June Newsletter: Church Talk

Services

Sunday -9:15 AM Bible Study / 10:30 AM Worship Service / 6:00 PM Evening Service --- Wednesday - 6:15 Bible Study & PBYF

by: Elder Randy Waters

06/06/2026

0

 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools:  for they consider not that they do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:1

The church is the body of Christ because it is made up of people whom God has saved or is saving by His grace. These people have a function of faith given to them by the Holy Spirit and that function or purpose is to glorify the One who saved them. The body is a good metaphor for the church in that it works together, each part having a part and participating in what the body does, its influences and directions. Some parts of this body are more obvious than the others yet, the hidden or unseen ones usually do the most important work.

Believers are in a sense, the hands and feet of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ chose twelve men to do a special work in building His church even though He could have done it all by Himself. Later, He would send seventy on a special mission of healing and proclaiming the good news of the gospel. After His death, burial, and resurrection and just before His ascension back to His Father, Jesus Christ left His church a work order. His mission was finished, but His church was just beginning. We outh to take this mandate more seriously than we do. Theologians call it "The Great Commission!" The "Co" implies commitment not complacency. Being committed to the church is the same as being committed to Jesus Christ. This commitment is more constraining when we remember that the church was purchased by the blood of Jesus.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

The main part of the body is the head. A headless body is a dead body. Nobody is anybody who doesn't have a head. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. This is why the church will always prevail. The devil and all his demons cannot stop Christ's church, neither in function nor in building. This is because of the resurrection which is where the serpent's head was bruised as predicted. Even though Jesus' pains were horrific on the cross of Calvary, His head was not hurt other than the scratches from the crown of thorns He word. His linen grave clothes were left neatly folded in an empty tomb, the veil had been torn apart. The palm brances strewn in the streets of Jerusalem testified of a truth in the midst of tough times:  Victory in Jesus!

There may be times some folks dread church. There may be times folks aren't fed in church. But there is no such things as a dead church! The church is alive because Chris is alive. We serve a living Savior and the best place to serve Him is in His church. This is why we call it "church service" when we gather for worship. It is important we get the service part right though. Sometimes we think God is supposed to serve us rather than we are to serve Him. We also have a tendency to treat prayer like this when we don't listen to God, yet we expect Him to listen to us. God doesn't work that way nor does His church. The tail doesn't wag the dog, the dog wags the tail.

The church is the greatest institution on Earth though it extends into Heaven and immortal glory. True Christians value the church above all other places, primarily because Christ dieed on the cross for her, but also because other Christians go there and they love being with them. Attending church is surely one of the gretest privileges we have on Earth and should never, ever be taken for granted. There are lots of genuine, salt of the earth Christians who cannot go to church, either because of health problems or providentail hinderances; but, they would be there if they could -- listening to preaching, singing hymns, and fellowshipping with the brethren. They miss it too -- just ask them! Actually, they often will tell you haow much they miss the church without even being asked. Let's take a break from all the summer fun and activities we plan and appreciate, and consider what it means to go to the house of God, why we go, and the mindset we ought to have when we get there.

Leave the Word

It's easy to miss the blessings of worship when we're bothered with things which really don't matter, eternally speaking. In other words, we shouldn't go to church thinking about worldly things. Just like it's best not to take your work home with you, it will work better not to take your work or your worries to church with you either. Those two usually pair up pretty good. Either we have so much work we are worried we won't get it all done or else we worry because we don't have enough work to do. God gives us six days to do our work just so we can give Him one day without work. God didn't allow many excuse for working on the Sunday Sabbath of the New Testament. As far as worry is concerned, there is absolutely no room for worry in a Christian's life, though most of us seem to add a room for it. A worried Christians cannot worship in spirit and turth the God who says not to worry.

The church of the Living God is described in the Bible as the Bride of Christ. God, in establishing the marriage institution, included a very important prerequisite to that relationship; it is leaving.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24
No marriage between a man and a woman will make it without some leaving off of less important things. The same is true for the church relationship. If you're not getting anything out of church is may be because you're bringing too many unnecessary things and thoughts with you to God's house.

One thing we should never leave when we come to church is our burdens. Never let your problems keep you from attending worship service. Jesus Christ is the greatest burden bearer and beckons us to cast our care upon Him. A young husband and father recently told me that as soon as he got settled, he and his family were going to find a church to attend. I toled him that he should find a church and then he would be settled.

Listen to God

Never go to church to listen to a preacher. Go to church to hear God's Word! Surely, we preachers desire God to speak through us, yet men will be men and "ego" stands for edging God out. Besides, preachers are a dime a dozen. There is one on every corner and you can find one to say just what you want him to by clicking a key on your computer or iPhone. God though is different because He is Holy and He created all things, even us. The wisest man on Earth other than Jesus Christ gives us good advice when it comes to who and what we are to listen to.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13
Just to know that God has ordained a place dedicated to listening to His Word should move and motivate us to have awe and respect for that place. Abnd that place is called the church! Fames athlete and football star Bo Jackson said that Bear Bryant, the legendary coach at the University of Alabama, called him once in a recruiting effort. Bo Jackson saidy that people in the neighborhood started coming to his house just to see the phone which Coach Bryant called him and talked to him on. You never know, when you go to church this Sunday, the preacher in the pulpit may be the phone that God calls you on!

Look to Jesus

Without a doubt, the most important reason we go to church is to exalt and praise the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the head of the church not only verifies the church as a living entity, but is also the most identifiable feature of the church's character and purpose. The church is the place where we preach about Jesus, sing about Jesus, pray in Jesus' name, adn fellowship with other people He has saved. Going to church causes us to look to Jesus and that is exactly where we should be looking. If the church you are attending isn't causing you to look to Jesus, then you should go to another church.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man belifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:14-15
Looking to Jesus keeps us from falling. Most of the falls I have taken in my life came because I was not looking where I was going. We we look to Jesus, we can always see where we are going for He is the Light of the World. We look to Jesus by looking at His Word. There is life in a look! Sometimes Jesus shows up when we're not even looking for Him, but when we go to church we're going to the most likely place to find Him. The truth is, we can find Jesus most anywhere if we are looking for Him. The problems we face often are focus problems. We look at the wrong things or else we look at the right things for the wrong reasons. If we look at ourselves, we won't find much worth looking at. When we look at others, we see only the outside and even though books are hard to judge by their covers, we'll do it anyway.

Going to church and looking to Jeus are like peas in a pod. They go together and provide nourishment too. Probably the best witness Christians have is going to church. This is because what we're looking at affects others. If you or I go to the courthouse square and stand there on the lawn looking up toward the sky, other people will turn their eyes in the same direction. Looking to Jesus is the right, or maybe the righteous way to go to church; but , it is serious business and not just for the religious crown. We must never forget that God knows what we are looking to. If you don't want to get caught between a rock and a hard place, never let God look at you when you are not looking at Him.

Brother Randy

Blog comments will be sent to the moderator

 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools:  for they consider not that they do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:1

The church is the body of Christ because it is made up of people whom God has saved or is saving by His grace. These people have a function of faith given to them by the Holy Spirit and that function or purpose is to glorify the One who saved them. The body is a good metaphor for the church in that it works together, each part having a part and participating in what the body does, its influences and directions. Some parts of this body are more obvious than the others yet, the hidden or unseen ones usually do the most important work.

Believers are in a sense, the hands and feet of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ chose twelve men to do a special work in building His church even though He could have done it all by Himself. Later, He would send seventy on a special mission of healing and proclaiming the good news of the gospel. After His death, burial, and resurrection and just before His ascension back to His Father, Jesus Christ left His church a work order. His mission was finished, but His church was just beginning. We outh to take this mandate more seriously than we do. Theologians call it "The Great Commission!" The "Co" implies commitment not complacency. Being committed to the church is the same as being committed to Jesus Christ. This commitment is more constraining when we remember that the church was purchased by the blood of Jesus.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20

The main part of the body is the head. A headless body is a dead body. Nobody is anybody who doesn't have a head. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. This is why the church will always prevail. The devil and all his demons cannot stop Christ's church, neither in function nor in building. This is because of the resurrection which is where the serpent's head was bruised as predicted. Even though Jesus' pains were horrific on the cross of Calvary, His head was not hurt other than the scratches from the crown of thorns He word. His linen grave clothes were left neatly folded in an empty tomb, the veil had been torn apart. The palm brances strewn in the streets of Jerusalem testified of a truth in the midst of tough times:  Victory in Jesus!

There may be times some folks dread church. There may be times folks aren't fed in church. But there is no such things as a dead church! The church is alive because Chris is alive. We serve a living Savior and the best place to serve Him is in His church. This is why we call it "church service" when we gather for worship. It is important we get the service part right though. Sometimes we think God is supposed to serve us rather than we are to serve Him. We also have a tendency to treat prayer like this when we don't listen to God, yet we expect Him to listen to us. God doesn't work that way nor does His church. The tail doesn't wag the dog, the dog wags the tail.

The church is the greatest institution on Earth though it extends into Heaven and immortal glory. True Christians value the church above all other places, primarily because Christ dieed on the cross for her, but also because other Christians go there and they love being with them. Attending church is surely one of the gretest privileges we have on Earth and should never, ever be taken for granted. There are lots of genuine, salt of the earth Christians who cannot go to church, either because of health problems or providentail hinderances; but, they would be there if they could -- listening to preaching, singing hymns, and fellowshipping with the brethren. They miss it too -- just ask them! Actually, they often will tell you haow much they miss the church without even being asked. Let's take a break from all the summer fun and activities we plan and appreciate, and consider what it means to go to the house of God, why we go, and the mindset we ought to have when we get there.

Leave the Word

It's easy to miss the blessings of worship when we're bothered with things which really don't matter, eternally speaking. In other words, we shouldn't go to church thinking about worldly things. Just like it's best not to take your work home with you, it will work better not to take your work or your worries to church with you either. Those two usually pair up pretty good. Either we have so much work we are worried we won't get it all done or else we worry because we don't have enough work to do. God gives us six days to do our work just so we can give Him one day without work. God didn't allow many excuse for working on the Sunday Sabbath of the New Testament. As far as worry is concerned, there is absolutely no room for worry in a Christian's life, though most of us seem to add a room for it. A worried Christians cannot worship in spirit and turth the God who says not to worry.

The church of the Living God is described in the Bible as the Bride of Christ. God, in establishing the marriage institution, included a very important prerequisite to that relationship; it is leaving.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24
No marriage between a man and a woman will make it without some leaving off of less important things. The same is true for the church relationship. If you're not getting anything out of church is may be because you're bringing too many unnecessary things and thoughts with you to God's house.

One thing we should never leave when we come to church is our burdens. Never let your problems keep you from attending worship service. Jesus Christ is the greatest burden bearer and beckons us to cast our care upon Him. A young husband and father recently told me that as soon as he got settled, he and his family were going to find a church to attend. I toled him that he should find a church and then he would be settled.

Listen to God

Never go to church to listen to a preacher. Go to church to hear God's Word! Surely, we preachers desire God to speak through us, yet men will be men and "ego" stands for edging God out. Besides, preachers are a dime a dozen. There is one on every corner and you can find one to say just what you want him to by clicking a key on your computer or iPhone. God though is different because He is Holy and He created all things, even us. The wisest man on Earth other than Jesus Christ gives us good advice when it comes to who and what we are to listen to.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13
Just to know that God has ordained a place dedicated to listening to His Word should move and motivate us to have awe and respect for that place. Abnd that place is called the church! Fames athlete and football star Bo Jackson said that Bear Bryant, the legendary coach at the University of Alabama, called him once in a recruiting effort. Bo Jackson saidy that people in the neighborhood started coming to his house just to see the phone which Coach Bryant called him and talked to him on. You never know, when you go to church this Sunday, the preacher in the pulpit may be the phone that God calls you on!

Look to Jesus

Without a doubt, the most important reason we go to church is to exalt and praise the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, as the head of the church not only verifies the church as a living entity, but is also the most identifiable feature of the church's character and purpose. The church is the place where we preach about Jesus, sing about Jesus, pray in Jesus' name, adn fellowship with other people He has saved. Going to church causes us to look to Jesus and that is exactly where we should be looking. If the church you are attending isn't causing you to look to Jesus, then you should go to another church.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man belifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:14-15
Looking to Jesus keeps us from falling. Most of the falls I have taken in my life came because I was not looking where I was going. We we look to Jesus, we can always see where we are going for He is the Light of the World. We look to Jesus by looking at His Word. There is life in a look! Sometimes Jesus shows up when we're not even looking for Him, but when we go to church we're going to the most likely place to find Him. The truth is, we can find Jesus most anywhere if we are looking for Him. The problems we face often are focus problems. We look at the wrong things or else we look at the right things for the wrong reasons. If we look at ourselves, we won't find much worth looking at. When we look at others, we see only the outside and even though books are hard to judge by their covers, we'll do it anyway.

Going to church and looking to Jeus are like peas in a pod. They go together and provide nourishment too. Probably the best witness Christians have is going to church. This is because what we're looking at affects others. If you or I go to the courthouse square and stand there on the lawn looking up toward the sky, other people will turn their eyes in the same direction. Looking to Jesus is the right, or maybe the righteous way to go to church; but , it is serious business and not just for the religious crown. We must never forget that God knows what we are looking to. If you don't want to get caught between a rock and a hard place, never let God look at you when you are not looking at Him.

Brother Randy

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