Ever feel all alone, hopeless, like no one cares? Who doesn't from time to time?
Thank the Lord for His Church! What is the Church? The Church is people! The Church is a gathering of sinners - people who have faults, weaknesses, and battles with sin. The Church is also a gathering of faith-filled saints-people baptized into Jesus' name, washed, forgiven, and adopted into God's forever-family!
The Church is family...God's family. The Church is the one body of Christ, yet we are all individually members of His body! The Church is also what God works through to get His Word of life and hope into the world. God has given His Word, baptism, and the Lord's Supper to the Church, and these three gifts are God's "pipelines" for getting His love, grace, and forgiveness to us.