A Good Support System   

In 1 Peter 1:3, the Bible says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (NAS).
Another version puts it this way: “God has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family.” The Bible says that when you become a baptized believer in Christ, you become a member of a new and very special family.
When you were born physically, you were born into a natural family initiated by a father and a mother. When you were reborn spiritually (or born again, which means getting a new start), you were born into God’s family. You became a part of His family. The Bible says that this new family of God is called the church. As Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:15, that family “is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth.”
In the Bible, the church is not described as a business or a social club. The church, the Bible says, is a family. It says that family is “the support and foundation of the truth.” If you have ever built a house, you know the importance of a good foundation. If you’ve ever lived through a terrible storm and/or flood, you know that if you don’t have a good foundation and a good support system, your house is going to suffer for it.
In your life, you’re going to have some personal storms. You may experience some financial floods, some relational floods, some physical-health problem floods, or maybe some moral floods. There’s going to be some things that come into your life that can shake you to the core.
If you don’t have a good foundation, if you don’t have a good support system, you’re going to crumble. In this world in which we live, there is often a whole lot of shaking going on. You undoubtedly will have some tough times. You will need help to survive. The Bible says that God put the church on earth to be the support and the foundation of your life.
A lot of people say, "I want to be a Christian, but I don’t need a church.” That’s like saying, “I want to play football in the NFL but not be a part of any particular team. I want to be a soldier but not have a platoon. I want to be an explorer but not have a base camp. I want to be a sailor without a ship.”
A Christian without a church family is an orphan. You don’t have the support, and you don’t have the foundation that you’re going to need to make it through the tough times of your life.
There’s a big difference between attending a church service and belonging to a church family. You can attend a church week after week and never really belong to the family. You need to understand that the church is not the place you go to. It’s supposed to be the much-needed family you belong to.

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