Today we're going to ask: what does it mean to be a church member?

We far too easily succumb to the spirits of the age, the ideals of the culture, and as we talk about the church, that comes into the equation. The church matters in the plan of God. That's what we've been talking about.

The church is essential for all of us. The church is a divine institution. It's created by, it's maintained by, and it's ruled and loved by Jesus Himself. The church has a mission, we talked about that. The church has an order, we talked about that last week. The church has leaders who are called the shepherd, to protect, to manage the church for the good of the people of the church, for the glory of Christ Himself.

Today as we engage this issue of church membership, we're going to see this, that God intends for His people to be in a covenant relationship with one another. See, when we talk about membership, we talk about authority, we talk about leadership. We talk about responsibilities.

Christ rules through his church. To be a Christian means that you are not your own, that you belong to another whose name is Jesus. To be a Christian means that you also belong to a community which is called the church.

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