A local congregation of believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most amazing, dynamic and potentially powerful creations on the planet.
We will simply refer to this entity as a "church", from the Greek word,
ekklesia, meaning "an assembly". A church is built around relationships, smaller and bigger
than itself. Some relationships are logical and some are not. Some
are easy and some are difficult. A church is intended to be ever changing and
growing from within and without. Whether you are part of a local church
or not you have been created with needs, talents and abilities that will only
be fully realized within such an association. What is a "relationship" anyway? |
relation. adj 1. A natural or logical association between two or more things:
connection. 2. The connection of persons by blood or marriage: kinship. |
Do you feel you have a "natural or logical association" to the Creator of the Universe?
Is "God" to you a myth? Is He a remote, cold, vague lawgiver that
at best brings fear and dread? Maybe you feel empty or angry inside or you
have always had trouble with relationships with family or friends or coworkers.
Many of you have been in a relationship that didn't work. You have
been deeply hurt and maybe abandoned. You need to understand that what
you are feeling is "natural" or "normal". Yes, poor relationships are the
norm. But you don't need alcohol, drugs, pills, soap operas, sex or a weight
loss program to meet your inner longings. You need a restored relationship with your Creator. Is this possible? |
You cannot have a proper relationship with God without a willingness to look into
His revelation of Himself and His plan for humanity in the book we call the "Holy
Bible." Genesis (origin or beginning) is the name we have for the first
sub-book in the Bible. In Genesis we find that God created mankind in
His very image or nature. We did not evolve from other life forms. We were
created to be in an amazing relationship with the Creator! However, mankind
was not created to be God's puppet race. The first two humans were given
the ability to make their own moral choice and they violated the one and only
restriction they had been given. This violation changed our planet and
changed the human race. Mankind would then pass on a new nature, one where "transgression"
or crossing God's law and nature would be the norm. You see,
we all know more about good and evil than God intended for us to know.
Yes, we can make right choices and have some good relationships. But ultimately,
our sinful nature leads to broken relationships and death. So that
explains a lot of your loneliness, emptiness, fear and frustration. That
is just the way we are. You are not sure? Just watch the evening
news. |
Once the original relationship was severed our sinful nature actually created a huge
barrier between God and mankind. God cannot lie. God cannot stand
sin. God IS love. God IS spirit. Man is, well, man-centered,
self-focused and sinful. God would still provide blessings to mankind when they
would follow His ways. When they would not then punishments, curses,
irritations, etc. would come. The purpose was to direct mankind back
to God. With this arrangement it was only God's mercy and patience that
allowed the human race to continue. But God knew from the beginning what
mankind's choice would be and He provided a method to bring true restoration to
the broken relationship. God sent His very own Son, Jesus, born into the
human race through supernatural means, to become the redeemer of all mankind.
Jesus would grow up with temptations like every other child-with one exception,
He would never sin or go against God's laws and nature. God's Son
would show the human race what God was really like. However, sinful man would
eventually nail Jesus to a cross. His blood would pay the penalty for the sins
of everyone for all time. Does this sound incredible? Does this sound
impossible? Does it go contrary to your nature? Yes. But Jesus
died for YOU-before you were born, knowing that YOU would sin against God,
He became the sacrificial lamb for YOU. He rose from the grave in power
and returned to the heavenly realm. Now, He offers YOU the gift of salvation.
He offers to be the intercessor between YOU and the Heavenly Father.
YOU have a choice just like the first man and woman had. Will you
acknowledge your broken relationship and your sin to Him? Will you accept
the restoration offered through Christ Jesus? You don't have to wait until
you are good enough (this will never happen). This is basically a choice
of saying "God, I yield my life to you. I submit to your ownership.
Cleanse me and make me whole like only I can be through You." If you
accept the gift a new relationship begins immediately. If you don't accept
the gift your sins will lead to death and eternal separation from a relationship
with God. There is no second chance after death. |
"But God, how do I change?" "How do I start doing things right?" God
is more than able to equip you for every good work. He will supply you grace
to do what you know you should do but can't do on your own. He will provide
mercy when you fall short and seek restoration, just like any child to a
parent. All of this is amazing, but the true supernatural part is that He
chooses to actually live inside of YOU! He desires to make His dwelling
place in YOU. Remember that He is spirit. The Bible actually tells
us that WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The key for us is to abide
in Jesus. We need to seek out those things which are of a spiritual nature
and resist those "natural" tendencies of our flesh. |
YOU in the Body of Christ--a unifying relationship God didn't design the first man to be alone-He created a mate for him so he would be complete. The same is true for us when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. We aren't zapped away into Heaven. He doesn't plan for us to be isolated from other people. The "body of Christ" is one Bible phrase that illustrates the unity of all believers. Young or old, male or female, black or white, rich or poor, American or Afghan-we are all one in Christ if we have truly accepted Him as Lord and Savior and abide in Him. Regardless of our circumstances we are all expected to be light in a dark world. We are expected to share the good news of what God has done for us. We are to teach others and meet other's needs. We are all ambassadors for Christ, representing His kingdom on this earth. Our head is not a government, church organization or any specific leader. This body, which is also referred to as an army, has Jesus as the commander-in-chief. Other members of this body are referred to as family. They are our brothers and sisters. They should be treated as such. |
Some people think they can go it alone. They say they don't need anybody.
That simply isn't true. The Bible tells us to "not forsake the assembling
of yourselves together" for good reason. We do need each other.
We are in fact, very dependent on each other. God raises up a local church to
first meet local needs and to provide a place for us to grow. He supplies
EACH person with gifts and talents that are needed in the local church for it
to function properly. These will be in areas of teaching, administration,
music, fellowship, witnessing, prophesy, giving, worship, mercy, serving and
others as the Spirit of God directs. While each person will have different
roles to fill, they are not to think of themselves as better or more important
than other members. A healthy local church will have everyone involved
in ministry. Few people will just "sit in the pew" and do nothing more.
There will be a balance between the five purposes of the church: worship, service,
fellowship, discipleship and evangelism (reaching out to nonbelievers with
the good news of Jesus Christ). A local church will have local accountability
within its membership. When a member hurts, all the members hurt.
When a member rejoices over a blessing, all the members rejoice. This
is truly a family that takes care of each other and protects each other.
The local church is designed to help us all to grow more like Jesus.
That should be one of our main goals in life. If you are not a part
of a Bible-based local church you need to step out and find one. If you
live in the Tulsa area we would love to have you visit our local congregation.
You don't have to be a "Christian". You won't have to make any commitments,
give any of your money, dress a certain way (dress respectfully of
the God you come to worship and learn about), or be expected to accept everything
we believe or teach. We will try to accept you where you are in life and
share God's love with you. We will try to be interested in you and be
friendly. If you haven't been involved in a church relationship or maybe
have had a bad church relationship this will not be an easy step. It is one
you need to take. It's simple-we need you and you need us. |
We do not believe that a local church should be under the absolute dictates of some
parent church organization. Such a structure is not Biblical. COG7
Tulsa is part of the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day).
There are multiple congregations around the United States and throughout
the world that share common beliefs, such as observance of the Seventh Day Sabbath.
Our General Conference receives a portion of tithes and offerings that
are given at the local level. The purpose of the General Conference is
to pool benefits that would otherwise be difficult to accomplish at just the local
level. These benefits include a publishing house for tracts, class study
materials, a common magazine (The Bible Advocate); national and world evangelism
and ministry opportunities; ministerial training and licensing; a high school
boarding school, etc. We recognize that the General Conference and
its local churches are not "The" Church (which consists of all true believers of
Jesus), but a part of it. It makes good sense, however, to work and fellowship
more closely with those believers that have a common understanding of Bible
teaching and beliefs. Feel free to check out the General Conference
resources at www.cog7.org. |