Why Should I Go to Church? by Philip Schroeder (Shrode)
Why should I go to church when I can worship on the golf course?
Every pastor has heard this one, with slight variations. ?I can worship on the lake, in a deer blind, at home etc?? Or another version we hear is ?I don?t like organized religion.? Well, you can worship on the golf course, on the lake, and at home. In fact, I hope that you do.
The word ?worship? means to ascribe worth or honor to God. Christians should be giving honor to God in everything that we do. ?So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God? (I Corinthians 10:31).
However, worshipping with fellow believers is an essential part of following Jesus. ?Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another ? and all the more as you see the day approaching.? (Hebrews 10:25) You and I need to worship with fellow believers. It helps us. It encourages us in our daily lives. It reminds us of what is really important. In a worship service, we hear from God?s word and God?s people. And we have a chance to respond to God in song, in prayer and in heart and mind. So what is a worship service? It is when God?s people come together to give him honor and glory with our lives, mouths, thoughts and actions.
Why go to church? Here is a story that explains why. One day the telephone rang in the Pastor?s office of the Washington church attended by the President. An eager voice said, "Tell me, do you expect the President to be there Sunday?" "That I cannot promise," the Pastor said patiently. "But we do expect God, and we think that will be incentive enough for a reasonably large attendance.?
Perhaps the best way to answer the question why is to answer the question who?
Lyman Beecher Stowe tells the following story in his book Saints, Sinners, and Beechers. Stowe told that on one occasion Thomas K. Beecher substituted for his famous brother Henry Ward Beecher at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Many curiosity seekers had come to hear the renowned Henry Beecher speak. Therefore when Thomas Beecher appeared in the pulpit instead, some of the people got up and started for the doors. Sensing that they were disappointed because he was substituting for his brother, Thomas Beecher raised his hand for silence and announced, "All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may withdraw from the church; all who came to worship God may remain."
We go to worship not for a man, or men, or music or a good performance. We go for God! And it is not God who misses out when we don?t attend church. When we skip church we are the ones who are missing something.
- C.S. Lewis
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Good job, Shrode.
One question that may start discussion: How would you respond to someone who responded to you by saying, "I don't need to go to church. The Bible says where two or more are gathered He will be with us, so all I have to do is hang out with other believers.";"0
I'd point him to one of my favorite passages, Ephesians 4. It shows that church is much more than just a group of believers. A Biblical church includes certain believers fulfilling certain roles. Without every member supplying the body with what he is gifted to provide in the position he's suited for, the body will not grow as it ought to.
Well said, Robert.
One of the wisest things ever said to me about what a church is was said by my Campus Life director back when I was a young pup just out of college and helping out with the CL ministry at my old highschool. I was kind of disillusioned with my church (for some dumb reason) and said to him "Why can't we just have a 'youth-church' - just young people?"
He replied "Because that's not a church. A church has to have all kinds of people, in all kinds of roles in the body. It can't just be a narrow, homogenous segment of the population"
In other words, what you said - certain believers fulfilling certain roles, and not all the same.
Heh. I could tell this post had been edited after I posted it. But I couldn't figure out what the edit was. Then I noticed that all the Blog Series posts had been edited, so I figured the "edit" was the change of category to Blog Series. Good job, Bill.
Wanna know how I knew the post was edited?
I normally drop a space in the post screen before the first line of text, so the first line isn't butt-up against the "Posted by" info in the header. I just think it looks nicer with that space there. I do this in all of my blogs.
But I noticed that somehow that space was missing in all of the blog series posts, so I knew someone had gone back in to edit (for some reason, when you edit a post, it automatically fills in that inserted space again).
rod wrote:
"How would you respond to someone who responded to you by saying, "I don't need to go to church. The Bible says where two or more are gathered He will be with us, so all I have to do is hang out with other believers."
well, first i would say that passage is being used out of context. what jesus is talking about there is church discipline. ministers often use this verse incorrectly also. When jesus says there that he will be with us, he is saying that his approving presence is there when we toss someone out on their kiester as we would a heathen or a tax collector.
the bible speaks often of gathered worship. and paul gives instructions often for what to do when God's people gather together for worship.
ok, i admit it i've been intentionally trying to bug rod on this particular comment. (gee, guess how.) but i just don't feel right leaving God uncaptilized in the above sentence so i am going to go change it.
Go to church or you are a weenie.
I don't care if you don't capitalize in the comments section. I just think it looks better and makes the site look more uniform if we all capitalize our blog titles (and appropriate text in the blog itself).
trying to bug rod
I bet this will do it:
we toss someone out on their kiester as we would a ... tax collector
*Ahem*
Good stuff, Phil.