Church Matters

So, I’m sure what a lot of you are asking is that if faith matters…and I talked about that last week…why go on and talk about how church matters as well? Well, because there are lots of people who attend a church who don’t have genuine faith. They sit in their normal seat week after week and go through the motions of being there, yet they don’t have a clue of what God and having faith in Him are all about. So, they have to be separate, right? But does that make it sound like I’m saying you should make sure you are at your church every week? I know it does, but you’ll have to let me explain further in the next couple paragraphs. I think you’ll figure out the differences from there.

First off, you need to stop viewing church as something you HAVE to do every week. In fact, church is something you GET to do every week! You get to be with a group of other believers and spend time worshiping God. You get to sit near people who cover you in prayer. You get to pray in a large group of people. You get to hear God’s word together, and so much more.

Second, church isn’t about rituals. I’d encourage you to change where you sit every week instead of having a “regular seat”. There are more than enough people with regular seats at the church. What happens when you move? Well, you get to meet new people. You hear other people pray, worship, etc. So this can change your experience every week. Now, I should also mention in this section that I realize that church needs to have some structure. We have to do worship songs at a certain time in the service, or do communion when you do, etc. I’m not saying those things shouldn’t be done. In fact, I’m very much in favor of that structure. Yet, if that structure is rigid, then you don’t allow space for God to work, and that is a mistake because it’s supposed to be all about Him. Right?

Third, I think church matters because of all of the people you get to come in contact with while you are there. Just hearing other people pray can change your prayer life. Having people pray for you in the aisles can make a huge difference. Maybe when worshipping you get just a glimmer of God working in your life or those around you. But most of all I think the people matter because when you are there you have the support of others. You don’t have to fight the world as much when you are there at church with others who have the same mindset. You get strength from those gatherings, which can fuel another week of your striving to be a light for Him out in the world the following week.

So, does church matter? In short, yes it does. Does it have to be a small church or a mega church? No way. Church can be you and 3 other people in a living room, or in a building as big as Madison Square Garden in New York City. What I do know for certain is that being around other believers is always a good thing, and I’d encourage you to make church matter in your life as well.

Next Week: Maybe It Doesn’t Matter After All