Hey guys!! I wasn’t quite sure what to call this post so we are just going to consider it deepening my relationship with God and my thoughts and learnings this week on church (after the first question I had asked and then shared my answers with you I realize this will be a series I need to go through because I have many things to say regarding the churches foundation).

We all have been brought up in different denominations, views, and ideas of what a church should be but I really wanted to get into scripture to see what it said about church. I think its important for me to say that I grew up in a Christian private school and church was something I was around but never diligent about. My parents did not attend church so I would go with friends or with their families. It wasn’t a place I attended regularly.

With that said within the past few weeks life has changed and a goal of mine for 2018 was to find my “home” church. A place I would attend regularly and diligently even when I didn’t want to. Funny enough these past few weeks it has become what I look forward to the most during the week. Maybe that is because I find myself closest to God when Im there.

So ill tell you a story of how this all came about and why Im so excited to finally have found my church but that requires me to tell you a little history of the past few weeks so bare with me.

It started with my new found relationship with God and my desire to deepen that relationship. I sat down at the table to write out what my content was going to focus on for 2018 and my relationship with God was the first thing I wrote down. Then I made a few bullet points underneath it to be specific because I have learned that the more specific and detailed you make your goals the more likely you are to achieve them. So I started thinking about what parts of my relationship with Him I wanted to focus on and church was the first thing that came to my mind and felt most important in that moment. For me not having a place to worship or be lead by a pastor who had more knowledge than me was a huge burden. I needed to feel like I belonged to a place where I could go to and the people around me were like minded and felt called to better the community through Gods word and others who needed Jesus just like I do.

I hadn’t thought of my standards (Gods standards) for that church yet and didn’t know what I needed from one but I did know that I wanted to explore the idea and learn more about what the Bible says about church. So I did some digging and found answers to my questions.

DEFINING THE CHURCH : A CHURCH FOUNDATION

What is the church? – This is a very simple question you think might be easy to answer but I feel like one that is important for me to understand when I am getting down to the foundation of what church I am called to go to. I need the basic definition and details on what a church actually is supposed to be. I looked for scripture that told me what the church is and found these facts –

• Ephesians 2:20-22 (ESV) says, “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” I also found this,
• 1 Timothy 3:15 (ESV) “If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” To keep with the theme of what the foundation of a church is I found this verse,
• Colossians 1:18 (NIV) “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

These are all important factors to think about when thinking about attending a new church. Do they have a solid foundation that you are able to rely on to teach you and surround you with God? Do they consider themselves a holy temple in the Lord? And a church of the living God? Do they put Him as the head of the church? Or do you go to a church where finances are their head, greed is the head, social status in the community is the head? These are all questions I had when thinking of my new church. I wanted to avoid those things of greed and money and social status like the plague. I have attended churches like that and I want nothing to do with them. Because while they are working for the kingdom they are equally working for themselves.

People think of church as many different things but hopefully through these few scriptures you realize what the foundation of the church should be. I want them to put God first, to be a pillar of truth that can help me stand when times get hard, a firm foundation for my family (one day) and myself. I want my church to be something I enjoy going to because I know that through the worship and praise and pastors message that my life is blessed with Gods truth. That each week that passes I am growing deeper in that relationship with Him that I so actively seek to be a part of. It has to withstand the issues of todays world and while our world is ever changing it stands firm on Gods word and what he says about yesterday and todays issues.

I did realize that this one question would take this much time but I feel its very important. I feel that when we break things down to their core and rebuild things to make them pure and true and firmly planted in what God desires for us we can rebuild to be right in Him and stand firm in Him throughout our lives. I will be answering two more questions regarding the church (why we should go to church and what Jesus says about the church) and providing scripture to explain what God says about them. Be sure to add yourself to my mailing list (on the sidebar just add your email its free) so that when that post is up you can have it sent to your email!!

Thanks for reading and commenting your thoughts on my posts!! I enjoy hearing how God is working in your lives and blessing you!! Dont forget on Wednesday at 6pm CST I will be doing week 2 of our weekly devotional on The Armor of God book. xoxo -A