Thankful for the Local Church

This is it. The last stop at Thanksgiving before we board the express train to Christmastown.

It seems like every year as a culture we hop on the Christmas train earlier and earlier. We just can't wait to get past Halloween so we can get to Christmas music, Christmas shopping, and Christmas traditions. In doing so, we trample on the one day that is still reserved for giving thanks to the Lord for his blessings.

I want to take a few days to stop and reflect on the many blessings God has provided my family and I. He has provided jobs and food and shelter. I have salvation thanks to the Lord. I have the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am thankful for that too.

I'm also thankful for the local church. It's a place where I can worship God freely. It provides a sense of family when I live far away from my own. They are willing to help at a moments notice. They have a heart to see people come to know Jesus.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Paul writes his greeting to the church at Thessalonica. He talks about their great faith, their Spirit-led congregation, and their desire to spread the gospel of Jesus. He writes that their faith is so strong their reputation as a church precedes them. Wherever Paul goes, he hears of the great faith of the Thessalonians.

I wonder if that's the same in our communities. Do the people in our towns and cities know us for our great faith? If not, they should. Our reputations, as churches, should be stellar. We should be seen as a place of refuge, where we seek to help others without gossip, judgment, or condemnation. We should be seen as good neighbors in our community that spread the word of Jesus as we're led by the Holy Spirit to do.

That's the kind of church I want to serve and lead. It's the kind of church we are meant to be. But are we?

Paul was thankful for the Thessalonian church. I'm thankful for my local church. I hope you are thankful for yours. However, Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians serve as a measuring stick for our churches. As members, we help shape the story. Will others be thankful, like Paul, for our great faith and the reputation we have? Or will they see us a place to avoid? That's on us. I know which one I want to see.

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