Why We Go To Church

 

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

—The words of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

 

Have you ever wondered why we go to church each weekend? If I were to ask each one of you why you will be in church this weekend, most of you would probably answer, “Because it’s just what I do.” Maybe your mom or dad started bringing you to church when you were a little child. Or, maybe you discovered church as a teenager, or as a college student, or even as a mid-life adult. Whatever circumstances started you connecting with church, you’re still attending.

This weekend, if you look out over the group of people in the sanctuary of your church, you might wonder, “Why are they all here today?” I mean, look at them. You will see some young people. You will see some students in middle school or high school. You will see some college students. You will see some young adults. You will see some adults in the middle portion of their lives. And, you will see some older people. You will see a whole room full of people who, for some reason, decided to come together for worship.

Thinking about why we come to church cuts right to the heart of what church and worship is all about. It gets right to the very most basic truth of all that the Bible has to say. It sets aside all of the frills and fancy stuff, and deals with the complete and unadorned truth.

And, do you know what that truth is? The whole reason why every one you see gathered in worship, the whole reason why we even have churches, is that “Jesus loves us, this we know, for the Bible tells us so!”

That simple truth is what drives the whole of the Christian faith. Our response to this simple, yet very important, truth is why we gather for worship.

The fact is that, in the Garden of Eden, Adam broke the relationship he had with God by disobeying God’s one commandment. As a result, the curse of that sin has fallen on all of us, down through the ages, right to this present day.

But, the wonderful part of the story is that God—in His mercy and grace, through the sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary—has paid the penalty for our sin and restored us to fellowship with Him. This wonderful love of Jesus has brought us back into fellowship with God, both now, and for all eternity.

So, when we gather to worship God, we do so as a people who have been given a magnificent gift—the gift of new life through Jesus Christ. And, that is truly a reason to celebrate.

Will you pray with me?

Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Help us to learn how to be people that love You and want to serve You. In Jesus’ Precious Name. Amen.

_{Copyright © 2011 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}