The Church of Christ

What is the Church of Christ? The Church of Christ, is anyone and everyone who worships God together, in the way that he has commanded us to do through his Son Jesus Christ, and the inspired writing of the apostles. And that is: That we gather together on the first day of the week (this could be anywhere, it is not exclusive to a special building. It could be someones house, under a tree, by a lake, wherever we can).
(Acts 13:13-14; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:2; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2;)

While we are gathered together, we sing songs and hymns to praise God, and to encourage and uplift the people around us.***As a side note, TRUE Churches of Christ do not participate in instrumental music in worship. Why? Because of the rule of necessary exclusion. Jesus, under the New Testament, the law he established, did not say that instrumental worship was something we needed to do. Therefore, we understand that because he didn't tell use we can do that, that he doesn't want us to. Like if you are at a restaurant, and you order a hamburger, you don't have to tell the waiter everything you don't want, only what you do. That is the rule of necessary exclusion.
(Collosians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Acts 16:25; Hebrews 12:22; Mark 14:26)

We partake of the Lord's Supper, or the Last Supper, which Jesus Christ instituted before his death, and we are commanded to partake of it every Lord's Day while the church is assembled together. We do this to remember the sacrifice he made for us on the cross, when he died for use, so that we can have our sins taken away, so that we can go and live with God after we die.
(Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22: )

We study our Bibles together, helping each other to learn and understand what God wants us to do, what his plan is for us, and how each person should live their lives. We pray, which is the way we are instructed to do by Jesus Christ to talk to God. A prayer is like holding a conversation with God. You thank him for all the blessings he has given you, you can ask him to be with the ill and to strengthen them, you can ask him to be with the people who are traveling, you can ask him for things you want, but he will answer the prayer in the way that he KNOWS is best for you.
(Phillipians 4:6; Collosians 4:2; Matthew 7:7-8; Matthew 21:22; James 5:13; Luke 21:36; Collosins 4:2;)

How do you become a member of the Church? In order to be a member of the Church of Christ, you have to do some things first. You have to study your bible, learn what the will of God is for you, what it is that he wants you to do. To do this you have to hear it somewhere. Have someone sit down with you and study the bible with you, go over it with someone who knows it, go to worship on Sundays and listen to the sermons that are preached. Believe the word. As you study, and learn from your Bible with other people, you must believe the word of God. You need to believe that this is how it is, God is presenting it in a book right in front of you. Believe that Jesus Christ DID come to this earth, that he lived here, that he performed the miracles that he did, and that he died on the cross to forgive us our sins, and that he was raised from the dead, to walk in a new life, the way of God. Repent of your sins, turn away from the evils of this world. Resist the things that are bad. This is the hardest part of being a Christian. Everyone is tempted, some people are tempted very strongly, but when you repent of your sins, it's like giving it up, telling God and yourself that you won't do those things again, and that your sorry that you did the things you have done. And then resisting the urge to do bad things when they come upon you. Obey the word. After you have repented of your sins, you are ready to be baptized. This is the commandment Jesus gave to the church. In order for your sins to be forgiven, you must be baptized. A baptism can be performed by any Christian, as long as there is enough water. In order to be baptized, you must be immersed fully in water, symbolizing two things. One, that you have been buried (in the water) like Christ was after he died. You have done away with your old self, with your sins, with the bad things you have done. They are dead, God will not hold them against you. When you come up out of the water, it is like Christ was when he was raised from the dead, walking a new life. Free from sin. In this state, you are considered by God cleaned from your sins, and he welcomes you into heaven to live with him after you pass away from this physical life.**The Greek word baptiso used in the New Testament referes to something being fully immersed in water. Some modern forms of this word is baptize, bath, etc. Live the word. It doesn't stop there. Once you are baptized, you must resist the temptations that are thrown at you by Satan. They will never stop. And sometimes they will catch you, and you will sin, and fall short of the glory God has offered you. But its ok, because you can repent of that sin, and try to do it no more, and ask God for forgiveness through prayer. And if your heart is true, if you did repent of the sin, and you will really try to do it no more, God will forgive you, and your walk may resume. Does this mean that it is ok to sin because God will forgive you?? NO! Of course not. But he is forgiving, and if you do fall short, accidently, if you really couldn't have helped it, and you are really going to try to not do it again, God will forgive you, and your place in his kingdom will remain.
(Mark 16:14-16; Galations 3:26-29; Acts 8:36-37; Mark 1:9-10;)

And in all else, this is what we do. If in the Bible's New Testament, we find an order, or commandment, or an example to do something, we try our best to do it. If we find an order, commandment, or example of something we should not do, we try our very hardest to not do that. If we don't read about doing something in our bibles, we don't do it, due to the rule of necessary exclusion.