Ezra and the Church
Ezra is very actively involved in our local churches. Patrick, Oskar, and Steve all attend New Life Family Foursquare Church in Clinton, In. Everyone has spent time on their church praise team. Oskar has been involved with the church’s local food pantry; Patrick has been actively playing guitar and providing assistance as the church’s sound tech. Steve has not missed a fellowship meal since he got back in church. As for Brandon he is actively involved in New Hope Community Church in Rosedale, In. Brandon is the worship leader, children’s director, and Youth Pastor at New Hope. Church is very important to Ezra and we stand along side of the Church and it’s commitment to serve the Lord. Ezra its self is not a church it is an extension of the local church.
Essential Aspects of a Godly Church
No church is perfect it has been said that if you find a perfect church it won’t be perfect anymore, because no one is perfect. But here are some essential aspects of a Godly church.
First a church should be full of Christians. The church as we think it is, is not for unsaved people. I may be going on a limb here when I say that. You see our local body of believers think that “church” is having worship services on Sunday, having grand choirs, wonderful worship teams, big beautiful buildings, meeting for Sunday School, singing 12 verses to Amazing Grace and then having a someone get up and preach sending us home feeling warm and fuzzing, but it’s not. The church is the people and the church is first saved born again Christians. Yes, we as the body of believer are commanded to preach the gospel of Christ to every creature, but when we have meetings, like what we call having church, they should be geared toward the Christian. The church has got things mixed up today they think that there job is to get people to come to a building and let the preacher win them to Christ. Can this be done, yes, but were missing the point of the church. Our job is to win them to the Lord and then bring them to church, because the church is for Christians, get it. The Bible say that the pastors main job is to train and teach the saints not to win people to Christ. Now don’t get me wrong, yes the pastor as an individual believer is to win souls to Christ, but as a position of a pastor his job is to teach and equip the church to win souls and then bring them in Ephesians 4:11-13. I’m not saying that regular scheduled worship services; Bible studies, Sunday School, youth meetings or whatever is not a good place for an unsaved person to get saved. I’m saying that the church is a local body of believing Christians. The church was first called Christians in Acts (Acts 11:26). When looking at it from a spiritual stand point Christian means to be Christ like being Disciples --- Followers, Learners. When the church was first called Christians it was a joke, which meant Little Christ’s. Our main objective is to be more like Christ. Attributes of a true Christian is found in Gal. 5:22,23. A Christian should show Love, Joy, Peace, Patience (Long-suffering), Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. I know of people who are saved but are not Christians. A Christian is not perfect but they should show attributes that are given in Galatians. They should be ones first seeking the kingdom of God, learning and following everything they can according to the scriptures.
Secondly the church should be in complete fellowship one with another. Fellowship means the condition or relationship of belonging to the same class or group; Friendly relationship; companionship, community of interest, feeling; Friendliness; association persons having similar interests (Christian belief). The church should love their Neighbor (A neighbor is “One who Shows mercy!) as themselves!!! Matt. 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-33. True fellowship is not holding grudges Lev. 19:18, showing love for the alien (those that are different) Duet. 10:19, showing love for your enemies & pray for them Matt. 5:43-48, blessing those who persecute you --- BLESS, NOT CURSE! Rejoice & weep with each other. Rom. 12:14-20, those who pursue peace & those that build up of one another Rom. 14:19, those that following the story of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37, given to hospitality --- help those are in need, caring for your own --- Christians helping Christians and caring for those around you --- Christians helping the unsaved (Verses for Hospitality: Heb. 13:1,2; Rom. 12:13; I Peter 4:9; Matt. 25:35,36 “For the Pastor” I Tim. 3:2) A good church should have good fellowship.
Thirdly a good church should be the “Church” --- The Body of Christ
The local church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel (Acts 2:41,42). They are to observe the ordinances of Christ (I Cor. 11:2). The church should be governed by His laws (Eph. 1:22-23) and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word (Eph. 4:11;I Cor. 12:4; 8:11). The church’s scriptural officers: qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the scriptures (Acts 14:23; 6:5-6; 15:23; 20:17-28; I Tim 3:1-13). The church’s true mission is found in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20): to win souls through the teachings of scripture, to build up the church by baptism, to teach and instruct (discipleship), as He has commanded. (We should not believe in the reversal of this order.) A true church knows that it is scriptural for churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel; that every church, through the scriptures, is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation (Acts 15:22; Jude 2-3; II Cor. 8:23-24; I Cor. 16:1; Mal. 3:10; Lev. 27:32; I Cor. 5:11-13)
You as a Christian may ask, Why should believers go to church?
They should go to obey Bible teaching Acts 2:41. To gain instruction (Ephesians 4:11-13) from the Pastor and other qualified teachers. A pastor is called by God to be the overseer and Shepard of the church or congregation. Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2,3. The Pastor should be the ruling Elder and shall oversee all the functions of the church. His qualifications should be examined in light of I Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Believers should go to church to find a place of service whether is be Ministers: Assistant Pastors, Associate Pastors, Youth Pastors, & Elders Mark 10:43-45, Deacons (Servant) I Timothy 3:8-13, other officers: Trustee, Treasurer/Clerk, counselors, worship leaders, etc.
What happens if a believer does not attend church? --- The local church is God-ordained. To disobey God’s Word is to SIN (Disobedience James 4:17) against God. Christians are clearly not to forsake the local church. Heb. 10:25 it can result in a loss of testimony/ fellowship John 15:14
You see God ordained the church for us so we grow as Christians and in fellowship one with another. The church is for “us” wow what a great gift. Maybe through this you might see your church a little bit differently than you did before.
What A Church Should not be!!! 2 Timothy 3:2-7; Revelation 3:15-18 (luke-warm)
Have no Fellowship with this kind of Church!!! II Thessalonians 3:6, 14,15
