First off, I found out tonight that my cousin Hayley has a knot on her neck, so if anyone reading this could be much in prayer for her I'd appreciate it. She seems to face health problem after health problem.
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Today I didn't have any students to teach in Sunday School, so I joined in with the Adult class. One of the points that the teacher hit on, and something I've thought about recently is how we approach church and our mindset about it. Some people see church as a 'do-gooder' thing: a way to socialize with good people in society and uphold a good reputation. Others see church as a quota they need to fill in order to have any chance at Heaven, or at least to keep people happy. Then there are those who see it as a way to fellowship with other Christians and to be filled up with Spiritual nourishment. Obviously, I'm going to point to the last one as the correct approach.
I feel like a lot of times we get out of church exactly what we put into it. I guess that could be said about most anything in life. So often (and I've been guilty of this in my life) we make church a routine so much so that it becomes a burden rather than a blessing. We think "oh, it's Sunday again, I have to go get out my nice outfit and listen to some man ramble on about some topic I've probably already heard a million times....oh, what's for lunch?" Contrary to what many believe, what is said from the pulpit (at least at Unity Baptist Church), is not always the same thing (yes, there's variety in that 1000+ page book called the Bible :)).
A couple weeks back I was talking to a guy who'd asked me for my number on a Saturday night, and he was trying to get me to do something with him on Sunday, etc. etc. I explained to him that I had church, so he asked me about doing something Sunday night. I told him I had service again on Sunday night. He was completely blown away that we had 2 services in one day. He said it must be redundant and unnecessary to go twice in one day. Well sure, if all we did was sing 'Jesus loves me,' say 'be good people,' and go home. Instead, there are always new things to learn about and discover in the Bible. When God inspired this amazing Word, which is like a love letter to His people, I believe He didn't make it completely easy to read on purpose.--not to say the Bible cannot be understood, but what I mean is that He talks in metaphors and stories and parables, etc. It's an absolutely beautiful work. Church is essentially a gathering of people to 1.discuss God's Word, 2. worship God, 3. get nourishment and encouragement, and 4. fellowship. So we've got #1 down--discussing God's dynamic Word (the Bible) is something we could do more than 3 times a week for sure. What's really awesome as well is the fact that, even if you've heard the story of Noah 600 times, and maybe even have it memorized, that 601st time God could reveal something new to you. What's also neat, is (tying in the fellowship part) when we come together with fellow believers and other people from different walks of life we get different perspectives on it that we may have never seen by ourselves.
The second of the 4 purposes I've listed for church is to worship God. So often I hear the argument of "I don't have to go to church, I can worship God at home." This statement is true--you can worship God wherever you are, and we should, but the real question is, will you? Let's be honest: sometimes it takes encouragement and motivation of others to get us going when we have the option to be lazy. It's kind of like having running buddies in a marathon. So, getting up and going to church gets us in the mood to worship God. Also, what's great is that God has told us where 2 or more are gathered in His name, there He will be in the midst (Matthew 18:20)...so gather 'round!
This is another reason why having church twice in one day, or multiple times a week, is not pointless--God is always deserving of our worship. So even if we just gathered together to sing praises to His awesome name, it would not be pointless. In Revelation 5:11-14, we read of the end times, where the angels sing praises to God, all creatures in Heaven and on earth sing praises of His worth, and the elders and creatures bow down before Him and worship Him. The Bible tells us we are a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7), and if they are constantly singing praises to God, how much more should we be with ALL that He has done for us.
The third of the 4 basic purposes of church was for us to get nourishment and encouragement. Hearing God's word and being surrounded by those that believe as you do should be a comfort and a fill up for the week ahead. The Sunday School teacher asked the class if we'd eaten this morning. Yes. Then he asked if we intended to eat again...Yes, of course. Then why is it that we find filling ourselves with spiritual food multiple times a day/week to be absurd or above and beyond?
When Satan was tempting Jesus in Matthew 4, one of Jesus' responses was (4:4) "...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Wow. The Son of God who had all power, understood that we cannot survive--especially thrive--on just physical food. We also need spiritual nourishment. Now, how many times a week this is necessary is not written in the Bible, and like I said, church is not a quota to be reached, but my theory is this: if you were given a free pass for an all you can eat buffet, would you just take one plate to the salad bar and be done? Certainly not...when the lettuce settled and your stomach started to grumble again, you'd go back for more, you'd search out the best dishes and pile 'er up. We should be this excited to dig into the Word--it's nourishment, and it's free.
Last of the 4 purposes was fellowship, and I kind of hit on this earlier. Fellowship helps to make the first 3 purposes more effective/successful. Plus, Christian fellowship should be like meeting up with your team before a softball game--you wouldn't go out onto the field without practicing, talking, and getting to know your team. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we're on the same team, and we're looking for a victory (to help more people see the awesomeness that is Christ Jesus!!).--in fact, the Bible describes the church several times as a Body (1 Corinthians 12:12). We must remember, then, that anytime we hurt a fellow believer, we hurt the body of Christ--and thus, we also hurt ourselves as part of the Body. This is a huge one, and one excuse many people have for not attending church--they've been hurt by someone in the church. While this is unfortunate, we must remember a few things:
1. a church by it's most basic definition is a gathering of humans--imperfect humans bound to make mistakes--thus our imperfections do not mean there will be a perfect gathering, even if we are worshiping a perfect Christ. So don't take it out on the church or give up just because someone(s) has hurt you. Picture this: If you were a UK fan, and another fan came up and kicked you in the shin for no reason, you wouldn't stop going to games, say the University of Kentucky is a horrible institution and should be destroyed, would you? That'd be absurd...it's the same with followers of Christ.
2. one of the key part of Christian faith is forgiveness. This is a door that swings both ways, true, but the other truth is that you can only control what happens on your end. So even if the other person in the situation doesn't forgive you for the bad situation, or doesn't seem to 'deserve' your forgiveness (none of us really deserve forgiveness), we are still called to take that pride and anger gulp and put a foot forward toward forgiveness for others hurting us.
Moral of the story is: don't hate church, don't dis church, don't look at church as if it's a duty, don't look at church as if it's a quota you must meet (sorry to break it to you, but Sunday sermons alone will not get you to Heaven--it's salvation that may be inspired by a Sunday sermon that gets the ticket). Do love church, do love (and forgive) church people and all of their flaws, do look at church as a privilege (many countries do not have this privilege), and do look at church as a way to worship an Awesome Creator/love on other Christians/get your scripture vitamin boost for the week/and dive deeper into the love letter that is from God (the Bible), so that we may get one glimpse and one step closer to knowing Him more intimately and having a home with Him in Heaven some day.
And, oh, what a day, that will be. :)
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