Membership Are You In?
1 Peter 5
5 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @ Sunday, November 3, 2024
Before you read any further, the Good News of Jesus from John 3:16 tells us that because of God's love for us, we can be saved, forgiven, and given ETERNAL MEMBERSHIP (for FREE) into His Heavenly Kingdom- and experience His love, peace and belonging here on earth. When you say yes to Jesus' free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, He paid the ultimate membership price- His body and blood- because He loves us. I hope as you read these words, you feel loved and so much joy.
We are talking all about membership the next couple of weeks. I wonder: What are you a member of? And, what did you have to do to become a member? Did you have to pay, or go through some initiation rites? How long did your membership last for? And, who vetted you for membership?
This week we have an election upcoming, where we have the opportunity to exercise our rights to vote in the United States of America, and practice membership duties of sorts- our obligations to being members of society and citizens of our country. And, many people have differing opinions on this as well!
Regardless of your values surrounding voting and all that, as followers of Jesus, we have a dual membership: citizens of the world, and citizens of Heaven, and this impacts how we live in the world, what we do with the time that we are here, and how this dual membership influences our participation in the world.
My hope is that however you vote (or don't), that you will be praying, interceding this week for our communities, cities and our nation as Tuesday approaches.
And, as to the next couple of Sundays, we are going to spend time unpacking what church membership is all about, is it biblical? We will discuss trends in church membership, how people view regular attendance vs membership, and what the whole point of membership is about- from a historic perspective and at NewDay Covenant!
As our church is seeking a new pastor, and moving into the next season of ministry, the participation, support, prayers and commitment of NewDay regular attenders AND members matter so much.
I am grateful for you all! And, look forward to seeing you Sunday.
In Christ,
Pastor Kari
GATHERING FOR SUNDAY
CAN BE FOUND AT:
https://www.facebook.com/NewDayCovenantChurch/
Following the worship gathering, worship services will be uploaded to our website and will be available at www.newdaycov.org/listen.
NewDay Online Giving: https://newday.churchcenter.com/giving
