Hey guys!! I wanted to share part two today for my post on defining the church. Last week we talked about what scripture says about the church foundation and I gave examples of Gods word to describe what He says a church is supposed to represent and do for the community.

If you read last weeks post where I told you what church means to me and what standards I have for a church you know that I grew up in a Christian school but didnt attend church  regularly. In my post 4 Areas of Focus for 2018 I set new standards for my life this year and focused on areas of improvement and church was part of those standards and an area for improving. Today being the last day of January I can say thankfully I have completed my first four Sundays of 2018 in church. Thats a big step for me in growing my faith. Its something I hope to continue throughout the year.

With that being said I want to share some scripture on why we should go to church. I know a lot of people myself included that once thought that as long as I was praying and “doing good” I didnt need church. Man was I wrong. Now that we know what the church is and what it represents lets see what scripture says about going to church :

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT GOING TO CHURCH :

• 1 Corinthians 12:27 (ESV) “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” This verse is important because it is telling us that when we accepted Jesus as our Lord we then became the body of Christ which we also know is the church. We are now individually members of the body of Christ. How is a church to function properly if we are not in attendance? (Refer to 1 Cor. 12 for more details)
• Romans 10:17 (NIV) “ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” To me this means how are we to grow in faith if we do not hear about the message. Now we can hear about it from other individuals but I would like to think it has deeper meaning to hear it with other believers gathered together and from someone who has profound knowledge (pastor) on the subject or someone who has studied many versions of what we are trying to learn.
• Ephesians 2:21 (ESV) “ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” When I read this verse I picture an army. As if we (Christians) are gathered together and suiting up for battle and we have all of our weapons (worship, praise, the word) in action fighting off the devil and claiming victory to Jesus.
• John 10:16 (ESV) “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” The church also represents a meeting place where we as believers of Christ can bring non believers to hear Gods word and witness the miracles He performs in peoples lives. A place where they can hear testimony and God can have a chance to plant seeds in their minds for later use to bring them closer to Him.
• Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) “ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” It states that we should be meeting together and be in the habit of encouraging one another. Thats a simple verse but its Biblical. It says we should not give up meeting together. Its as simple as that.

There are many verses on church and why we should go but these are the ones that made an impact on me and my idea of setting new standards. It is Biblical to go to church. Do not get into the habit of thinking you do not need to attend services. Do not get lazy. Have a partner to hold you accountable each week or find a friend to go with you. For these first weeks of 2018 my life has been blessed beyond measure because I attended service each Sunday. Not to mention we have it EASY compared to services held in the old times. I was thinking Sunday how its always the perfect temperature in our church and how im never cold or hot but just right then it led me think about how they used to meet in old churches with cracks in the walls and dirt floors and how harsh the winter services must have been.

Stop complaining. Stop making excuses. Get up get there and be blessed by Gods word and fellowship. xoxo -A