Welcome to episode 74 of Grasp the Bible. Today, we will be talking about the four expectations that Spring Baptist Church has of its members.
Healthy church members do the following:
- Regularly attend the Sunday morning worship service
- Actively participate in a small group Bible study (we call them Life Groups)
- Serve in the church according to their spiritual gifts
- Give financially to the needs of the church
Let's talk about each one...
- Attending a Sunday morning worship service: The writer of Hebrews exhorts Christians not to forsake the gathering of themselves (Heb. 10:25). While it's true that we can worship God alone, He intended for us to worship together as a body. Also, if we take a self-centered approach to worship, we miss out on the opportunity to minister to others at church and to inspire them to worship as well. As our senior pastor often says, "If it won't keep you from work on Monday, it shouldn't keep you from church on Sunday."
- Actively participating in a small group Bible study: Small groups allow for participants to discuss the Scripture being taught and it challenges them to find ways to apply it in daily life. Also, many people form friendships in these groups that last for years. What's more, most of the ministry in our church originates in our small groups.
- Serve in the church: Most churches (including ours) rely greatly on members volunteering to do the work of the ministry. Both Paul and Peter write about how the Holy Spirit imparts at least one spiritual gift to believers so they may serve in their local church. We find completeness in our faith when we employ the gifts God has given us when we serve in the church. Want to take an assessment to determine your spiritual gifts? Take our free survey here.
- Giving financially: Tithing is commanded in the Old Testament. Jesus commends the Pharisees in the New Testament for tithing. God expects His people to give financially to support the work of the local church. A tithe (10%) is the base amount of what is expected, with gifts and offerings above that. Survey after survey over the last 20 years consistently shows that American churchgoers give (on average) only 2% of their income to the church. The most common reason not to give 10% is "I just can't afford it." Yet, we pay our government much more in taxes each year! Why don't we tell the IRS that we can only give them 2%? It's because we fear the consequences...and so we pay our taxes. God asks for less than the IRS, and we tell Him no. What this says is that we fear people more than we fear God. All we have belongs to Him; we are simply stewards of His resources. No doubt, it displeases Him when we take His money and spend it all on ourselves and give little, if any, back to Him. And then we wonder why our finances are such a mess. We encourage people who are not currently giving to begin by giving something and then watch God work. Continue to increase giving until you are at 10%. Give more, if you want.
We hope that you found this episode both challenging and helpful as you assess your spiritual health as a church member.
