S011202 Why do I need to go to church?
Ezra 8:21
A sermon by Scotty L Killingsworth
Preached to the Evergreen Church Springfield, Mo.
Second sermon in the series-Sermons I would bring a friend to hear.
Beginning
The Fellowship of the Ring tells the story of a Hobbit who has in his possession of a powerful ring. He has carried it in his pocket for many years and it has done him good. He has become wealthy, and has developed several outstanding abilities. But, there is a price that he is paying for the benefit the ring has provided. He has come to love it. He finds it nearly impossible to give away. He strokes it and calls it “My Precious”. He loves the ring more than anything else.
The most precious things in our lives can’t be bought or sold. The most precious things in my life are not things. They are people, family, church and friends.
Life is precious
Next Sunday is Sanctity of human life day in our denomination. This special day is designed to remind us of the immeasurable value God places on human life.
I want to publicly proclaim I believe in life. It is never God’s will to destroy a baby who has been created in the image of God. Every life has the potential to give praise to God. Every life is the fulfillment of a God-dream. Life is precious whether in extreme old age or in extreme infancy. Every moment of life is precious, and should be protected and cherished.
Friends and family are precious.
Swindoll says, “A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living.”
A teenager waits impatiently to grow up and become his own boss-then he gets married.
The church is precious.
Charles Colson said, “Biblically the church is an organism not an organization-a movement, not a monument. It is not a part of the community; it is a whole new community. It is not an orderly gathering; it is a new order with new values, often in sharp conflict with the values of the surrounding society.“
This Sunday we will deal with one of the questions you asked last September. The question asked was, “Why should I go to church?”
I have heard all these arguments for not attending church. " I could do without it if I chose. After all, I have the Bible to read. I can pray - I don’t need anybody else for that. I can read Christian books, and I can listen to Christian radio, and I can watch Robert Schuller on TV. And what about Tom Hanks, stranded on that island in the movie Castaway? He didn’t have a church. What about Robinson Crusoe? Are you trying to tell me that people stranded on desert islands can’t know God? Or what about missionaries who go and live in the jungle with remote tribes, where they are the only Christians? They get along all right without a church. So I can too."
Let me clear this up for you. You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, but you have to go to church to be obedient to God. One day in seven has been God’s gold standard for His children to assemble together. One day in seven is God’s gift to mankind.
A sad commentary on our times is that just because the Bible says so, is not be a good enough reason for church attendance. Hebrews 10:25” 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.” The Bible say we should attend church more and more as we approach His return.
Burden:
With this talk today I am going to make the case that church attendance is vital because everything you hold dear can be taken away from you. The church offers the best hope on earth of carrying your precious treasures through a dangerous land.
Ezra 8:21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
Background to Ezra
After years of exile the Lord released the people through the new King. Not only have they been delivered, they have been given the challenge to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. They were also given the utensils of God that were taken in the captivity so that the worship of God could begin again in the land he had given unto Israel. We pick up the story just as Ezra and the first men to come back into Israel are about to pass through some dangerous territory.
Basic Truth: You are carrying precious treasure in a dangerous land. You need all the help you can get.
Burning Question:
What can the church do to help safely carry precious treasures through a dangerous land?
The Church offers authentic community
Bowling Alone, a most troubling book, speaks of the collapse and revival of American community. Bowling Alone isn’t a Christian book, but it’s an analysis of the health of our sense of community in American culture. The author observes that since the 1950s membership in voluntary community groups has been steadily declining. He traces membership in groups like labor unions, the PTA, professional groups, grass roots political groups, civic groups, churches and synagogues, philanthropic groups like the Rotary, and so forth. He observes that in every single case, involvement in these groups has been steadily declining for 50 years. As a result of this our neighborhoods are filled with people who feel disconnected and isolated from each other.
Colossians 3:44 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Acts 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
In both these Biblical writings we feel the sense of togetherness. There are some vital ingredients that make community, but fellowship is crucial.
There is safety in numbers. When the Wildebeest makes its annual migration they do so in the thousands. When they come to a river crossing where predatory animals wait to snatch a meal, most get through safety because of their numbers.
You don’t have to face life alone when you have an authentic church community behind you.
Transitional Statement:
Community and fellowship add so much to our lives, but even before we get to where we can appreciate Christian care and fellowship-community we have to establish a value that gives us a chance to start over after we have failed.
The church can dispense lavish grace
Whenever a person stands in front of us and gives a confession of faith, we don’t ask, "What political party are you?" we don’t ask, "Have you cleaned up your life?" we don’t ask, "Are you married or single?"
We don’t say, "You have some tattoos, so we can’t receive you here." We don’t say, "You had an abortion, so you’re not welcome here." We don’t say, "You were once gay, so you have to prove yourself first."
What do we ask? "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave?" Nothing more is required, because that one confession is enough.
Matthew 18: 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Forgiveness should have no limit especially within God’s Community.
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
How can Jesus make such an outlandish command? Why should we be motivated to forgive? The answer is simple. No debt is as large as the one you’ve been forgiven.
Matthew 18:23-27 Jesus told a parable about a king, who represents God, and his servants who represent all of us. In this story a man came to the king asking for an enormous debt to be cancelled. The king cancelled the debt. The man who had just received grace went out and threw a man in jail who owed him a very small amount.
A lack of forgiveness destroys God’s Community.
What do I want you to know?
You need to be in church. But don’t look for a perfect one to join. There are no perfect churches. Besides if you joined a perfect one it would immediately stop being perfect.
The Perfect Church
I think that I shall never see
a Church that’s all it ought to be
A Church whose members never stray
Beyond the Strait and Narrow Way:
A church that has no empty pews
Whose Pastor never has the blues
A church whose deacons always deak,
And none is proud and all are meek.
Where gossips never peddle lies,
Or make complaints or criticize;
Where all are always sweet and kind,
And all to other’s faults are blind.
Such perfect churches there may be,
But none of them are known to me.
But still we’ll work and pray and plan,
To make our own the best we can.
What do I want you to do?
Make church part of your life
Work to see that this church always helps carry precious cargo safely through a dangerous land. An authentic church can actually provide this service. An inauthentic church is not worth being part of.
Charles Colson -- When the church fails to break the [cultural] barrier, both sides lose. Those who need the gospel message of hope and the reality of love, don’t get it, and the isolated church keeps evangelizing the same people over and over until its only mission finally is to entertain itself.
