Partnership in the Gospel...

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now
Philippians 1:3-5 NIV

This morning's blog is going to take two posts to do justice to what I read in Philippians 1.

One of the most important aspects of the Christian life is gathering with other believers. I once heard a teacher point out that when God's family gets together, there is no more important place for believers to be. Not even an appointment with the president should preempt gathering with God's family. Why? Because we need to be with one another to encourage each other. We need to remind each other of the reality of the Good News that in spite of our rebellion against God, we are forgiven and righteous because of Jesus' death on the cross. And, because Jesus rose from the grave, not even death will be victorious over us. This reality for all who trust in Jesus is the Gospel. If we neglect gathering with God's people to be encouraged and reminded of this reality, we begin to despair and begin trying to please God by earning our own righteousness. This futility drives us farther into despair and causes us to run from God.

The irony, I suppose, is that when life gets hard, church is one of the first things to go. Honestly, that's human nature. Our first ancestors taught us how to run from God. When they rebelled, they did not run to God's mercy. They ran into the bushes and tried to cover their shameful nakedness with fig leaves.

One day life will get hard for you. You will commit some sin you can't forgive yourself for, or your marriage will go through a rocky time, or maybe you will have a son or daughter who rebels against everything you have taught them. When that happens, you will have a choice. You can run from God, his family and everything that Jesus did for you, or you can run to a church family where you will find the love of God as you are reminded that Jesus completely took the wrath of God for every person who believes in him.

Wherever you attend church, come be reminded of the Gospel this Sunday. If you are looking for a church home in North Texas, come celebrate the truth of the Gospel with us. We get together at 10:30 am, and you're invited.

Click here for a map to our meeting place.