Love Your Church and Give Youself For It

By Jack Woodard
Bible Book: Ephesians  5 : 25
Subject: Church

Introduction:

Let me suggest three things every member ought to do for his or her church.

I. GO TO IT BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE ELSE

[Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 14:23]

Many church members are going everywhere but to Church. Trips, ball games, and Grandma's house must be the places we go and take our kids AFTER we have gone to church, not places we go INSTEAD of to Church.

II. GIVE TO IT BEFORE YOU GIVE ANYWHERE ELSE

[Leviticus 27:30; Malachi 3:10; 1Corinthians 16:2]

The Tithe is the Lord's and it is the First 10% of all we earn that is to be given to God through your Local Church. Before you give to your Debtors or your Pleasures, you are first duty bound to give to the Lord through your church.

III. GROW IT BEFORE YOU GROW ANYTHING ELSE

[MATTHEW 6:33]

Every Church member has the responsibility of advancing their local Church both spiritually and numerically. That means you must be faithful in your attendance, you’re giving, you’re serving in the areas of your Church for which the Lord has gifted you, and in reaching the Lost for Christ.

Too many of members in the young and middle adult years of their lives ignore the welfare of their Church to pursue the Growth of their families, careers, portfolios, business or a dozen other interests. [Matthew 6:33] orders us to "...seek First the Kingdom of God..." with the promise that if we do so, the Lord will then take care of all your interests for you. If we will take care of His business first, then He will take care of our every need. When you think about it, you couldn’t get a better deal than that anywhere else or by doing anything else. Put Christ and His Church and its work first in your life and everything else will fall into place. When you button up a shirt, if you get the first button out of place the rest of them will be out of place as well. If you get the first button correctly fixed, the rest will be right also. That is the way it is in life; if you put Jesus and His Church first in your life and the life of your family, the rest of your life will fall into place, but if you do not put the Lord and His Church first, the rest of your life will be out of place as well.