THE MINISTRIES OF THE LOCAL CHURCH!

THE MINISTRIES OF THE LOCAL CHURCH!

Heb 2:12

I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

           The word Church is used in our English Bible about 68 times. It is translated from ekklesia, a compound Greek word which means a “called out assembly.” Its first mention deals with rules for disciplining an unruly member in Matthew 18:17 in which “telling it to the church” is the final court of appeals.

           The Church functions as the vehicle for all of God’s projects and programs. If you were to grab a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and trace the path of those 68 references, you would find that the church is the source of worship, outreach and evangelism, missionary endeavor, and the response to social needs. The church is all those things.

           The person who begins to withdraw from the Lord usually begins by withdrawing from His Church. Maybe it is not a complete abandonment of the place of worship but rather a retreat to a level of involvement that feels safer to the one walking away. Although most think that no one will notice, it is very noticeable indeed. Both your growth and your shrinking are easily seen. It’s called fruit.

Eph 3:21

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.