Sermon preached on Sunday, February 23, 2014 at Garden Valley Chapel during our morning worship service based on Selected Scripture.

According to pollster George Barna, while the adult population in the United States increased by 15 percent during the nineties, the number of adults who either didn’t attend church or only went on major holidays increased by 92 percent.

The population of a nation may increase, but that does not necessarily mean that it will be reflected in church attendance.

You may even invoke God’s blessing upon a nation in a State of the Union Address but make no mistake about it, you are not addressing a “church-going” society or nation.

There was a time when we even had a name given to those men who were “church-goers” or known by their commitment to the church. They were called “churchmen.” Some were leading churchmen, some lay churchmen. Some were conservative churchmen, some liberal churchmen. Some great churchmen, some no-so great churchmen, but they were known for their role and commitment to the church.

Spurgeon in his autobiography said it best -

“I would that all churchmen were better churchmen.”

Such was the close association between believers and the church.

Today I want to continue to take you again through the Scriptures to consider the biblical rationale why commitment to the local church is a part of God’s plan for your life.

We will cover the remaining two points today.

CONTENT

Having a love and commitment for the church requires that you consider…

Consider the Biblical Pattern
Consider Genuine Fellowship
Consider Spiritual Authority
Consider the Corporate Identity

And next we see the fifth (5th) principle and that is…