SPEAKER_00: Good morning and welcome to your daily walk.
SPEAKER_00: It's Thursday and I'm Dan Stevens.
SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow evening is the start of Family Life Weekend here at First Baptist Church Wimberly.
SPEAKER_00: Do you need encouragement in your walk with Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Do you want to be built up in your faith and be around church family as together they are trained and equipped to lead Christ-centered homes?
SPEAKER_00: I hope so.
SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't registered yet, go to fbcwemberly.com slash events where you'll find the link.
SPEAKER_00: This is definitely for all ages, and it's definitely going to be a great weekend.
SPEAKER_00: Our scripture today is Ephesians 2, 19 through 22, which says, You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Just the other day, a friend of mine asked me why it was so important to join a church.
SPEAKER_00: Well, to begin with, let's not make the mistake of thinking of the word membership in the same way as we think of being members of a country club or a gym, because in this case it means to belong to a kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Remember the verses we read which say, You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
SPEAKER_00: Furthermore, author Jonathan Lehman writes in his book on church membership that Christians should submit to their local churches publicly, by which he means formally or officially.
SPEAKER_00: They should join a church by committing to the local body of believers where they will regularly receive the Lord's Supper.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus publicly identified himself with his church.
SPEAKER_00: We should publicly identify with him and his people as well by joining a church.
SPEAKER_00: Aren't you?
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.