Friday, August 23, 2013

082113: Welcome to the TAB #5: Being Part of the Church



Message: Being Part of the Church
I.                   Introduction
a.       Illus: Tie everyone together
b.      We are continuing our welcome to the TAB series by looking at another reason that we meet together.  So far we talked about Being part of God (reading our Bible, worshiping, and praying).  Tonight I want to talk about Being Part of the Church.
II.                Body:
a.       What is the Church?
                                                              i.      The Bible uses different terms to describe the church.
                                                            ii.      One of those words used is Ekklesia.  It is a greek word that meant a group of citizens that were called out by the leader of the group to meet together in order to work together on a common purpose. 
                                                          iii.      It isn’t the building but the people that is being talked about.  If you are a Christian you are the church.
b.      What does it mean to be part of the church?
                                                              i.      Called out
                                                                                i.      We are called by God to be separated from our current path of following our own way and instead following him.
                                                                              ii.      He calls us, He sends others to call us, saying, “Believe in Jesus, make Him your Lord and Savior.”
                                                                            iii.      Everyone is given this call but not everyone accepts the invitation
                                                            ii.      Called to meet together
                                                                                i.      Hebrews 10:25 – “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…”
                                                                              ii.      We aren’t in this alone, nor were we meant to be.  The best and only way the church can be successful is to meet together regularly.
                                                                            iii.      When we do we bind ourselves together.
                                                          iii.      Called to work together
                                                                                i.      1st Corinthians 12:12 – “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
                                                                              ii.      We are made to be a unit that works together, not separately.  If we work together we will be able to accomplish what we set out to do, but if we try to do our faith alone, we will be as useless as a bag of body parts.
                                                                            iii.      But that means that we are all called to do something when we are part of the church, not just attend, but to actually do something.  There are way too many who think being part of the church means just coming to church, but it means doing something as part of the church.
                                                          iv.      Called to accomplish a common purpose
                                                                                i.      We are supposed to gather, we are supposed to do something, but what do we do?  What is our purpose as the church?
                                                                              ii.      Love God
a.       Worship, Pray, Study, Grow, Follow
                                                                            iii.      Love Others
a.       Evangelize, Help with Needs, Give Hope
III.             Conclusion
a.       We need you to be part of the church. 
b.      That means to be saved, come to church, do something while you are here
c.       So, first I wanted to invite any of you that are unsaved to become part of the called out ones.  (Do salvation call)
d.      Next I want to give you an chance to take a challenge (do the egg challenge)

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