Overview of the sermon video above:

This sermon doesn’t play it safe—it rips into the idea of church membership and rebuilds it the way Scripture lays it out. No contracts, no spiritual country clubs, no transactional nonsense. Too many churches turn membership into a list of demands: show up, give your money, serve, and submit. That’s not the kingdom of heaven.

Membership isn’t about rules—it’s about citizenship. The church isn’t a club you join; it’s an embassy of heaven. Walk into an embassy, and you’re under its authority. Same with the church—it’s where God’s rule is taught, lived out, and proclaimed. You’re not signing up for perks; you’re stepping into the kingdom’s frontline outpost.

You don’t earn this. When you give your life to Jesus, you’re saved into the church—a royal priesthood, a holy nation. This isn’t about attendance records and tithing—it’s about knowing you belong. The early church got this. Acts 2 paints the picture: repentance, baptism, and a full-on devotion to teaching, communion, and radical generosity. No membership forms, no checking boxes—just a community alive in Christ.

And yeah, there’s leadership. Elders exist for a reason, but they don’t own you. Their authority comes from Scripture, not some power trip. They lead under Christ, and they’re there to shepherd, not control. The church has the power to call out false teachers, warn the divisive, and yes, even remove the unrepentant. That’s not dictatorship—it’s biblical authority, protecting the church from poison.

Committing to a local church isn’t about checking in on Sundays—it’s about discipleship. It’s choosing to love, serve, and grow with real people—flaws and all. The church affirms your faith, your baptism, and your discipleship. In return, you submit—not to some leader’s ego, but to biblical accountability and Christ-centered community.

Think of it this way: if you’re not connected, your ministry will wither. A hand without an arm is useless. The church is where we gather, equip, send, and guard. It’s a family—not always easy, but always necessary.

And don’t get it twisted—giving, serving, and worshiping together aren’t about earning membership. They’re about growing as disciples. If you refuse to worship with the body or invest in the mission, the real question isn’t membership—it’s whether you’re actually following Jesus.

The church is a body, a flock, a vine, a bride, a temple—each metaphor revealing a different side of its purpose. Overemphasize one, and you miss the full picture. It’s messy, frustrating, challenging—but it’s also where real transformation happens.

And if your church can’t fire the pastor when he preaches a false gospel? That’s a red flag. Paul rebuked the whole church in Galatians, not just the leaders. The church isn’t a dictatorship—it’s a community that holds each other accountable.

So before you commit, ask yourself: Am I ready to disciple and be discipled? Am I willing to love the people in this room, even when it’s hard? Church membership isn’t about joining a cult or ticking boxes—it’s stepping into the real, messy, powerful reflection of God’s kingdom on earth.

Here’s what membership really means:

Recognizing Jesus as Messiah.
Knowing you’re nothing without Him.
Believing only He can make you righteous.
Acknowledging He’s called you by name.
Submitting to His lordship over your life.
Embracing baptism as a public declaration.
Then, you look at the church. Does this place reflect Scripture? Does it preach the true gospel? If yes, then membership means saying:

“I recognize this church as faithful.”
“I submit my presence to discipleship.”
“I will love my brothers and sisters in Christ according to God’s Word.”
No time commitments, no contracts—just a real, rooted commitment to follow Christ with His people, wherever you are.

And yeah, that means if you start ghosting, expect someone to check in. Not to control you, but because this is a family that actually cares.

This isn’t about building a club. It’s about building the church Jesus died for. So, are you in?

We believe in the complete divine inspiration of the traditional canon of Scripture; that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are the infallible Word of God in all matters of life and doctrine; that the Bible is completely relevant today for every area of the human experience because it is living and active; that the Bible is the exclusive and only authority for faith and lifestyle; and that the original writings are without error. It is to be believed, practiced, trusted, and hoped in (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:21).

We believe that there is One true God, the eternally self-existing “I AM”, who has revealed Himself to us in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Persons of the Trinity are co-eternal, co-equal, and yet with unique function (Ex. 3:14; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10, 11; Matt. 28; Jn. 8:58; 2 Cor. 13:14).

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet of the same substance, two natures in One person (divine and human). We believe that Jesus Christ is God of God, the Son of God, who was incarnated as a human, was born of a virgin, was crucified, was buried, was resurrected, and is seated at the right hand of God on high (Mt. 1:20; Mk. 16:19; Jn. 1:1, 14; 3:16; 20:1-2; 1 Cor. 15::3-5; Hebrews 2:17; Gal. 4:4 Phil. 2:8; 1 Pet. 3:22).

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Son, God of God, sent by the Father to equip the Body of Christ with grace for work. In all He does, He glorifies Christ. He convicts the world of sin, regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted into the family of God. The Holy Spirit is received at salvation, and assists us in our weaknesses by enabling us to live victorious, bold, Christ-like lives (Jn. 14:16-26; Rom. 8:9, 26; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:7-11;
Heb. 10:29).

We believe that humankind was created in the image of God but voluntarily sinned when tempted by Satan and fell short of God’s righteousness. Sin is willful transgression of the law of God and deserves death. At the fall, humankind incurred physical death and spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human beings are in union with Adam and are sinners by nature and by choice. Sin has alienated humankind from God and subjected it to His wrath
(Ge. 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom. 5:12-19).

Fallen humankind’s hope of redemption is only possible through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. The redemption offered to humankind through the work of Christ must be received by repentance toward God and faith in Christ who shed His blood. Those who receive God’s offer of grace by faith are born again, justified, regenerated, adopted into the family of God, made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, and are partakers of eternal life to come (John 3:3; Acts 4:12; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:10; 8:14-17; 10:9-10; Titus 3:5-6).

We believe that the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ, and He is the head of the Church. The Church is comprised of all those who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. The Church is manifest in local churches, who’s membership should be only believers. The Church is being built up and made into the Bride of Christ, fully matured and presentable at Jesus’s Second Coming. We believe the Church is a pillar of truth to the world because of the abiding story and presence of Jesus as mediated by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 5:1, 5; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-17;
5:27; Rev. 2-3).

We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the moment of His coming, the time of which is unknown, we will be caught up in the air, transformed in glory. Christ will return to the earth, sit in judgment, separate the wheat from the chaff, renew the earth, and reign as King forever. We believe that God is creating New Heavens and a New Earth where humans will dwell with God forever. The imminent coming of Christ should inspire godly living and commitment to the mission of the Gospel (Isa. 65:17; Mt. 24:30; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:50-54; 1 Thess. 4:16-17;
Rev. 19:11-22:21).

We believe that those who reject God’s offer of grace and forgiveness and are not found in the book of Life, will be raised and judged in the resurrection of the wicked and given over to eternal conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire, along with the devil and his angels for all eternity (Mt. 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8).

We believe in the continuation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that the ministry of the Holy Spirit did not cease after the Apostolic age. The purpose of the gifts is to equip the Church to carry out its mission until Christ returns, as well as to be a foretaste of the life to come. Believers should seek God in prayer for the gifts of the Spirit to operate in their own lives and ministries and should not only agree to them theoretically but practice them outwardly as the Spirit leads (Rom. 1:11; 1 Cor. 1:5, 7; 12:1, 31; 1 Cor. 14:12;
2 Tim. 1:6-7; Heb. 6:5).