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Pew Warning Prohibited - Serve the Saints

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The Metropolitan Tabernacle is one of the most famous Baptist churches in history. Situated south of the Thames in London, at a busy junction of three streets, the Tabernacle was built in 1859 to accommodate the swelling membership of a previously small congregation.  The growth was credited to the influential preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. When the 21-year-old accepted the call to pastor a church with an attendance of about 80 no one could have predicted that within five years of his arrival, the building would need to accommodate 6,000. Shipments of his printed sermons were loaded onboard every ship that sailed from England. But in London, the Tabernacle was famous for much more than the Sunday sermons. It was a veritable ants’ nest of activity by serving saints throughout the week. They had 100 Sunday School teachers, and over 1,000 people out evangelizing on Sundays. They had alms’ houses, an orphanage, an evangelists’ association, 40 local missions and many foreign miss...

Seven reasons we should all be part of a congregation of Christian believers

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Katie was 33, single, and deeply in love with Jesus. I remember asking her, "Where do you go to church?" She smiled and said, "Well, I have three main churches. I go to Rez Church for weekend services because I love the music. I am in a small group at Community Church over on the North side of town — the people are so nice. And I enjoy the singles ministry at Stone Brook Church." Then, as an afterthought Katie said, "Oh, and I love the concerts over at Sunrise Church!" I paused as I pondered her answer and then inquired, "But where do you go to church? Where do you invest yourself, serve, give, and do community as a member of God's family?" Katie looked at me with kindness and some confusion in her eyes and said, "I'm not sure what you mean." We went on to have a rich and meaningful conversation about the value of being connected to a local body of Christians. We discussed the importance of connecting deeply and consistentl...