- A church-goer wrote a letter
to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go
to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in
that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life
of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting
my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column,
much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone
wrote this clincher: “I’ve been married for 54 years now. In that time
my wife has cooked some 52,332 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot
recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know
this: they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my
work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically
dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I
would be spiritually dead today!” Thank God for our physical and our
spiritual nourishment!
- Recently I read that the
average church attendance on any Sunday is only about 10% of the
population. I hope that is not the situation in Prescott. It is
concerning that some “Christians” don’t attend church any more. They
say, “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian.” They are right,
going to church does not make you a Christian, any more than walking
into a garage makes you a Chevy Corvette. Yet the Bible teaches that we
are to have fellowship with
believers, as Hebrews 10
says: “Let us not give up meeting together…but let us encourage one
another.” And Matthew 18:20 Jesus says that when two or more are
gathered in His Name, He is among us. Isn’t that the best reason, a
wonderful reason to meet for fellowship and worship?
- Can a Christian survive
apart from a church? Some Christians have no choice. They are homebound
or trapped in a hospital bed, or working in an isolated area where no
church exists. And God is certainly sufficient to care for their needs.
You can still get to heaven if you can't go to church.
But even though it's
technically
possible to live the Christian life in isolation, it's certainly not
the norm.
- When you become a Christian,
you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9) “God is faithful. By whom you are called
into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
-
- But I John 1:3 “makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other
Christians. “…that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ”
- So, why Do We Go To Church
Anyway? The answer to this question is simple: we love the church and
that’s why we want to be here.
For me the answer is even
simpler. I attend this church because of you! I cannot be a Christian
alone. I need you. I hope you need me. Like you I have faith, a faith I
want to share, a faith that needs your encourage- ment and support to
grow. I cannot practice my faith in isolation. My faith includes
you; my faith needs you. Being a Christian is too hard to do it
alone; together with you there is more energy, more synergy, more
fun, excitement, joy and love!
The church is pictured as a
body,
and Paul explains that each part of the body exists to meet the needs
of other body parts. In the same way, God intends each of us to meet
the needs of other believers, using our strengths to help in their
areas of weakness. The Bible expresses it this way: "The eye
cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you." Neither can a
Christian claim to be self-sufficient today.
- The New Testament is full of
“one another” commands. We are to comfort one another, to build up one
another, to confess our sins to one another, to pray for one another,
and many more. How can we obey these directives if we stay away from
the gathering of believers?
- Therefore, we are present
today to help and to strengthen each other. Your presence is important
to the person sitting next you. Your presence is appreciated.
So then, let’s answer the question: Why Do We Go To Church?
1 To Worship and
Praise God
Psalm 135:1-3 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! You who stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord, for
the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant.”
- Repeat: To worship and
Praise God together.
We were created by God to honor Him. That is our God-ordained purpose
in life. It’s not about us, nor our ambitions in life, but rather,
about God and His honor. I see going to church in that light. God
desires to be worshiped by His people. It’s true that I can worship God
alone at home or outdoors, but for me, public worship is essential for
my spiritual growth and development. A Christian who doesn’t have time
to go to church is like an automobile that doesn’t have time to stop
for gasoline!
As we worship God together “in spirit and in truth,” God is honored by
our sincerity and faith in Him.
2 To Hear from
God
- (Most of you know that I am
a foreign language teacher. There are four skills in learning a
language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The most difficult
skill is listening. We must listen to hear, we must listen to
understand.
-
We all need direction and purpose in our lives. The apostle Paul wrote
“faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).
A Bible-teaching church, like the Prescott United Methodist Church,
provides vital biblical instruction for every one who comes and is
willing to listen.
The Bible addresses the importance of a right attitude when going to
the house of the Lord. Listen to these word of Ecclesiastes 5: “Walk
prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather
than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do
evil”. God wants to meet us in and through His Word; He wants us to
listen to words of encouragement, comfort, exhortation and instruction.
Hearing God speak to us may not always be comfortable or a “feel good”
experience because His Word can convict us of sin in our lives. Yet it
is all for our spiritual health.
3 To Fellowship
with Believers
Often Christians lose sight of how important their attendance actually
is. We need each other. Recently we started a “Council on
Ministries”. Its members are chair people of the major committees in
the church. I serve as the chairman of the Council. I start each
meeting the Wesleyan tradition by asking three questions: How is it
with your soul? How have you experienced the grace of God this week?
How have you been the grace of God to others? People love these
questions and they want to answer them. It is exciting that we are
witnessing to each other and that we form a bond and a presence. Then
we have a short bible study and God is present among us. When we take
an interest in how our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing, and
when we attempt to meet their needs, we begin to enjoy the great
blessings of true fellowship and friendship. A caring, loving attitude
can go a long way in strengthening the body of Christ.
-
USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS - I
Corinthians 12
makes it clear that God has given spiritual gifts to every Christian.
Verse 7 states unmistakably that these abilities are not provided to
make you feel good; they are abilities to minister that should be
used for the common good! The Bible commands us to use spiritual
gifts to help each other.
The same passage makes it clear
that we meet with other Christians so we can use our gifts to
strengthen others.
- God desires that we build
relationships or a presence for the purpose of encouraging one another.
So often I have experienced great encouragement from my fellowship with
other believers. Hearing others pray, sing and laugh is like music to
my soul. Meeting with others helps us focus less on our own daily
struggles, but it does multiply our joys. Suppose you come into church
heavy laden with many personal problems and start tearing or crying.
You will receive hugs and words of assurance from fellow believers. You
hear this statement: “You are not alone in this. That’s why you have a
church family.” God’s church family may not be perfect and yes, there
may be disagreements at times. However, the blessings of friendships,
support and love far outweigh any negative things we could imagine.
There’s an old saying: The best way to have friends is to be one. When
I go to church, I want to be a friend to you and genuinely express my
care and concern for you.
4 To Serve Others
When we become believers, the Lord wants us to become followers of Him
by giving and developing in us a servant’s heart. Jesus stated the
purpose of His coming when He said, “The Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”. When we
serve each other, we serve Christ. Our Master is calling us to serve
those who need help, whether inside or outside our congregation. Jesus
said, “As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did
it to Me”.
When we serve others in love, and do not shy away from even the simple
tasks that present themselves, we will be noticed by others. How many
of you have heard others say: “Prescott United Methodist Church: that’s
the church that does so much”, or “that’s the church that has such a
presence in the community”. Next time you hear people say that, invite
them to come and join, tell them they can be part of the good news.
Others may notice our presence, and so does the Lord.
- We are now entering a sacred
moment, a moment of personal reflection and meditation. Take out your
commitment card “My Presence”; hold on to it for one moment.
- First answer these
questions. Do you rejoice in God? Do you love to attend church? Can you
say with the Psalmist who wrote: “One thing I have desired of the Lord,
that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in
His temple”? (Psalm 27:4)
- Now it is time to make your
commitment.
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