Why Go To Church

Luke 4:16, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Christians are part of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. That’s not a beautiful metaphor, it’s a fact. That means we need to commit ourselves to a church so we participate in a local body of believers. Wayne and I have been blessed to belong to several wonderful churches. There are a lot of different kinds of churches with a lot of different styles of worship and different priorities for their members, but God has always led us to the church where He wants us. We don’t entirely agree on worship styles, but we do agree on the importance of attending church.

If we ever had any doubt, these scriptures give a glimpse into what was important to Jesus and to the early Christians. They provide reasons to go to church.

Jesus habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and read the scriptures. Going to church regularly is the first important thing. In our country we are blessed with so many choices that we have no excuse for not attending. But if we lived in a place with only one church and we didn’t like everything about it, we should still attend.

I’ve been to a Bat Mitzvah and a Jewish wedding, so I’ve seen some modern Jewish services, but I don’t know what all happened in the synagogue when Jesus attended. I do know they read the scriptures and talked about them. So Bible reading is important (even if no one brings their Bibles anymore because the scriptures are projected onto a screen).

The early believers gathered on the first day of the week to share the Lord’s supper. There are lots of traditions about taking communion – how it’s served, how often it’s served, who receives it . . . But it’s something the body of believers does together, so we need to go to church for communion. 

Paul preached when he met with the church. I haven’t researched this, but I assume that when he wasn’t there, other people preached. I’ve read that his letters were read at gatherings of believers and passed around the churches. However it was done, believers gathered to hear preaching. We should too.

The early believers took an offering for other churches. Paul advised them to do it weekly when they gathered on Sunday. The offering should be part of the service, but the point here is that churches should care for other Christians who have a need – not just support their own programs. We should go to church to bring our offerings.

To summarize, these are the reasons to go to church:

To follow Jesus’ example

To gather with other believers

To read the scriptures

To take communion

To hear preaching

To bring an offering

The cool thing is that I love doing these things and I love the churches where I’ve been going to do them.

Signs

Ezekiel 20:12, 19-20

When you drive to South Carolina from the north, before you’re anywhere near the state, you start seeing signs for a place called South of the Border. We’ve never stopped there, but the signs let you know it’s an amazing store/restaurant/vegetable stand where all your dreams can come true. If you don’t believe those signs there are others that promise dream fulfilling attractions in Myrtle Beach. Of course, those aren’t the only kinds of signs you see on the road. There are the speed limit signs, the mile markers, and, the ones I watch for, the rest stop indicators. 

In the journey of life, there are lots of signs too. When my students give speeches some signs that they are nervous are tapping the podium and saying “um” a lot. Wayne and I have learned to read the signs that we send each other without saying anything. And if I look for them, there are signs all around of God’s amazing love for me.

The Sabbath is one of those signs. It’s a sign to remind me that He is the Lord my God. It’s also a sign to remind me that He has set me apart to be holy.

God knows I need reminders. I’m always wandering off on my own and forgetting where I’m going. I forget what He wants me to be doing and I forget that I want to be doing it. I’m distracted by my daily tasks: by cleaning and cooking and exercise and reading and writing and teaching and watching TV. I spend my time in class and at the store and at the doctor. Even when I start my day with devotions, when I put the Bible down my mind moves on to other things.

So God created a whole day to remind me about Him. Spending one day in seven focused on Him and not on my daily tasks puts me back in right relationship with Him. Spending one day in seven with Him actually sets me apart to be holy.

This is a sign I don’t want to ignore.

Sweet Grapes

Isaiah 5:4, 2 Peter 1:3-9

I can hear the disappointment and grief in God’s words. He’s done everything He can for me. He’s given me everything I need to live a godly life. And yet, I produce sour fruit. What more can He do?

What more can God do than everything?

So why am I not producing sweet grapes?

I’m shortsighted and blind. I’ve forgotten that He’s cleansed me from my sins.

I know something about poor vision. I started wearing glasses when I was eleven because I was nearsighted. I could see things that were close but everything far away was blurry. That changed when I had cataract surgery. I chose to have the doctor install lenses that allow me to see distance. But that means I can’t see things that are close up anymore. For a while I used reading glasses, but now I have bifocals. Either way, I can’t see what’s right in front of my face. I’m shortsighted and nearly blind.

When I apply this image to spiritual matters, I realize I must keep the knowledge of salvation right in front of me. The only way I can see what God’s done for me is to hold the Cross close and look straight at it. When I do, I can see that He’s given me everything I need to live a godly life; His great and precious promises. That’s all I need to produce sweet fruit.

Just like grapes, I want to grow a little every day. They start with a little bud on the vine, then a little cluster of tiny balls; they grow bigger day by day until they are a large cluster of sweet globes, perfect for eating or making the best wine. 

Here are the little globes of fruit that will grow if I cling to His promises:

Faith – I believe God loves me because Jesus died for me.

Moral excellence – I live by God’s standards.

Knowledge – I study God’s Word to learn more about Him and who He is.

Self-control – I sacrifice what I want in order to do what He wants.

Patient endurance – I rest in God’s goodness in the midst of suffering.

Godliness – I imitate Jesus in every attitude and action of my life.

Brotherly affection – I enjoy God’s people, my family.

Love for everyone – I show my love in practical ways that let Jesus shine through me.

I have a choice. I can remember my salvation, rely on God’s promises and bear sweet fruit or think of myself, forget what God has done for me and bear bitter fruit.

I can’t imagine anything worse than disappointing God.

Point of View

Mark 8:31-38 

I usually don’t like novels that have multiple points of view. When I’m absorbed by the story, jumping to another character is an interruption for me. I know that authors use this device to give their readers information that the main character doesn’t have. But the primary point of view has to come from the main character. 

Jesus told His followers not to see things from a human point of view. As the Author of creation, He knew that God’s point of view is the one that matters because God is the main character.

But in this case – real life – the main character knows things that the rest of us don’t know. We’re not the readers; we’re the minor characters. With our limited knowledge and personal biases, God’s point of view sometimes appears pretty radical. I’m sure it wouldn’t if we knew the whole story. As it is, we have to accept what the Author tells us.

God’s Point of View: The big event in the story was Jesus’ suffering and death and resurrection.

Human Point of View: That can’t happen. The main character doesn’t die and what is this talk about resurrection?  The minor characters don’t believe because they don’t understand who Jesus really is.

This is the point where the Bad Guy is introduced. It turns out that the human point of view is really Satan’s point of view. The minor characters not only lack faith and understanding, they don’t even have original ideas. They get them from the Bad Guy.

But the Author moves the story forward, calling all the minor characters over to share God’s point of view. He wants them to understand the main themes of the story.

The minor characters are asked to turn from our selfish ways, take up our crosses and follow the Author. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as important characters. He wants us to accept our roles, which include suffering and even death for others. He draws a contrast between His point of view and that of the Bad Guy, who disguises himself in the World.

The World’s Point of View: Try to hang on to your life; live for yourself and ignore the future even though you know that in the end you’ll lose your life. 

God’s Point of View: If you give up your life for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 

World’s Point of View: The world is attractive and it’s something to strive for, and don’t worry about your soul.

God’s Point of View: The world is worthless if you’ve lost your soul. Your soul is what has value.

World’s Point of View: Jesus and His message are embarrassing. The other characters will think you’re weird or will persecute you if you proclaim it openly.

God’s Point of View: What God thinks matters more than what those around you think. So tell others about Him.

Point of view matters. But what’s more important, is understanding Whose point of view matters.

A Matter of Choice

Acts 13:45-49

Christians in every place and time have a cultural blind spot. We accept some things without question because they are so integrated into our lives, even though they may not be Biblical. I think the concept of freedom is one of those blind spots for American Christians. We expect to have a voice in every decision that affects us. We expect to have the freedom to choose.

There’s a strange dynamic around choice in this passage. God chose and the people chose. Each got what they chose, but there was an order to it. First God chose, then the people chose. 

God chose the Jews to be a light to the Gentiles. The Jews chose to reject the message. But they were still a light to the Gentiles. They got what they wanted (or rather didn’t get what they didn’t want), but that didn’t cancel God’s will.

God chose for some Gentiles to believe. The Gentiles chose to accept the message gladly and thankfully. They got what they wanted which was what God wanted.

In both cases, God’s will was accomplished. In both cases, the people chose.

At this point I could write about freewill vs. God’s sovereignty, but I’m certainly not qualified to say anything profound about that. It’s more useful to think about the choices I make and whether they please God.

I know I don’t always make choices that please Him. When I don’t, I’m rejecting Him and what He offers me. I’m like the Jews who were jealous of Paul and wanted the praise he was getting. I want to be front and center. Even so, He has still chosen me and He still uses me for His purposes. 

When I do choose Him and all He offers me, it’s because He has chosen me. My response is thankfulness that He has chosen me to receive salvation. All I do should be done with humble gratitude.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4: 9-10 (NLT)