Rev. Zach

Genesis 17:1-7 Ephesians 2:1-10 John 4:1-42 Today is part three of a three-part series based on scriptures that reflect on topics from the book, I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer. The first week we talked about being functional members, and not just of this congregation but also of the body of Christ. Last week we talked about the way in which being members of a body requires us to work for greater unity – not uniformity but unity in purpose, unity in love for one another that draws even an enemy into a closer embrace. This week we are going to talk a little about the way that church membership is a gift from God. Yes. I will be so bold as to say that being a member of this congregation is a dispensation of God’s grace. You see, I believe that there is a certain aspect of calling that is a part of joining and being part of a church, and it is God who calls us. When I say joining and being a part of, that means that our calling is not just to join. Our calling is to ...

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Ephesians 4:1-3 John 13:34-35 Today is part two of a three-part series based on scriptures that reflect on topics from the book, I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer. Last week we talked about being functional members. If you weren’t here, then you missed out on your opportunity to participate in a trust fall! It was pretty amazing. John, who just joined two wee ks ago, stood on a box my grandfather made that was labeled “The Promises” so that he could “stand on the promises of Jesus.” One of the volunteers was Liam, one of our children who just recently moved up from the Young Disciple’s class and he took responsibility for the alignment of the group and made sure that John’s head would be protected. John was caught by a good mix of new and older members in both age, gender, and tenure of membership. It was about as perfect an illustration for what it means to be functional members of the church as you could have, thanks be to God. I proba...

Joel 2:23-32     1 Corinthians 12:12-31     Luke 5:1-11 Today begins a three-part series based on scriptures that reflect on topics from the book, I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer. I learned of this book from another Pastor in a group of Pastors that I meet with regularly to pray and study and help one another to faithfully approach the task of preaching. Given that we just had a class of new members join, I thought it might be a good time to think about what it means to be the Body of Christ that is the church and individually members of the same body. So, pop quiz! Last week we had an insert for the baptism that included all kinds of stuff from the Book of Order that talked about the things that members do. Can anyone tell me anything that they remember from that list? It doesn’t have to be a direct quote, but what are some of the things that members of the church do? [Members gave various answers.] Those are some great answers! They all su...