you do to show people true love?
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