Church was important to a lot of people at one time. What changed? I would say many have put more importance on other things in their lives, and put their faith in God, on the shelf in the closet with their Bible, and shut the door.
I did some searching to see what some websites say about the reasons to go to church. Many were saying the same things, so this is a list from westhillscc.com
Here are some reasons:
- You find eternal hope
- Sunday is the Lord’s Day
- You will experience the presence of God more fully
- Friends
- It will help you define what you believe
- The body of Christ needs you
- It’s what God wants you to do
- To teach your kids to love God
- To bear each other’s burdens
- To grow spiritually by learning from God’s word
- It will help you raise your kids
- You will praise God in Song
- So you can serve others
- It will help you think about heaven
- To hear preaching from God’s word
- It will remind you of the Supremacy of God
- To thank Jesus for Dying on the Cross
- Because a group of diverse people praising God in unity shows God’s power.
- Because it will give you a chance to pray for others and be prayed for.
- Because someone invited you.
I noticed two things from all these websites and this list, the word YOU is used a lot. I also noticed the main reason for church was omitted: to Worship the Lord.
All the things on the list are good things, don’t get me wrong and maybe when a person is learning about the Lord and even a baby Christian, some of those items will be their focus, but at some point, we must grow up and quit eating baby food fed to us.
The real purpose of church is to Worship the Lord. All these other things are bonuses and part of the Christian community of believers. As grownup Christians, we should go to church to praise and worship the Lord. We need to put the Lord first. Then do you know what happens? The Lord in turn blesses us and we become spiritually fulfilled. Not just filled but fulfilled. Just going into a building does not do what the Lord can do. So many people say things like, “I’m not fed there; or I don’t get much out of it; I don’t like the music or the sermons are too long.” The “I” is like the “you” in the list up above. I’m blown away that all those sites did not mention anything like, it’s all about the Lord first. When people finally get that, and go to any church to worship they will always be fed and get something out of it. Now I’m not saying to keep going to a church that’s non-Biblical or preaches heresy, but a lot of what we get out of anything is what by work, time, and heart, we are willing to invest.
Luke 4:8 Jesus answered, “it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
Revelation 14:7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
What did Jesus want the church to be called?
Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.”
Why would it be called A house of prayer instead of a house for the people of God or something else? Because prayer is communicating with the Lord. Prayer is a form of worship, that is if you pray as the Lord ask.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- We are to ask with thanksgiving giving honor and worship-praise to our Lord.
Matthew 6:9-13 “This then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
- We should pray with great reverence, “hallowed be your name”. Hallowed means, made holy, consecrated, greatly honored. Scripture says in Matthew 22:37 to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. And in Luke 4:8 it says to worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. So, when we walk into God’s house, maybe we should be thinking of walking on hallowed ground more than what we don’t like or what we are missing, or any number of things that take away from what should be a holy experience. Maybe the experience we are missing is because we are not loving and worshiping the Lord our God first before everything else. Quite possibly that is why our life is not all it could be too. Mine included. Just being totally honest here.
Food for thought: How wonderful would church be if everyone came for the very purpose of worshiping the Lord? Wow!
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship.
Prayer
Lord, I don’t know how you keep from giving us some form of a physical reality check, like a slap on the forehead once in a while. We read your scripture and only absorb little bits of it. Forgive us for not worshiping you and putting you first. We are weak, dense people that need a strong father. Thank you for having patience with us and again forgive us when we fail you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God Bless
Sally
