The church isn’t every group of people who gather together on Sunday. The remnant, or the true church, was established and is built and sustained by the person of Jesus Christ. Where should we gather? A great kids program, a state-of-the-art sound system and multimedia setup, a great band or coffee shop, or a celebrity pastor shouldn’t have anything to do with where you go to church. 

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” 2 Peter 3:10 (ESV) 

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) 

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV)

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (ESV)  

True joy is supernatural; it is an outworking and evidence of the Spirit of God living in you. Nothing in this world can give you joy and nothing in this world can take it away. The joy and peace of the Lord are present in your life during the good times and the bad.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (ESV) 

The biblical premise for the growth of the church of Christ is because we are preaching the gospel and making disciples. The perverted form that this has taken in America today is something else entirely. Is what we do in the American church a good representation of what Christ intended when he instituted the church?

People tend to seek the path of least resistance, the “easy way.” As Christians, we shouldn’t look for the easy way or the hard way. We should focus on walking down the path of truth no matter where it leads. We should be far more concerned about the character of our life than the condition of our life. 

In the Old Testament, Israel was rebuked repeatedly because of the worship of Baal—a god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities. The Canaanites apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan.