By Not Known
Today is a celebration of grace as we receive new members into the church. They
are a testimony to the sovereign grace of God. The Father chose them in ‘
eternity, the Son died for them and intercedes for them and the Spirit called
them to faith and now lives in them. Their part is to respond to what God is
doing.
At the end of the membership service the new members will be asked to return
to their seats. But that is only for a moment, for we want active church
members. What kind of action do we want?
We want an active faith in Jesus. Jesus teaches us that it’s the deeds not the
words that count and James backs him up (Mt 7:21 ; Jas 2: 14-26). The Bible tells
stories of women and men with an active faith in order to stir our faith up into
active deeds (Heb 11:1-12:3).
We want active service of Jesus. Every Christian has gifts of service From the Holy
Spirit (1 Cor 12:1-30). Our service is needed and is expected by God. We are to
serve Jesus and his kingdom mission by using our time, talents and treasure as he
pleases.
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We want active fellowship with the people of Jesus. At the very least, we should
all be in church every Sunday that we can. This should be extended by joining
with others to help and encourage one another as we journey through this
present wilderness to eternity (Heb 10:24-25). Our small groups are a key means
to this.
There is an example of this active faith and church membership in Acts 2:41-47.
Baptism signalled the start of a journey and not its end.
When our new members return to their seat they will join the rest of us. Do we
think that all this ‘running around for God‘ is just for the newcomers? Or that we
have done our ‘NS‘ for God and are entitled to rest in the pews. The call to
active faith and membership is for every Christian.
Let’s re-read the membership vows. They are the vows of every church member,
new and old. What actions result from your faith in Jesus? What service are you
giving? What fellowship are you seeking and giving?
Let’s use today’s membership service to review our own membership and
together join in the faith, service and fellowshjp of Jesus.