Jesus told His apostles “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). It’s important to notice that the making of disciples, which was the apostles major mission, consisted of baptizing and then teaching converts to “observe all that I commanded.”

The Great Commission is only half done when the preacher baptizes someone; thus we see the importance of Bible teaching in the work of the church. This congregation is blessed with many great teachers and a very high percentage of members who attend Sunday morning Bible classes—greater than in almost any other similar group. We are proud of our members for their commitment to studying God’s word on Sundays, but want to encourage you to consider even more.

More than just attending on Sunday morning we would like you to think about setting aside time for something more rigorous than just sitting in a class once a week. Would you attend a class which required homework in the form of set readings and possibly even a term paper or exam? It’s a little demanding to add such to an somewhat overloaded schedule, but we have known people who were so thirsty for greater knowledge that they undertook something like this. Needless to say they, and the church where they worshiped, profited greatly from the equipping these men received. We want to provide such high-class teaching if members will take the classes.

Wednesday night, the evening of mid-week slump day, is a period when many people feel they can hardly drag themselves away from the TV, but would like to just sit and vegetate! Judging by the lineup of programs the networks are promising there’s not going to be anything as edifying as being at church, enjoying the fellowship of fellow Christians, and opening the Bible to study together. The Wednesday evening meetings have been sadly neglected by members of this congregation, to their own detriment we might add! Why not make a commitment to be here on Wednesdays in future?

We want to encourage every member of this congregation to have the attitude to the Word which characterized the Thessalonians to whom Paul wrote saying, “We also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). If the Word is to perform its work then we have to know it so that it can become active within us, and that’s what our Bible studies are all about—knowing the Word.

Let’s be like David, who said, “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” (Psalm 119:72). Something this valuable should not fall into neglect through disuse! Let’s dedicate more time and energy to studying the Word.

Mel