Why Go to Church? / The Main Thing / Body Builders

Why Go to Church?

Here are some reasons that people might want to go to a church community. They’re in no particular order. You might like to decide if they are valid or not, or in what order of priority they should be placed. Perhaps you might like to brainstorm some other reasons that I haven’t included :

We are told in the Bible to meet together. (Hebrews10:25)

To honour God.

To worship God in the company of other believers.

To be a witness to the unsaved and draw others into God’s kingdom, fulfilling the Great Commission

To learn more of God and His ways through Bible teaching.

To celebrate communion together with other believers.

To enjoy singing and music with other voices/instruments in unison.

To lift our prayers to God as a group.

To be prayed for and to pray for others’ needs individually.

To give and receive Godly counsel.

To be involved in ministries where our talents can be appreciated, recognised, utilized and developed.

To help our children and youth to be nurtured and developed into Godly men and women.

To reach out as a group to the unsaved in ways that would not be possible individually.

To be equipped for witnessing in other spheres of life beyond the church building.

To share fellowship with other Christians.

To receive care in times of need.

For encouragement.

The Main Thing

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Stephen R. Covey

Why do churches exist? Why do we attend church communities? What is their purpose? How effective are they in this purpose?

How do we "do" church? How do we keep order from becoming ritual? How do we maintain simplicity, space, creativity and cooperation and avoid a never- ending spiral of programs, busyness, and ego-driven competition?

What does Jesus say?

"Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:33-35

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ” Matthew 28:19.20 (As recorded in Matthew, Christ's last words to His followers before He ascended into heaven - the "Great Commission")

Love God and love one another, and keep focused on reaching out to the ones who don't yet know Him. That’s enough of a main thing for me.

Body builders.

There was once a man, whose name was Sam. Sam decided he would enter the Mr World competition. He worked hard to achieve his goals. He rose every morning early and went to the gym. He exercised with weights and ate healthy food. He listened carefully to his gym instructor and read and studied everything he could on body building. At the end of a long training period, Sam entered the contest, and to his delight, he won a bronze medal. He’s continuing to train hard for the next event where he hopes to gain a silver medal or even the coveted gold trophy.

There was another man and his name was Dan. Dan too was a hard worker. He got up every morning and was out in the fields ploughing, planting, watering and weeding. He consulted with some of the experts in agriculture to determine the best use of his land. He read all he could about farming. He ate healthy food.  At the end of a long summer the crops were harvested, and to Dan's delight he had plenty to feed his family and enough to share with others who had little, because he’s a kind hearted fellow. He's hoping for an even larger crop next time.

When people meet Dan and Sam, they sometimes get confused, because they’re identical twins.