Read Josh's paper on ChurchMembership here: Meaningful Membership: Scriptures, Dangers, Joys, & Practice
Home Group Guide:
1. The sermon traced a tight pattern throughout Acts and the letters: belief → baptism → belonging. Why do you think "belonging" to a local church is presented as a natural next step rather than an optional add-on to faith? What would it look like if someone had the first two but skipped the third?
2. The sermon identified three reasons God places us in a local church: encouragement, accountability, and nurture. Which of those three has been most meaningful to you personally in your own walk — and which do you find hardest to receive from others?
3. Read Hebrews 3:12-15 together. The author warns against hearts being "hardened by sin's deception." How does regular gathering with a local body serve as a guard against that kind of drift? Can you think of a time when someone in the church helped you catch something in yourself before it became a bigger problem?
4. The sermon made the case that accountability — even formal church discipline — is an act of kindness, not harshness. How does that reframe the way you think about speaking into someone's life when you see them drifting? What makes that kind of love hard to give or receive?
5. Luke uses the word "devoted" four times in Acts 2:42-46. The sermon contrasted that with casual, optional participation. What would it look like practically for you — given your schedule, your season of life, your habits — to move from "involved when I can" to genuinely devoted? What's one concrete thing you could commit to this week?
