January 9

DAY FIVE: MY CHURCH

Devotion: The local church is the hope of the world. Since Jesus’s bodily resurrection, the big ‘C’ Church has been activated to spread the Good News to a lost, dying, and hopeless world. In the original language, ‘church’ literally means “called out ones.” The local church is a group of believers that gathers together to worship God and serve that particular (local) community. God has given clear instructions on the importance of meeting together and what should be accomplished in an assembly. People should be encouraged, trained, rebuked, corrected, instructed, challenged, and equipped. God uses a group of people assembled together called the church to reveal the family dynamics of the Kingdom of God and His character to that community.

Reflection: How can I grow in my involvement, generosity, and love for my church?

Prayer: Thank You for my church. Thank you that I am a part of God’s family. I love my church, and I love and pray for other members and their families. I ask that, as a church family, You would use us to invest in the people around us, to love our neighbors, and to be a part of seeing this city know You, Jesus, in greater ways. I pray that people would know that we are Yours by our love for one another.