Why do I love my church you may ask?
It isn’t because we are perfect, or even close to it.
A subtle assumption may arise that it should be closer to perfection,
giving way to unrealistic expectations.
The church is made up of sinners saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.
Our Saviour has started a great work in us but it won’t be complete until the day we see Jesus face to face.
Until then we all still stumble in many ways.
Sin is always crouching at our door, waiting to destroy us.
Selfish ambition and bitter envy always follow too closely
Yet despite our many sins and struggles, Jesus still chose to give Himself up for us.
He took our condemnation so that we could become His beautiful bride,
clothed in His righteousness and not our own through repentance and faith in His name.
This marvellous truth gives us very great and precious promises.
The gates of Hell will never destroy the church of Christ.
Our Father in heaven will never forsake us,
because Jesus was forsaken on our behalf on the cross.
The Word of God is the source of our great hope.
It is alive and active, unchanging with the power to change the hardest of hearts.
Through it we learn how to love God with our heart, mind, strength and soul,
and how to love our neighbour as ourselves.
God blesses us with leaders and teachers who help to guide us in the word and ways of God,
who help us stay on the narrow path.
Let us submit to our leaders out of love and reverence for Christ.
When life gets hard, there is safety in being a part of the family of God.
Brothers and sisters all striving together towards the highest prize:
to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known.
It is our highest joy to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord together.
Love is costly and hard.
We will hurt each other and let each other down.
Our love will be proven not only in the good times, but especially in times of hurt and conflict.
Oh what a joy it is to extend the same forgiveness and grace we have so lavishly experienced in Christ.
Reconciliation with God and with each other is the ultimate gift.
May God give us the humility and strength we need to confess our sins to one another,
May He grant us pure hearts as we learn to love as Christ has loved us.
Jesus is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
When we endure tough times, there are treasures in the mess.
God is able to bring beauty from ashes;
for it forces us to give our cares to Jesus, to cling to Him when life is overwhelming.
Prayer is essential.
Without it we can do nothing.
It is the only weapon worth using for our battle is against the dark spiritual forces of this world.
It is so sweet to trust in Jesus, knowing we are still secure because of Him.
Christ must be the foundation, the cornerstone that holds us all together in all the storms of life.
He is the first and the last and in Him we live and have our being.
Find a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching local church to commit to.
It can become a place of such blessing and growth.
Don’t be too quick to leave when difficulties arise.
Nothing compares with seeing God at work in the midst of our personal and corporate weaknesses.
The Lord is truly strong in our weakness. He is the light in our darkness.
There is a joy in serving God and His people.
One day Christ will return to earth and take His Church to live with Him forever.
We cannot imagine what He has prepared for those who love Him.
Until that day, let us seek to worship and glorify Him in everything we do. He alone is worthy.
A God so amazing deserves everything we are,
and one day so soon we will sing our praises in the presence of our God together for all of eternity!