The word church along with its plural form churches is found more than 100 times in the New Testament, and every time excepting 1, in Acts 19:37, it comes from the same Greek word, Ekklesia, which means “a calling out”. It can apply to a meeting or congregation, but it is not a denomination or building; rather it is the people that assemble there for worship, exhortation, and fellowship. If God uses a word that often it must be of great significance to him. The church is to be a place where love abounds and supersedes our differences, of phraseology, 1 Timothy 6:4, and differing opinions, Romans 14:1-6. We are a family, a brotherhood where these petty things should not divide us; they are the things that love covers! As Kathryn Kuhlman said, “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us”! God has ordained that the church be a place where we edify one another, Romans 14:19; He has set it under leadership, 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11-12, to which we are told to be submissive, 1 Corinthians 16:15-16; Hebrews 13:17. The bottom line is this, if Jesus chooses to show up in the church, and His word is being preached in the church, then I need to be in that church!
The Church
By Rose Hill
The church is a place where we find love,
We are one as we worship the Father above.
There is nothing more wonderful to see,
Than when people dwell in unity.
The church is a place the word is taught,
A message of truth to us is brought.
We see the light God has given us,
And in the Lord we put trust.
The church is a place of sincere prayer,
We bring our needs to the Father there.
And then we bring our Lord the praise,
For He doth bless us all our days.
The church is a place of victory,
Through God’s people the world will see,
That if they come to Him for rest,
They will by Him be very blessed.