Why Go to Church?

I absolutely despise going to meetings. Especially in the mornings. Especially if all I will do is sit there and listen to someone talk. Especially if nothing of value has been said or decided. There are things I would rather do with my time: sleep in, enjoy a good country-style breakfast, or go get my usual cup of white chocolate coffee at Ahh Coffee.

So I understand the importance of answering your unasked question of why you should come to church. Why should you get up early? Why should you have to rush to get the kids ready and eat breakfast on a day you would normally lounge around relaxing? That is what we will be discussing today.

First let me share what church is not.

Church is NOT a country club. Country clubs typically cater to the specific desires of their members. There are usually areas to relax, exercise, eat, and play. Members pay monthly fees and get to use all of the facilities and equipment. Members get to make decisions on the future of the country club because they pay dues. Church is not a country club.

Church is NOT a gated community. In a gated community you get to decide exactly what type of people will be allowed in. Each member of the Home Owners Association has the option to invite their friends to visit, but if you did not get an invite you are not allowed access. Each member also gets to decide what is acceptable in their gated community because they pay monthly fees. If they do not want to allow motorcycles they can get a majority to vote to ban them and each member must follow the new rule. Church is not a gated community.

Church is NOT a Pyramid scheme. Also known as multilevel marketing, somebody comes up with a great idea for how to make money and they talk 2 people into joining them. Those 2 people each invite 2 people to work for them. And this continues until hundreds of people are part of the group. Each person has to give some of their money to those above them so that the person at the top is making a fortune while those at the bottom are doing all of the work. Church is not a Pyramid scheme.

Church is not a country club, a gated community, or a pyramid scheme. So what is church?

Church is a worship gathering. The Bible instructs us to worship God together. Worship includes singing. “18 Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:18) Worship includes prayer. “1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:1) Worship includes baptism and the Lord’s Supper. “19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of[f] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) and “33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat [The Lord’s Supper], wait for one another.” (1 Corinthians 11:33). Worship includes fellowship. “24 And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, 25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) Church is a worship gathering.

Church is a family fellowship. The last part of worship we mentioned was about fellowship. The Bible continually tells us that followers of Jesus are part of a family. The local church is a family. “19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Ephesians 2:19) Sometimes family can get on your nerves, but family should be there for each other during the good times and the bad. “15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15). Family is there to encourage each other. “11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Church is a family fellowship.

Church is a healing place. The world is a difficult, hard place full of problems and struggles. Satan wants to do everything he can to use these to force you to fail again and again. Everyone of us has messed up. Everyone of us is a sinner. We like to rank our sins from little white lies to great big ugly worthy-of-the-death-penalty sins. But in God’s eyes, all sin is worthy of the death penalty. That is why He sent Jesus to come and take our place. Church should be a place where we all understand that we are broken, sinful people in need of the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide. Broken people need healing. “13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. (James 5:13-16) The church is a healing place.

We have learned that the church is not a country club, gated community, or pyramid scheme. We have also learned that the church is a worship gathering, a family fellowship, and a healing place. So why does it matter if I attend church? I’m glad you asked.

Attending church matters because: We are better together. I brought some string with me today and I asked the children to wrap them together to create a rope. Now, I need a volunteer to come up and demonstrate exactly why we are better together. First, I am going to give you a piece of the string that the children were using. Can you break that string? That was easy. Now I need the children to bring me the rope they have made and I want you to try and break it. Not as easy now, is it?

This is a lesson that the Bible teaches. “12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) You can get spiritual healing without going to church, but if you avoid church you are more likely to just get broken again. Together we are stronger. Together we are not as easily broken.

We are better together because we were made to worship together. We were made to witness together. We were made to fellowship together. We were made to learn together. And we were made to serve together. These are the five purposes of Elevate Church: worship, ministry, discipleship, evangelism, and fellowship. Attending church matters because we are better together.

Attending church also matters because: It Is commanded by God. If we want to follow Jesus, we have to learn to follow God’s commands. Why? Because Jesus said to. “15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15, ESV) Salvation requires that we make Jesus the boss of our life. We cannot claim that He is the boss if we fail to obey Him. We obey Jesus, not just because He commands it, but because we love Him. He took our place, He paid our death penalty, He loved us first. The great commandment is “30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30, HCSB) We love Him, therefore, we obey Him.

God commands that we come together to learn about Him, to proclaim Him, to worship Him, to serve others in His Name, to remember Him, and to strengthen our family fellowship. Attending church is commanded by God.

Lastly, attending church matters because: It is a witness to others. “35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Your children, your friends, your parents, your co-workers, your school friends, all are watching you to see how you act and what you do. And in today’s connected world of Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, even more people watch you. Jesus said that these people will know that you are His because of your love for each other. Because you love the others in your church.

If we love each other, we should want to spend time together. By spending time together, we are showing the world that there is something important to us. People will begin to ask you, “Why do you go to church?” Your answer will be a witness to them. It will help them to decide if church is something they would want to attend or not.

For someone who is not a follower of Jesus, church may not seem all that important. But the Bible tells us that Jesus loved the church. That Jesus died for the church. That Jesus is the head of the church. The church is pictured as the bride of Christ in the Bible. The church is important to Jesus, so the church had better be important to those who love Jesus. Attending church is a witness to others.