Why Should We Join A Church?

Hebrews 10:25 - "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

A few weeks I wrote a post asking if church membership really matters. You can read that post here. I was surprised how many people shared it and commented on it through social media. The post talked about churches that have a lot of names on their membership rolls of people who no longer attend and the reluctance to remove those names because it makes the church sound "bigger" than it really is.

In this post I want to touch on the same subject, but from a different perspective. In my previous post I focused on the perspective of the church who had all those extra names. Now I want to focus on the individuals who have their names on the rolls of churches they no longer attend. Here is a challenging question, why did we join a particular church to begin with? Was it to please our parents or grandparents? Was it because other young people our age were going through the confirmation/membership process and we just followed the crowd? Were we looking for new friends? Were we looking for business connections that a faith community might offer? Were we looking for a place to have a wedding, funeral or other family experience? None of those reasons are necessarily wrong. But they are probably not the purest motivations for joining a church. When we join churches for these reasons, we are seldom as loyal, committed, and involved as we should be. Joining a church for the wrong motivation often results in an attitude of what can we get from the church instead of what we can contribute to it. We might find ourselves gone for weeks, or months, at a time until a need comes up in our lives that the church might meet.  This is not healthy for us, nor is it healthy for the church.

So why should we join a church? The main reason to join a church is because we agree with their mission and purpose and we want to help move that mission and purpose forward. That does not mean we have to agree with everything in the church, but it does mean that we support the overall direction the church is moving in. It also means we need to do our part to help the church fulfill that mission and purpose. A church filled with people who have this type of motivation will be a healthy church and one that is making a real difference in the community.

Sadly, too many of us want all the benefits of having a church be there for us when we need it, but too few of us are willing to do the work to keep the church healthy between our times of need. That is not realistic. Though churches may be able to eek out some way to survive under those conditions, those churches will not be healthy or making the impact in their community they could be making. 

If we are going to join a church, we must be willing to rearrange our schedule so we are present more than we are absent. We must be willing to rearrange our budget so our financial contributions are enough to actually make a difference. We must be willing to rearrange our leisure time so we can volunteer. This is what it takes to make a church healthy. Yes, it is a big commitment. It is that very commitment that keeps many people from joining a church. But the challenging question we must ask ourselves is, why should we expect other people to do all the work to keep the church there for us so we can just pop in from time to time, enjoy the service, and then disappear for another 3 months? We need to be givers, not takers. We need to be contributors, not users. 

If we have found a church whose mission and purpose we agree with, then we should go through whatever process is required to become members. Then instead of just being a name on a roll, let's be the best members we can be. If we have not yet found such a church, then keep looking because when we find a healthy church and join it, it is a powerful experience worth all the adjustments in time, giving and volunteering.

Lord, help us find a great church and make a genuine commitment to it. Amen.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. He has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Tough Love - Thoughts from Malachi 1

Malachi 1:1-3, 6-9, 14 (HCSB) 

An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. ² "I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask: "How have You loved us?” "Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother?” This is the LORD's declaration. "Even so, I loved Jacob, ³ but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.” ⁶ "A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says the LORD of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.” Yet you ask: "How have we despised Your name?" ⁷ "By presenting defiled food on My altar.” You ask: "How have we defiled You?” When you say: "The LORD's table is contemptible.” ⁸ "When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?" asks the LORD of Hosts. ⁹ "And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts. ¹⁴ "The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King," says the LORD of Hosts, "and My name will be feared among the nations.

Verse 1 - An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.

•               Malachi was the last prophet in the Old Testament. When Malachi finished his ministry, the Lord did not speak through another prophet for 400 years.

•               Very little is known about the man Malachi. He might have been a priest. What is known is that he lived in a time in which people had begun to fall away from their faith.

•               The word “oracle” is from the Hebrew word “masa” and literally means “a burden.”

•               Malachi was burdened by what he saw in his society and felt compelled to try to help people see the error of their ways.

•               Though sometimes prophets are seen as being judgmental, they are actually motivated by a deep burden over the pain they see in the lives of those who chose a lifestyle of sin.

•               What sins do we observe in our culture that burdens us?

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•               What have we done to address those burdens?

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Verse 2 - I have loved you, says the LORD. But you ask: How have You loved us? Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? This is the LORD's declaration. Even so, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.

•               The message that God told Malachi to give to Israel was one of love.

•               Though Malachi was going to be showing “tough love,” it really was God’s love that Malachi was trying to convey.

•               List one example of tough love we have had to show someone else: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

•               Most of us do not like tough love. But real love compels us to do what it takes to actually help others, not just what makes them (or us) feel good for the moment.

•               The Israelites were struggling to hear God’s message of love because of the difficulties in their lives, so they asked Malachi how God had demonstrated His love for them.

•               When we go through a hard time in our own lives, it is easy to begin to feel like God no longer loves us.

•               It is easy to focus on the negative things in life and forget all that God is doing.

•               What are some difficult experiences we are having right now in our lives?

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·               What are positive things God might be doing through the difficulties we listed above?

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•               Malachi used a unique illustration to point out to the Israelites how God had loved them.

•               Malachi said that God loved “Jacob” but hated “Esau.”

•               To understand this illustration we must know a little about history. The Jews descended from Jacob and though they were having a hard time, they had been able to return to their land and rebuild their temple and have a somewhat normal life. This was a demonstration of God’s love for them, even in the midst of their struggles.

•               The Arabs descended from Esau, whose daughter had married Ishmael, and at that point in history had been utterly decimated as a people. They had not yet been able to rebuild their nation. It lay in ruins no matter what they had tried to do.

•               Were the Jews better than the Arabs?

•               Did the Jews deserve to be blessed more than the Arabs?

•               No. Both groups had done wrong and both groups had received the punishment they had deserved.

•               But God, in His mercy and grace, had chosen to help the Jews rebuild their nation.

•               God demonstrated His love to them in this way.

•               Life may not have been perfect for the Jews, but it was far better than many of the people around them.

•               We have all done a lot of stupid things in our lives.

•               We have all received the “rewards” for our mistakes and carry certain burdens as a result.

•               But sometimes God chooses to bless us in spite of ourselves as a demonstration of His love.

•               List some blessings God has given to us in spite of some mistakes we have made:

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•               We should never doubt the love of God in our lives even when things are not going well.

•               We do not have to look far to find someone in far worse shape than we are.

•               Whatever we have, as little as it may seem at the moment, is a gift of love from God.

Verse 6 - A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?

•               God calls those of us who believe in Him, His children.

•               Read John 1:12 and write the main thought of that verse below:

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•               Children are supposed to honor their parents.

•               Read Ephesians 6:1-2 and write the main thought of those verse below:

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•               Unfortunately, the Israelites had forgotten to honor God as their Heavenly Father.

•               List one example of a time we forget to honor God? What was the result?

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•               God calls Christians to reorder our priorities and to follow Him.

•               Read Luke 9:23 and write the main thought of below:

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•               The Israelites had left God off their priority list and were following their own ways, not God’s.

•               Do we ever follow our own way instead of God’s way? Do our priorities get messed up?

Verse 8 - When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?

•               The Jews protested Malachi’s strong words.

•               They did not see their failure to love God nor did they see their failure to follow God’s ways.

•               Malachi points out just one example of how they had failed to love God the way they should have.

•               The Old Testament had very strict guidelines about what the people could bring to sacrifice when they worshipped the Lord.

•               They were supposed to bring a healthy lamb or goat that was at least a year old and looked perfect.

•               The whole point was that it was supposed to cost them something. After all, a sacrifice is not supposed to be free.

•               Instead of doing that, they had been bringing sick animals that they could do nothing else with anyway and giving that as a sacrifice to the Lord. This was really not a sacrifice at all.

•               Malachi points out that if they had tried to pay their taxes with such a sickly animal, the governor would have rejected it. Yet they thought such a sickly animal would be good enough for God.

•               We often think we can give God our leftovers and that it will please Him. List an example of how people in our modern times try to give God leftovers:

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•               We should be offering God our best because we love Him and we want to serve Him.

•               If we gave our spouse or our best friend the kind of love we give God, how long would that relationship last? If someone offered that kind of love to us, how would it make us feel?

Verse 14 - The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord.

•               God was not trying to be mean and demand more than the people could give.

•               God would not have been upset if they had given their best, and their best was not as nice as someone else’s.

•               God was sad because clearly they could have done better but they tried to deceive God.

•               God knows our hearts and sees through all our motivations.

•               God knows when we have given our best and when we have given just enough to try to look good in front of others.

Verse 9 - And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

•               Malachi was trying to help the Jews understand that if they did their least for God, then they should not expect God to bless them.

•               God does often bless us in spite of our behavior, but we should not think we “deserve” those blessings.

•               Too many people think of God as a cosmic ATM machine. They want to drive by the Lord and make a withdrawal anytime they want to.

•               That is not how spirituality works. But even if it did work that way, why would we think we can withdraw something from an account that was already empty!

Verse 14 - . . . For I am a great King, says the LORD of Hosts, and My name will be feared among the nations.

•               Malachi explains that the Lord is a great King.

•               The Lord’s people are supposed to be a great people.

•               If God’s people do not act great, it makes God look bad too.

•               Sometimes God has to give His people tough love so that they can get back in line and live right. But it is still love.

Conclusions from Lesson One:

•               God always loves us, even when we are going through difficult times.

•               God expects us to give Him our best. God knows our inner motivations and whether our effort really is our best or not.

•               We cannot live in ways that do not honor the Lord and still expect God’s blessings on our lives.

•               We must live in a way that proclaims God’s greatness to those around us.

          

         This is an excerpt from the book Malachi: Finding Hope in the Midst of Adversity. You can find the book on Amazon.

Christian Stewardship

Introduction:

When we think of the word “stewardship,” what comes to mind?

How does adding the word “Christian” to the word “stewardship” impact our thoughts on the meaning of the word?

Christian Stewardship is the biblical handling

of our time, our talents and our treasure.

As Christians, our stewardship should be based on the teaching of the Bible, not our culture’s ever changing opinions or whatever the most popular management style is at the moment. How we manage our time, talents and treasure says a lot about what we think is important as followers of Christ.

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our time, we should make sure our regular schedule includes time to study the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15), pray (2 Thessalonians 5:17) and worship with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).

When thinking of Christian stewardship of our talents, we should use our abilities to do our best (Colossians 3:23), to bring honor to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:21), and to serve others (1 Peter 1:4)

When we fail to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasures, our individual faith suffers and so does the church as a whole.

Most of us tend to agree that we should use our time and talents well, but the area of Christian Stewardship we least like to talk about is how we handle our treasure, meaning our possessions and our money. Most of us do not like it when the church starts talking about money. We have visions of fancy buildings or television preachers who spend millions on elaborate life styles. But the vast majority of pastors live modestly and the typical church building is often quite simple. Though talking about money in church sometimes makes us feel uncomfortable, there are THREE important biblical principles we should know for how Christians should handle our treasure.

First Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Our giving should flow out of our love, devotion and gratitude to God, not our of guilt, shame or duty.

Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Jacob made a promise to follow God with his every area of his life, including his money because of his great appreciation for how God was watching over him. He knew God had done a lot for him and his promise to give back to God flowed out of that relationship. Jacob’s vow to give was not motivated by guilt or shame but by thankfulness to God. The same should be true of in our own attitude toward giving.

Second Principle of Christian Financial Stewardship

Trust the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe and receive God’s blessing as a result.

Malachi 3:10

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

God promised that if we gave Him the whole tithe, He would bless us abundantly. This makes no sense to the world, but many Christians can give testimony to the truth of it. We can never out give God.

But what is the whole tithe? The whole tithe is a tenth of what God gives us.

Leviticus 27:30
A tithe (tenth) of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Back in the day when most people were farmers, God asked them to give one tenth of all they grew back to the Lord. This was how the priests who provided spiritual leadership and comfort to the people lived.

Deuteronomy 14:24-25
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe…then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.

God also told them they could give money instead of “stuff” if it was too much stuff to carry. This is how most of us today will give our gifts to God since we most of us are not farmers. We will give money and that is how the pastors and the church will be provided for. It is still okay to give stuff instead of money, so long as it is not junk we are just trying to get rid of. Whatever we give must flow out of a heart of love toward God.

Some people believe that tithing is just an Old Testament thing and that we no longer have to practice it. But Jesus Himself says that tithing is still valid.

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Luke 11:42
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

What Jesus was referring to in these verses was the practice of the Pharisees to grow small window boxes of exotic herbs. The Pharisees were faithful to tithe on these little boxes of herbs but they failed to show justice, mercy, faithfulness and love. On two different occasions Jesus said they needed both in order to be good Christian stewards! They needed to tithe and have a right attitude. Since Jesus Himself endorsed tithing, we know it is still valid in our spiritual walk. But Jesus also taught that the attitude of our hearts were just as important as our gifts to Him. If we give with a wrong attitude, we should next expect a blessing from God.

What attitudes did He want us to have when we give?

Cheerfulness

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Compassion

1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Faithfulness

1 Corinthians 4:2, 16:2
Now it is required in stewards that man be found faithful . . . Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him.

Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Sacrificially

Mark 13:43-44
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Conclusion:

God expects us to be good stewards of our time, talents and treasure. That means following the teachings of the Bible instead of our culture. It also includes handling money in ways that non-Christians might not understand. That includes giving out of love, devotion and gratitude to the Lord. Trusting the Lord enough to give Him the whole tithe, and receive God’s blessing as a result. Making sure when we give our hearts display attitudes of cheerfulness, compassion, faithfulness, generosity, and sacrifice.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has served as a pastor, church planter, author and denominational leader in New England since 1993. He is the proud father of three adult children, a cancer survivor and the author of 8 books. You can find all of his books at http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

The God of Angel Armies

2 Kings 6:16-17 - Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha was being pursued by the king of Aram, one of Israel’s long-time enemies. The king was upset because God had been revealing the king’s battle plans to Elisha through supernatural means. Elisha would then tell his own people those plans so they could intervene. The king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a massive army to surround the city where Elisha lived. The next morning when one of Elisha’s assistants woke up and saw the army, he could not imagine how they would survive the coming attack. Elisha responded by saying, “Those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” Elisha then asked God to open the eyes of his assistant so that the young man could see the supernatural army of horses and chariots of fire that surrounded Elisha’s position. Then God used a miracle to lead the attacking army away, and as a result, the Arameans stopped raiding the Israelite territory.

Though many centuries have passed since that event took place, God is still doing supernatural events around us. We often get so focused on our problems and difficulties that, like Elisha’s servant, we wonder in despair how we will endure. In those times we need to remember that God has legions of angels at His command. We need to remember that God has never been defeated in all of history. God has a plan and is working that plan out for ultimate good in the universe. We need to remember that God’s forces always outnumber the enemy, and in the end, God’s side always wins. We need our eyes to be opened so that we can see what God is doing around us and take comfort in the power He has at His disposal to do things in ways we never could have dreamed of. Our hearts do not need to be troubled. We need to believe in Jesus and look to Him for our hope!

Lord, help us trust You, even when it seems humanly impossible for our situation to work out well. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E

Which God Can Help Us?

2 Kings 1:3 - But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?

King Ahaziah had been injured in an accident and was afraid he would die. Instead of seeking help from God, he sent a messenger to a foreign land to inquire of their false god if he would recover from his injury. Elijah, the prophet of God, met the messenger on the journey and asked, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”

Time and again throughout the history of God’s people, God had proven Himself to them. God had worked miracles on their behalf. It was inconceivable to Elijah, in light of all that God had done for His people, that they would seek advice from a false god. Yet, that is what King Ahaziah did.

As we think about our own lives, we have also witnessed God’s power time and again. How many times have we had some close call in our lives and knew someone must have been watching out for us? How many times have we prayed in a time of crisis and God came through for us? God has been there for us in both big and small ways our entire lives. It is inconceivable that we would seek help from any other source but God. Yet, like King Ahaziah of old, we often do that very thing. We call psychic hotlines. We read fortune cookies. We watch shows on television in which pop-psychologists give us the latest fad in human thinking, even if it goes completely against God’s Word. We dabble in New Age philosophies and Eastern religions seeking truth. We ask friends who do not know the Lord for advice instead of seeking it from the Bible or from trustworthy pastors.

In the biblical story, King Ahaziah died because he sought help from the wrong source. It may sound cruel for God not to help him in his situation, but remember, King Ahaziah did not ask God for help. He asked a false god for help and received exactly the kind of help that false god could provide: nothing. Essentially, God decided to give King Ahaziah what he asked for, and it did not end well. As we consider our own relationship with God, why do we think God will help us when we have called upon everyone but Him in our distress? What if God let all the false hope and bad advice we sought come to fruition in our lives? It would be a disaster.

Thankfully, our God is a God of grace who often helps us even when we do not deserve it. But I do think from time to time He withholds His help while we seek all those other deadends. He wants us to see that those deadends lead nowhere, so that when we finally come back to Him, we will be more faithful than we were before. If we tarry too long in turning back to Him, all we have left is the false hope, false comfort, and false help this world offers. It only leads to disaster. Let’s commit ourselves to turning back to the true God of the universe today and serve Him with all of our hearts.

Lord, remind us to seek help from You in times of need instead of looking to the false hope this world offers. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experienceshttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E