“Church Attendance”
Introduction:
The announcement that the Cleveland Browns were moving to Baltimore after 30 years in Cleveland devastated many people. Among the many Browns fans interviewed, one man sat in his pickup truck and wept as he said, "Now me and my family will have no place to go on Sunday."
I want to ask you to do something this morning. I want to ask you to relax, stretch out your legs, take off your shoes, and wiggle your toes around, because I am getting ready to stomp on ‘em. I make no apologies for this message, and if this offends someone or hurts someone’s feelings then most likely it was true and you needed to hear it. As a preacher I have been given a command by God to preach the whole counsel of God and to address issues that the church needs not simply issues that the church wants to hear. So, I ask you not to come to me and tell me that your feelings are hurt or you are offended, if that is the case take it up with God because this message comes from His Word. Therefore, I want to also ask that you to listen and allow God’s Word to convict you if you need that conviction. I also hope that individuals who need to be corrected would show some spiritual maturity and accept instruction and rebuke and bring it to change in your life. Perhaps this message applies more to some people here than others, but there is definite application for each person. I bring this message with all the love that I could possibly have for each believer here and also because of my love for God and my passion for the Kingdom of God. There is something though taking place in the Lord’s Church and yes, even in the Lord’s Church here that is hindering the Kingdom of God.
Most people here have made a decision to call themselves Christians. I do not know why you give yourself that name, but nevertheless you would not be here if you did not in some way consider yourself Christian. When you made that decision to become a Christian for whatever reason it may have been, whether you know it or not you made a commitment to Jesus. The level of that commitment depends on a few things. First, it depends on how serious you are about that decision. Second, it depends on your motivations for making that commitment. Thirdly, it depends on your awareness of what God has done for you. You daily make decisions regarding what your commitment to Jesus will be. You decide what things you will or will not do because of your commitment and faith. Obviously levels of commitment vary from person to person. You decide things like how much time you will spend reading the Bible and praying depending on that level of commitment. Obviously levels of commitment vary from person to person. You also decide how often you are going to come to church, whether you are going to come sometimes on Sunday morning, or to Sunday night also, or to every service possible. Obviously levels of commitment vary from person to person.
As the Hebrew writer wrote this letter to the Hebrew Christians apparently some of the Christians had begun a bad habit of missing the weekly public assembly. The writer says not to forsake, abandon or leave behind the regular Sunday morning worship services. It seems that many people in the church and even among us have taught themselves that they do not have to be faithful in coming to church. I want to say something that I will repeat a few times in this message in hopes that you remember it. If you are not going to come regularly (every week) to church, then coming sporadically is a waste of time. We have been given a command to meet together and like it or not missing church is breaking a command of God. Breaking a command of God is a sin, yes, sin can be forgiven, but habitual and purposeful sin will not be forgiven.
Text: Hebrews 10:24-25
I. Reasons People Don’t Come to Church
The Scriptures tell us that Satan is the Father of lies; he is a great tempter and leads believers astray. I believe that Satan has worked diligently within the church to keep people away from the Church. He has worked to put the lie into people’s minds that it really does not matter how faithfully they come. Therefore, people come up with an impressive list of excuses as to why they miss church. I think though sometimes we are quick to place the blame for our struggles and our sin on Satan when perhaps it is really because of our own calloused and sinful hearts that we act and live the way that we do.
James 1:13-15
Sometimes we are dragged away by our own evil desires. I believe this is the case in many of those people’s lives who are not faithful to the Church. Really what it comes down to is that Jesus is not number one in their lives. Perhaps sometimes he gets lip service, but most likely God is not the priority for the church skipper. People do have a host of excuses and that is exactly what they are, excuses or more honestly lies as to why someone is not there.
a. Too busy
Some people say that they are too busy to be able to come to Church. We all live busy and sometimes chaotic lives and coming to church on Sunday and coming again Sunday nights is wasting time that some people just cannot spare. I am here today to say that maybe you r lives are too busy not to be at church. Saying you are too busy for God may be the worst excuse in the book or at least the least justified excuse that there is. If you are too busy for church on the Lord’s Day maybe you will be to busy for eternity in Heaven, maybe you will be too busy to rise to meet the Lord in the air when Jesus returns. If you are too busy, cut something out of your schedule, or make time for God and worshipping him.
b. Have to work
Some people have to work and they cannot make it to church on Sunday because of their work schedule. I understand that people have to provide for their families, but it is a shame that a job is the wedge between and person and their God. I am not saying to quit your job; I am simply saying find time for God. Peter Sagonias sometimes has to work on Sundays, but on those days he ahs to work he still comes in and comes to Sunday school. He could easily not come at all and say I have to work. When someone tells me they have to work, I always want to ask them, “You mean to tell me that you work straight through every service we have at church.” Isn’t it ironic that the people that have to work can’t be here at 10 AM because of work and cannot be here at 6 PM because of work either? This shows again priorities, if your faith and salvation were really that important to you than you would find a way to be here. I know of people who actually did something crazy, they took a stand with their jobs and said, “I am not working on the Lord’s Day”.
c. Need to relax
You heard about the golfer named Jones who was twenty minutes late at the first tee one Sunday morning, and the other three members of the regular four-some were almost ready to drive off without him. "I agreed with my wife," explained Jones, "that this Sunday I’d toss a coin to see whether I played golf or went to church. Heads, I played golf. Tails, I went to church. And you know fellows, I had to toss that coin forty-three times before it came up heads."
Some people have such busy schedules that they may work six days a week and they just need Sunday off to sit home and relax. They need one day to sleep in and relax. For goodness sakes preacher don’t you know Sunday is the only day I can go to the lake or go camping or go fishing. Again an example of priorities, not really an excuse, but someone revealing their heart through how they live their lives. What is more relaxing and refreshing than being with God’s people? Some people say I cannot come because I am sick as well, but my question for them is, too sick to get out of bed? Too sick to go the store to get your food? To sick to go to work? The answer would probably be, “no, its just church.”
Obviously there are millions more excuses that people use as to why they don’t come. Just one time in my life I would like to hear someone honestly tell me, “I didn’t come to church today because I am lazy, I just don’t feel like coming today.” It’s amazing how people can use every excuse in the book. Really they are not excuses, but a reflection of their heart and a demonstration of their priorities.
Forsaking the Assembly Essentially says:
1. You don’t care about the commands of God or you are above God’s commandments
We have been given in scripture a command to not forsake the assembly and when we do skip church we break God’s commands. How many people when out of town find a place to worship? I believe that some people are glad when snow is in the forecast because they can skip church, some people are glad when it is rainy because they may melt on their way to church and just cannot risk it. Missing church shows that obeying the commands of God is not that important. I want people to come to church not just because we are commanded though but also because they want to be there. A Christian should really want to be in Church.
2. You do not need fellowship and worship to stand strong
Without fellowship no one can stand strong in their faith, but skipping church essentially says that you do not need that to keep you strong.
3. You do not want to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
When we meet together on the Lord’s Day we remember and reflect on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Some people would rather reflect on the race or the football game. Some would rather reflect on the lake or in the woods. What a better thing to do than to remember our Lord? There is nowhere else I would rather be on the Lord’s Day.
4. You don’t care about your spiritual growth
Very time we meet together as the body of Christ I am strengthened spiritually. When you show a lack of commitment to church you show that you will not intentionally do things to grow in your faith and you show that you are happy where you are.
5. You don’t care about your families spiritual condition
A study once disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children remain faithful in attendance.
If only Dad attends regularly, 55 percent remain faithful.
If only Mom attends regularly, 15 percent remain faithful.
If neither attends regularly, only 6 percent remain faithful.
Skipping church hurts your whole family spiritually, and many of your family member are going to spend eternity a part from God because of your lack of commitment to the church.
6. You value self-interest and personal gain more than worship
Some people would rather do what they want to do rather than to serve and uplift others.
7. You do not care about the Church as a whole
Not coming to church affects the whole church. People get discouraged by others lack of commitment, people miss the encouragement that you are commanded to bring on the Lord’s Day. Skipping church means you do not care about the church and your brothers and sisters in Christ.
II. Reasons to come to Church
For every excuse in the book I could give many reasons why we should be at church.
a. It is commanded
Hebrews 10:25
We should be in church because God has commanded us to be in Church and we should not strive to break his commands. There is no point in someone coming to church irregularly because they are just wasting their time. Coming to church is not just punching your time clock with God, but you do it out of faithfulness. Someone once told me that they didn’t have to go to church to show their faith, and my response back was, “if you had faith you would go to church.” We are told to show our faith by our actions. Skipping church shows a lack of faith and a bad heart. God has not left us with the option of whether or not we want to go to church it is a command. We should go to church because we want to obey the commands of God.
b. Lord’s Supper
Acts 20:7
The reason why the early church met together on the Lord’s Day was in order to partake of the Lord’s Supper. When you miss the Lord’s Day assembly you are missing taking the Lord’s Supper and meeting that appointment that he has set for us. We have a precedent that the Apostle’s have set and we should follow to partake of the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. I don’t want to miss church because I do not want to miss that great opportunity to commune with my Lord, who gave himself up for me to have eternal life.
c. Fellowship
Another reason why you should not forsake meeting together is because of fellowship. Sometimes I think that we as individuals do not understand and take for granted the importance of the fellowship that we share with each other. We cannot stay strong in our faith unless we are regularly in contact with other Christians. We need each other to keep our fire going. What happens if you take a coal off of a burning fire? After a little while that coal loses its fire. There is something special about the Lord’s Day assembly that strengthens our faith. The early church was devoted regularly to fellowshipping with one another and so should we.
d. Encouragement
Hebrews 3:13
When we meet together on the Lord’s Day we give and receive encouragement from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Missing Church means we miss encouraging someone that may need that encouragement and it means we miss the encouragement of other believers that we need to get us through the week.
e. Prayer
When we miss church we also miss an opportunity to meet together as the church and pray for needs that we might have. I know that each one of us can pray alone in the privacy of our homes, but the reality is most people who skip out on church also skip out on their personal prayer time as well. If church is replaceable so is prayer. Often times the church met together to pray. In Acts 12 when Peter was arrested the church met together and prayed earnestly for his release. Remember what happened? God answered the Church’s prayer. When you miss church you miss the opportunity to bring requests before God as the body of Christ.
f. Giving
I Corinthians 16:1-2
When you miss church you also miss giving. We are also commanded by God to each week set aside a sum of money and give to the Lord. One cannot be a Christian and not give to the local church. Giving is a command. So as you can see missing church kind of gets you on many realms and you break many of God’s commands. I honestly think some people miss church just so they will not have to give to the Lord. On a side note God does not forget your income and just because you miss a Sunday does not mean that you are not still obligated to give of that money. Missing church means you miss giving.
g. God’s Word
Missing church also means that you miss of God’s Word. Sometimes God in his providence works things out to where there may be a message that you need to hear to strengthen your faith and teach you more. No doubt many people that need to hear this message are skipping church. When you miss church you miss an opportunity to hear God’s Word and to grow in your faith through that. Remember that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When you miss church you miss an opportunity for your faith to grow.
h. Worship
Colossians 3:16
When you miss church also mean you miss the opportunity to worship Jesus through song. I know that you can sing praises to God alone at home, but again there is something special about corporate worship. God was always pleased when his people met together and worshipped him. Missing church means you miss an opportunity to come before the throne in Heaven and praise God. If you don’t like singing now, you won’t like Heaven because Heaven is going to be church 24/7 for all eternity, worshipping God.
i. Jesus is Present
Matthew 18:20
When you miss church you miss being in the presence of Jesus. If I were to announce to the public that some famous actor, athlete, or politician would be here Sunday the building would be packed just because people wanted to rub elbows with someone famous. The truth is Jesus is present when we are gathered together. Why would anyone in the world want to miss out on that? What in the world could possibly be better than being in Jesus’ presence?
j. Witness
Joe invited Dave to church every week for years. He really wanted Dave to come to Church. One morning Dave under God’s conviction decided to surprise Joe and show up at church assuming that he would be there. Guess what, when Dave came through the doors Joe was skipping church. What a witness to the lost!! Skipping church is a bad witness to the world and to your family. People may be hindered from coming to Christ because you skipped church. Woe to the stumbling blocks it would have been better for you to tie a millstone around you neck and jump into the sea than cause someone to stumble.
A little old man was seen every Sunday morning walking to church. He was deaf, so he could not hear a word of the sermon or the music of the choir, or the hymns sung by the congregation.
A scoffer asked, "Why do you spend your Sundays in that church when you can’t hear a word?" He replied, "I want my neighbors to know which side I’m on!"
