The Sole Purpose of the Church
Religion has been practiced in various forms for thousands of years. However, relatively few groups through the centuries have been totally committed to practicing exactly what the Bible teaches.
Today, as has happened throughout history, men are replacing the quest for God’s absolute truth with their desire for good feelings and happiness. People today have a fading sense of God and a rising sense of self. Such error is as old as the Garden of Eden.
We find that the philosophies of “self” have infiltrated many conservative ministries. However, the notion that faith and practice should change to fit the 21st century is refuted in Jude 1:3:
“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
It is an honor for the believer to contend earnestly for the faith. Scripture tells us what the church is to be in 1 Timothy 3:15: “In case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
Our sole reason for existence as a church is to be a ministry of the Word—teaching and living out its truth. As a ministry of the Word, we are reaching out to the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace we pray many will accept it as truth for themselves and live in light of it.
God is planning a homecoming for His church, the Bride of Christ. As we wait His homeward call, we are to be busy doing what our Lord commanded us to do in Ephesians 4:12, 13: “Equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
If you are interested in knowing more about the ministry of Indian Hills, please join us for worship on Sunday. If you would like to talk with a pastor, simply call the church office, 402-483-4541, and ask to speak with the “Pastor of the Day.”
It is our prayer as a local church that each of us would submit our lives to Christ. May we, under the power of the Holy Spirit, live lives that God will use to accomplish His purposes, thereby bringing Him all the praise and glory and honor He is due.