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The Amish Voice 16
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The Amish Voice
Conference Call Schedule
is listed on page 12!
For more than 2,000 years, the Lord
Jesus has used the
local church
as a
vehicle (mouthpiece) to call tens of
thousands of missionaries to the mission
field.
The Lord Jesus has used the
local church
as a way for His people to come together
in one place and worship His holy name.
It is at the
local church
where spiritually
gifted teachers, preachers, evangelists,
elders and deacons serve the Lord Jesus
and His people.
The
local church
is the place where
hurting
hearts
get
encouraged,
challenged, convicted and driven to
make a difference in our generation.
In case you have forgotten or no one ever
told you, let me say: the Lord Jesus
Christ is madly in love with the
local
church
; and when Jesus is in love with
something, I am in love with it, too.
When I hear God’s own family members
poke fun at the
local church
, run her
down, call her names, find reasons to not
attend, and yes, even
mock her—it breaks
my heart. The truth
is, those who find
continued fault with
the
local church
and
refuse to attend are
clearly casting their
vote to close the doors of the
local church
.
Consider the words of God in
Hebrews 10:24-25:
And let us
consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works: Not
forsaking
the
assembling
of
ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one another:
and so much the more, as ye see the
day approaching.
Just like you, I am very much aware that
local churches
are quite different from
one another. Some are dead, and others
are alive and thriving. Some are mostly
inward focused, while others are both
inward and outward focused. Some are
filled with love and generosity, while
others are struggling with bitterness and
getting along. The truth is, not one
local
church
has it all together. If you ever
find one that does, please don’t join or
you’ll ruin it, just like I would.
My Personal Experience
At this point, I would like to share a few
things about my own church life and
experience. The
local church
is where I
Continued on Page 9
Me! Join the Church? Why?
—By Joe Keim