though we looked last week at the strength the gospel gives, particularly in the context of missions, I want to look today specifically at why you and I need the church. The apostles strengthened the souls of the disciples, and they did that in four specific ways. Luke isn't just telling us those ways so we can know something about first-century pastoral practice. He is telling us those ways so we can imitate them. A church that wants to strengthen the souls of its members needs to do what the apostles did in their follow-up care. Put another way, your soul gets weak without the apostolic encouragement and teaching you get in a healthy church.
