Don’t Just Go To Church, “Be The Church!”
Each of us needs other people. None of us are totally self-sufficient, though we may very well think we are. God gives different gifts to different people so that we have to work together for the common good of all. God does this for He wants His people to gather for regular fellowship, worship, discipleship and ministry. New believers need a family to teach, encourage them, protect and generally help them. We at Lakeland want to be that Church, to be “The Church!”
“Island” Christians who avoid meeting together rarely live out the biblical commands to love, encourage and help one another. They live as if they are self-sufficient, they tend to not publicly acknowledgement that they are followers of Jesus. We cannot be “bear one another’s burdens” by avoiding fellowship. No Christian can say to another, “I do not have any need of you.”
God did put us here on Earth to do a certain work that only we can do. Ephesians says that God made us to do good works and that He planned in advance what we would spend our lives doing. But, He didn’t plan for us to do that work alone. We need people to work with us. We at Lakeland want to work with you as much as we you to work with us!
God tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:9 that “two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together” (NCV). By working as a team, so much more can get done. Having good teammates alongside you is more fun and way less tiring! We want you to be a part with us, doing Church together. As you journey through life, remember that you need people to walk alongside you, but you also need other people to work alongside you. As you share the the work with other believers, you find that you actually accomplish more for the glory of God. And that is what this is all about!
