Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, communion, and to prayer. Acts 2:41–42 NLT
Definition: A group of baptized believers who have
A church is a
Why the Church is the Most Important Group in the World
1) The Church is God’s
You will know how everyone who belongs to God’s family ought to behave. After all, the church of the living God is the strong foundation of truth. 1 Timothy 3:15 CEV
2) The Church is the reason God
Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us. Ephesians 1:4 TLB
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5 NLT
3) God is using His Church for his
Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! Ephesians 3:10–11 MSG
4) Jesus
Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it … He died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. Ephesians 5:25, 27 NCV
5) The Church will
Glory belongs to God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time and eternity! Amen. Ephesians 3:21 GW
… And we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 NCV
6) The Church will
… I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:18 NLT
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people. Revelation 22:21 NLT
7) The Church is equipped to solve the world’s
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21 NLT
8) The greatest
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus from the dead … and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you … 1 Peter 1:3–4 NLT
Why a Church Family Matters
• It helps me
• It helps me
• It will help
• It will help me
• It will help me
My legacy will include
• My legacy begins now.
Memory Verse
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5 NLT
Next Steps
• I will make a first-time commitment to Jesus today.
• I will register for 1st Base to become an Emmanuel member.
• I will contact an Emmanuel family member who I have not seen lately.