March 02, 2025
Greetings and blessings to all of you. Have you ever heard the statement “I love Jesus but not His church.” Understandably that you should have this attitude also. The church began in the first century with the power of the Holy Spirit when He entered in the believers meeting place. In Acts 2:3-4 “Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. The church was God’s idea; if it was man’s idea, we could take it or leave it….as some have done. Christ gave His life for the church. (Eph.5:25) The concept of meeting together; practicing the “giving up the self-life” daily- with God’s people is shown to us in the O.T. The church (a people called out- set apart to be transformed into the image of Christ) has been in the mind of Christ for a long time. Stephen the martyr reviewed the Jewish history in Acts 7:38 to the high priest stating, “Moses was with our ancestors the assembly (ekklesia)of God’s people in the wilderness when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.” In that century and currently in our 21st century ‘a people called out’ have been having a difficult time living out the “new life in Christ”. At some churches you will come in contact with people who are in love with money more than people, you might experience power struggles in the church, there will be people who are apathetic not investing their God given gifts to the church but instead living the self-life of comfort and ease and entertainment. And because there have been an ongoing de-construction of Biblical terms and meaning of verses in the Bible; you will notice immorality or low morals that are now being accepted…read about the Corinthian church. And let us not forget in the church you will have the back- biting, the arguments and the tension in relationships that come from our flesh...such as fears, insecurities jealousy and envy. Problems in the church comes from each person not willing to exchange the old self for the new life in Christ. “Count yourself dead to sin and alive to God.” (Romans 6:11) “put off the old self…and put on the new self.” (Eph. 4:22,24) There is no relationship with Jesus without a relationship with His church. You cannot accept the Head and reject the Body-Come grow with us.
With the Love of Christ
First Lady Vivian C. Currie
Pastor ALC