I. What is a local church?

    1. The local church is a portion of members from the worldwide local body of Christ that meet, fellowship, and worship together in a specific location.

        a. Matt. 18:20; Phil. 1:27; 1 Cor. 14:23, 26.

    2. The universal church is built by Jesus Christ and is founded upon the revelation of who He is. There is only ONE church. There are not "churches". Nevertheless, there are local assemblies of believers of all different types and denominations who make up the one universal body of Christ. These are called local churches (Matt. 16:16-18).

II. Why join a local church?

    1. There is no such thing as lone Christianity. We need one another. All of us together can stand and destroy the strongholds of the enemy.

        a. Matt. 16:18

    2. We are the body of Christ. The members of a body should not be severed and seperated - 1 Cor. 12:12-27

    3. No Christian can enjoy any real success without the fellowship of other believers. One cannot claim to be a true Christian and not have the inward desire to fellowship with others in the Body of Christ.

III. Benefits of the local church (Part 1)

    1. Bible teaching - 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 3:2; 1 Tim. 3:2.

    2. Fellowship - Acts 2:42; 46-47; 1 John 1:7.

    3. Encouraging one another - 1 Thess. 5:11; 1 Cor. 14:26.

IV. Benefits of the local church (Part 2)

    1. Praying together - Matt. 18:18-20; Acts 1:14; 4:24-32; 5:12; 12:1-11.

    2. Evangelism - Acts 5:14; 8:1-4

    3. Access to the elders for prayer - James 5:14-15.

CONCLUSION: Hebrews 10:25 tells us "You should not stay away from the church meetings, AS SOME ARE DOING. But you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming." (The Everyday Bible).

The church is necessary for our spiritual growth. It is necessary for our ministry to others. Those who do not attend church on a consistent basis are those who do not have much victory in their walk with Christ. The local church is important and attendance is necessary.

Find a church that believes in the above benefits we have mentioned. Do not attend dead churches. Find a local church and commit yourself to it. Support the church financially and with your time. Arrive on time for all services and submit yourself to the godly spiritual leaders of that assembly.

E-mail: victoryword@yahoo.com

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(c) Copyright 2001 by Troy J. Edwards and Victory through the Word Ministries