Why Go To Church?

Why go to church?

Selective verses

Good Morning Everyone- We are glad that you are here.

Prayer-

I want to speak with you about “The church.”

The church is a building and church is people. The church is people who go to church and the people who go to church trying to get other people to go to church.

Those knowing Jesus and those needing to know Jesus.

The church has been under attack and has severely declined for several years for several reasons.

1960’s -80’s most attended a church even if they didn’t act Christian, they were in church.

Today in the 2000’s, most don’t go to church.

The church has recently been weakened by Covid-19 when church goers were forced to stay indoors and away from each other and it has further been weakened that even though we can freely come back together; many in the church have chosen to stay away and take a different approach on church.

“The church” and I call it that on purposed because to most people the church is just a giant institution made by man that exists in many different names. (Nazarenes, Baptist, Methodist…)

Church to many is a place you visit… when you feel like it… or someone has invited you and you no longer can hold them off and you have to give in and come.

We have a generation of people today that have never seen the inside of a church except a wedding and a funeral.

Too many people in a bizarre way think church is a punishment you have to go through until you old enough to make up your own mind to wither you will continue to go or not.

People look at those who have by their own desire and choice stayed in church and happy in the church are looked at as fanatical, especially if they go every week because the new normal of being a regular attender of church is to go to church once a month with no strings attached, meaning you don’t support the church financially and you have no teaching or volunteer responsibilities.

You come into a church building and you get to criticize and critique what is done and you determine if and when you will be or not be coming back.

Do I pretty much have that right?

That is not you because you are here but it is how most view the church.

In a day and age of so much technology, I believe we are asking some wrong questions of the church- we ask if it relevant and do you attend. The right question is do you know who instituted the church and if you do know who…why aren’t you attending?

Why don’t most go to church? If it is one of many options –

There are hypocrites going to that church

All they want is your money

I like to sleep in on Sunday

It is an institution I don’t believe in. I am a Christian and I like what they do but do not want to be a part of it.

If it is a commandment and not opinion than our answers… will not stand up.

The church is not a man made institution. It was not man’s idea. We always want to take credit for things we don’t do and things we cannot do. We are not as smart as we think we are!

Someone didn’t look into the community and say what do we have in common and let’s get together- that is how bowling leagues start, baseball teams, boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, but not the church.

The church was instituted by God Himself.

It was started in an upper room after Pentecost and the church was empowered to reach this world for Jesus and they could not do it in their own power.

Jesus was very direct and very precise what and how a church is formed and how it operates and if the church operates without God it is not a church it is a social club not the house of God.

The Old Testament temple had the Holy of Hollies, we talked last week about it, the earthly dwelling place of God.

When the veil was torn down by what Jesus did on the cross and by His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit of God Himself to dwell in the hearts and lives of believers.

It is a brick and mortar building (a place to worship) and it definitely inside the heart of a believer.

The church is not the church when it stays only in the building and it is not the church when we as believers don’t act like Christians.

The Church that Christ started-

Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them as they gathered together in one place-