It’s a great day to see you in the house of the Lord. I am glad you are with us!

Pastor Nathan will bring us God’s Word today. I am very thankful for him and his growing ministry at West Haven and in the community. Pray for him and encourage him today as he preaches. I was out of town Thursday and Friday. Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo. asked me to preach this past Thursday night as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. (I was their associate pastor in the mid-2000s and my son David is their worship pastor.) We also checked on David and his family after David’s major surgery on Feb. 25. Thanks for praying for him and his sweet wife and kiddos.

If you are visiting with us today, we are delighted you are here! If you have been visiting for some time, we invite you to take the step of uniting with us in membership. Here are just a few of the biblical reasons:

  1. The example of the early church (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5). Someone was keeping track of who was part of the church.
  2. The establishment of church government, i.e. pastors and deacons. Examples are found in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus
  3. The context of many passages in the epistles. Examples are 1 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 5, Galatians, Ephesians 4:1-7, Phil 4:1-2, James 2:1-4, and James 5:13-16.
  4. The existence of a list of widows in 1 Timothy 6. There was a list keeper, specific requirements to be on the list, and a church responsible for their care.
  5. When a believer moved to another city, his church often wrote a letter of commendation to his new church (Acts 18:27; Rom. 16:1; Col. 4:10; cf. 2 Cor. 3:1-2).
  6. Acts contains phrases such as “the whole congregation” (6:5), “the church in Jerusalem” (8:1), “the disciples” in Jerusalem (9:26), “in every church” (14:23), and “the whole church” (15:17). That all points to recognizable church members
  7. The command for members to submit to church leaders as found in Hebrews 13:17. You can only submit if you know who the church leaders are.
  8. The command for church leaders to watch over the souls of members as found in Hebrews 13:17. Leaders must know who they are responsible for.

Being a church member also means you make a commitment to being part of the worship gathering every week. It is a grievous thing when a professing believer is irregular in attending the weekly gathering. Who do you know that you haven’t seen? Give them a call and encourage them this week. It’s been well said that no one is ever too encouraged!

If you would like to investigate membership, complete the appropriate checkbox on a card in the back of each chair and put it in the basket at the back of the worship center. You can also text your request to 913-369-4450. Because every person is at a difference place in the Christian life, Nathan or myself will individually walk you through the material.

We are seeing more and more visitors in the past few Sundays. God may be doing a work among us. Go out of your way this week to invite someone to church with you. Gal 6:9 says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”