Why Go To Church?

When people come together to share life together we call it fellowship. Fellowship is the second foundation on which we built our church.

We come together in God's presence to worship together but we also come together to challenge each other to grow and to hold each other accountable in living out our faith in our everyday life.

We read in Hebrews:

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23 - NIV)

It is in fellowship that we not only get to share our friendship together but we share our faith with each other in order to build each other up. It is in fellowship that we remind each other that we are a people called together by God to live life together for God. We come together so that we can encourage each other in the promises of God for our lives.

When one of us begins to doubt what God has promised the rest of us are there to lend them strength and encourage them to keep on believing. When one of us falls, the others are there to remind them that God loves us unconditionally.

When we look at fellowship as being an important part of church we realize that not only is the church there for other but the church is there :

For self

In going to my grandparents house it was good to see them and see the smiles on their faces as they watched their family gather around them. It was also good to spend time with my cousins as we lived life together and shared with each other.

But one other reason why I loved going to my grandparents house is because it made me feel special and gave me a sense of belonging.

We should feel the same way about attending church. It is in church that we are reminded that God loves us unconditionally. It is in church that we are reminded that as children of God we are children of the King and that makes us princes and princesses. We are special in God's eyes. The Bible tells us that we are "The apple of God's eye."

In fellowship we are supporting each other, but at the same time we support and encourage others we find that others are there for each of us as well. The writer of Hebrews continues with this line:

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24 - NIV)

Yes we spur each other on but each of us is also spurred on by the others. We challenge each other to love more completely and to do good deeds for the benefits of others. These are only a part of what church is about. Church is also about helping each person find their sense of purpose in God's plan for their lives.

It is in fellowship with others that we can be shown the areas we need to grow in. It is also in this same fellowship that we can hear direction from others. And it is in fellowship that we are reminded of the spiritual truths that are important to our spiritual growth.

Some of the ways we learn these things and remind each other of them is from our time of worship. Praise songs teach spiritual truths, they are not just good music.

We encourage each other and remind each other of spiritual truths and how special we are to God.