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Why Do We Really Need Church?

Why can't we worship God in the comfort of our homes, enjoying the best preaching and music that television has to offer?  Why can't we just enjoy being alone in the woods, with God and the pine trees?  Why can't we meet God at the water's edge, wiggling our toes in the warm sand?    Read More...

 

I've been thinking I would like to go to church, but I don't know anyone. 

I don't know what to do, where to go, what to expect when I get there.  It's hard and it feels awkward to do anything for the first few times. Here are some suggestions:

Have you noticed a church near you or one you drive by often? If not, check the phone book. Call the church office. You should find a friendly voice to talk to. (Some churches don't have a full-time staff. If no ones there leave a message so they can get back to you.)

If you'd like, ask to be matched up with someone in the church, any of us would love to meet you even before you attend. That way, you will know someone before you come!

Also, we could pick you up Sunday morning, meet you for breakfast or coffee before church or at least meet you in the parking lot to show you where to go and what to do.

Stop by a church on a weekday and ask someone to show you around so the place doesn't feel so foreign when you come on Sunday.

Just show up. Check out when the worship service starts. Many churches have greeters to help you as you enter the sanctuary. If you'd like, ask them to introduce you to someone you can sit with.

5.

Key Concepts
Home God Cares For You
God Cares For You PDF Print E-mail
Written by Webmaster   
Monday, 04 February 2008 09:13

 

I often reflect on those things I believe to be important.  These include my wife, family, friends, home, church, and work.   However in this writing I want to consider the home.  As a Christian I have often advised people new to the faith to “keep themselves in a place where God can take care of them”.  This counsel is based on pure observation as I have embraced the Christian faith for over 30 years. The concept of God caring for his people does not imply that His people are weak or incapable of taking care of themselves. 

The principle of God’s care is much like the role of a parent caring for their children in the safety of their home. Jesus told the story of a lost son in the Bible book of Luke 15:11-32. This story illustrates the love and concern that God has for the people He created.  The Bible story reads as follows:

     
Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.


“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’


“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’


“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.


“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 


 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’


“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” .

Focus on the character of the father. Regardless of the behavior of either son, the father’s attention was always on his sons and their well being.  In the father’s house, each son could be assured of acceptance, counsel, love and concern, and provision for their needs.   

Compare the father in this story to our Heavenly Father. Humanity is God’s most prized creation. He proved this by sacrificing His only Son for our redemption.  So in our Father’s house, the church, we place ourselves in the place where God can take care of us.  So if you are struggling in the faith, perhaps you have even turned your back on the Father. Maybe you have decided to quit going to church.  Why not take a hint from the lost son and consider your Father’s house. Return to the place where you can talk to the Father and rediscover His love and acceptance. In doing so, the father’s words “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours” can become your new foundation for living.

Know Jesus?

 
Last Updated ( Monday, 02 June 2008 11:12 )
 
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