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We personally serve with zeal

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Serving Christ must arise from the zeal of our hearts. Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:1 to present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord because of His mercies to us. The sacrifice of Christ’s cross should propel us to sacrifice ourselves to do His will. Paul says shortly after that verse that this living sacrifice takes shape according to a believer’s particular gifts (vv. 3–8).

Later in the same chapter, the apostle also warns us against laziness in serving the Lord (v. 11). We must be fervent in our service to Him. Fervent literally means “burning hot,” like water heated to boiling or metal heated to the point of glowing. Are you burning hot for the Lord? If you are zealous, you don’t need a title or personal invitation to serve at a meeting or in a ministry. This does not mean you should thrust yourself into positions of leadership or teaching. Rather, simply be zealous to serve others, not to draw attention to yourself. Offer to happily take on the difficult and mundane jobs of the church for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Read: Fifteen ways to exercise faithful church membership


Excerpt From
Beauty and Glory of Christ’s Bride
Joel R. Beeke

The Beauty and Glory of Christ’s Bride (Beeke, ed.) (453 in Stock)

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This collection of a dozen addresses given on the church as Christ’s bride at the 2014 Annual Conference of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary unpacks three overarching themes: looking at the loveliness of Christ’s bride, walking in the path with Christ’s bride, and sharing in the sorrow and hope of Christ’s bride.

Specific topics addressed include the beauty of the church’s essence, communion, holiness, unity, diversity, membership, preaching, worship, sacraments, discipline, mission, persecution, and future glory.

Together these chapters form an appreciative and practical book on the doctrine of the church, stirring up believers to have greater devotion to Christ’s bride. 

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Table of Contents: 

Looking at the Loveliness of the Bride of Christ

1. Our Devotion to Christ’s Bride—Conrad Mbewe

2. The Bride’s Spiritual Essence and Communion in the Body of Christ—Gerald Bilkes

3. The Healthy Holiness of Christ’s Bride—Michael Barrett

4. The Unity and Diversity of Christ’s Beautiful Bride—David Murray

Walking in the Path with the Bride of Christ

5. The Beauty of Church Membership—Joel R. Beeke

6. Preaching to and Shepherding Christ’s Bride—Michael Barrett

7. The Beautiful, Biblical Worship of Christ’s Bride: A Puritan View—Joel R. Beeke

8. The Beautiful Sacraments of Christ’s Bride—Gerald Bilkes

9. The Bride’s Beautiful Discipline—David Murray

10. The Mission of Christ’s Bride—William VanDoodewaard

Sharing in the Sorrow and Hope of the Bride of Christ

11. The Persecution of Christ’s Bride—William VanDoodewaard

12. Christ’s Bride United with Her Bridegroom in Glory—Conrad Mbewe

 

Editor

Joel R. Beeke (PhD, Westminster Seminary) is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary; a pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan; editor of Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth; editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books; and a prolific author.

 

Endorsements

“Not many people are prepared to place the word ‘beauty’ in the same sentence as the word ‘church.’ For too many, the experience of church is far from beautiful. But to see the church through Christ’s eyes, as this book helps us to do, is to discover a spiritual glory that derives from her marriage union to the beautiful Savior. Just as the church says that her bridegroom is ‘altogether lovely,’ so the Son of David says of His bride that she is ‘all fair.’ May these studies enable us to see the church, as M‘Cheyne expressed it, ‘dressed in beauty not her own.’” — Iain D. Campbell, pastor, Point Free Church, Isle of Lewis, Scotland

“Compressed in this volume is the fruit of much sanctified thought, reading, and scholarship, setting forth Scripture’s teaching on the church: its nature, worship, holiness, mission, unity, and hope. Thoroughly orthodox, it is also consistently practical, teaching its readers how to love, treat, and value the church. In a day when the church often suffers at the hands of friends and enemies alike, this book will prove a necessary and useful corrective. It teaches a better and more excellent way. I commend it most readily and warmly.” — Malcolm H. Watts, minister of Emmanuel Church, Salisbury, England

“To be with several hundred people at the annual Puritan Reformed Conference and hear these addresses is an exciting and moving experience, a taste of better times for the church of Jesus Christ. The next best thing to being present is to read the messages given there. In this symposium of loving, intelligent, and challenging addresses, you will meet careful theological exegesis, biblical doctrine, practical application, and fresh insights into ministering to the people of God. John Rabbi Duncan said that when he got to heaven, after seeing Christ, he was longing to see Christ’s bride. Reading this book will give you an understanding of what Duncan was anticipating.” — Geoff Thomas, pastor, Alfred Place Baptist Church, Aberystwyth, Wales