What is a church?
A church is not a building. It’s not a political organization. It’s not place you go on Sundays. A church is a community. It’s a community of people who love God and love people. And that love is not merely a verbal sentiment, it’s expressed in how we function as a church and how we live our lives.
As in any relationship, one of the ways we love God is by listening to Him. The Bible is God’s self-disclosure. From the prophets in the Old Testament to Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, the Bible speaks to us with more relevance than tomorrow’s newspaper. So when we meet on Sundays or in homes throughout the week, one of the most important things we do is read and study the Bible.
But studying the Bible is not an end to itself, it is a means to an end. Because not only has God revealed Himself to us, He’s also laid out the blueprints for life. So the goal of Bible study is to live a life that advertises the greatness of God and what He’s done for us.
And the way we show God’s greatness is by following His example. You see, His example is that Jesus lived and died for the benefit of others. Not just so that others would be more comfortable, but so that men and women, boys and girls could have their sins forgiven and be reconciled to God. Jesus’ life was radically others-centered. That’s how we love people.
We love people by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. We love people by teaching the life-giving truth of God. We love people by comforting those who are downcast, encouraging those who are discouraged, helping those who are weak, feeding those who are hungry, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, sharing with those in need, lovingly warning those who are going down the wrong path, and a whole host of other ways.
So we hope you’ll peruse our website and join us as we meet every Sunday at 10:30AM in the Dance Barn to celebrate what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
We look forward to meeting you soon,
Pastor Gabriel
