I’ve been asked often, “Why should I bother with church?” With dozens of religious TV stations, many feel that they can get their Bible teaching without attending church. This is a great question that deserves an answer.
I’ll start with an admission. Church is a bother. You don’t get many days of the week when you can sleep in and with kid’s sporting events on Saturdays for many people it is hard to see giving up that one day of the week. Plus add to that the strange people you meet at church.
The book of Acts is the history of the early church. In the book of Acts, the new believers were asking themselves a lot of questions about what this whole thing all meant. There were a lot of questions to sort out. Acts chapter 2 verse 42 tells us that they new believers devoted themselves continually to the Apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, prayers and breaking of the bread.
It is true that you can stay home and get teaching – some of it is quite good. But there’s something different that happens when it is done with others. This is the thing that I hear from many people who are shut-in. They miss being in church to hear teaching. Bible studies allow for group learning situations, too.
You can’t get fellowship at home. Fellowship is what we have in common and it takes contact with people to get fellowship. It is possible to find some of this in a Christian chat room, but even this lacks the intimacy of the local church where you know others and are known by others.
Prayer has power when we pray with others. I can’t explain why it is that way. Jesus said that when two or three agree, what they agree on will be done for them. Agreement with others is impossible when you are alone.
Finally, there is breaking of the bread. A regular communion life allows for connection with God and others on a deeper level. Church potlucks may not have the best food, but when your bread is broken with others for some odd reason it tastes better.
Think about what you are missing if you are not attending a local church. Maybe it is worth getting up this Sunday morning?
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