Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15).

As we live into 2024, we are invited to consider our standing in God’s church. God has already done everything for us to grow and mature in the faith. Christ is the head of the church and the church is his body.

As with all families, there are certain expectations that we have for being a part of the family:
– that we participate in chores
– that we be fully present when with one another
– that we honor and love one another

Just as families have expectations for the family to function properly, there are expectations for church membership. These expectations are articulated in the Book of Order. Everyone who is a member took vows to abide by these expectations. We are encouraged to examine our faithfulness to the vows we took.

G-1.0402 Active Member
An active member is a person who has made a profession of faith in Christ, has been baptized, has been received into membership of the church, has voluntarily submitted to the government of this church, and participates in the church’s work and worship. In addition, active members participate in the governance of the church and may be elected to ordered ministry. Active members shall regularly, after prayerful consideration, recommit themselves to the disciplines and responsibilities of membership outlined in G-1.0304.

G-1.0304 The Ministry of Members
Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is a joy and a privilege. It is also a commitment to participate in Christ’s mission. A faithful member bears witness to God’s love and grace and promises to be involved responsibly in the ministry of Christ’s Church. Such involvement includes:

• Proclaiming the good news in word and deed,
• Taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation,
• Lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support,
• Studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life,
• Supporting the ministry through the giving of money, time, and talents, 
• Demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church,
• Responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others,
• Living responsibly in the person, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life,
• Working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment,
• Participating in the governing responsibilities of the church, and
• Reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one’s membership, and considering ways in which one’s participation in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful.

As members, the minimal expectations are:
– that we regularly worship
– that we joyfully give
– that we serve God’s church

Christ’s church grows when we grow. Christ’s church impacts the world when we join in what God is already doing through his church. Membership matters because God impacts the world through his church.

We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).

We have been talking about God-honoring habits. It takes thirty days to create or break a habit. The thing that determines whether we are successful in creating and breaking a habit is consistency.

Allow me to say one more thing about habits. People don’t create their futures. People create their habits and their habits create their future. What you do day in and day out is what you become.

What produces character and hope? Perseverance.

Keep at it:
– when you don’t feel like it
– when you are tired
– when you are busy
– when you are unmotivated
– when you feel like quitting
– when you are angry
– when you are stressed
– when life is crazy
– when you are grieving

Keep at it. Create your future by creating God-honoring habits.

Keep at it.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:25)

We have been talking about New Year’s resolutions and creating new habits. As you embark on this journey, think of your spiritual journey as training rather than a test. In tests there are only two outcomes: pass or fail. Viewing life as a test is sad and stressful because we are bound to fail. We may succeed for a day, a week, or even months but, guaranteed, there’s going to be a day when we fail. Seeing life as a test makes us see our attempts at life as failure. That’s not helpful.

Life is training. You see, in training, there are days when you feel sick or you just don’t feel like going to the gym to train or go on a run. But that doesn’t mean your training has failed. It just means you had a bad day, a sick day, or a tired day. So, you wake up for another day and get back into training. As long as you keep at it, you are succeeding.

A year from now you will be looking at resolutions and you will have a list of excuses as to why you failed again. Or, you will have a record of progress as you have been training in the habits of reading God’s word and prayer.

So, what will it be for you? Doesn’t the record of progress sound a whole lot better than a list of excuses?