Have you ever wondered: Why should I go to church? After all, I’ve got a great online pastor I love to listen to. I learn a lot from the Word and from his sermons. I’ve got great online worship music I love to listen to.
Why Church?
Hubby and I pulled into the parking lot at church early Sunday morning. All was abuzz with commotion and activity! The teens were getting ready to leave for High School Camp!
Anticipation and excitement were palpable in the air! The parking lot was backed up with parents lined up to drop off their teens. Piles of suitcases and backpacks and pillows sat in heaps waiting to be loaded onto the bus. Teens mingled everywhere! So much youthful energy and enthusiasm!
This right here is why we go to church! We go so that we can be a part of the Church … so that we are intermingling with all generations! So that we are not just solely focused on ourselves, in our own little world. The next generation needs us! Our own little world isn’t all there is.
As we intermingle with the youthful enthusiasm of the teens as they are getting ready to go to Camp … we are drawn into what’s going on in their lives … and as a result we can pray for those teens this next week as they are at Camp!!
Seeing the teens … intermingling with their enthusiasm and excitement … being part of the Church … you can’t get that by sequestering yourself in your house … watching sermons online. We need Church! Our souls need to be in community with other believers! Of all generations!
Why Church?
I stood with hubby as service started, the worship band launched into song, and we all raised our voices in worship and praise to Jesus! It was so moving!! The entire room was filled with people unreservedly pouring out deep heart-felt praise and worship to Jesus!! Hands were raised in the air in surrender and praise to Jesus!
We were all giving everything we had … in worship … in praise … to our wonderful Jesus!
I was so moved I got choked up and couldn’t sing. Tears trickled out. Every one of these people was just like me … just a normal person, having struggled to make it through a hard difficult week! We all were weary, and tired, and exhausted after “fighting on the frontlines of spiritual warfare” all week.
Every one of us was weak … and needy … yet we were all coming to give everything we had to Jesus! … and to be strengthened and empowered by Him … in order to be able to head out and face another week … fighting on the frontlines of spiritual warfare!
None of us were special. None of us were superhuman. Every one of us had struggles and hurts and difficulties. And yet we all were one body together … as the Church!
Together we were powerful! Together, God received our heart-felt praise as one song!
Together … we were one! And Jesus was pleased with His bride!
That’s why Church! Because we can’t fight on the frontlines of spiritual warfare all week by ourselves! We can’t be isolated. The quickest way for the enemy to overcome us is to isolate us and make us feel that we are all alone. As if we are the only one.
But we aren’t all alone!
We aren’t the only one trying to love and serve Jesus, in a world that hates us and is seeking to dismantle and tear us down.
There are lots of us!! There are lots of other spiritual warriors fighting for Team Jesus!
We need each other!! We need Church because we need to see (and hear, in singing together) that we are surrounded by many many others who are also just like us … weak, and tired, and weary, and beat up! … and God is strengthening them!
We need to see how God is working in their lives, as they fight on the frontlines!
And they need to see how God is working in our lives as we are fighting on the frontlines!
And we need to be aware of what is going on in each other’s lives, so that we can pray for each other! And so that we can strengthen and encourage each other!
We need Church! We need each other! We need the camaraderie of being with fellow spiritual warriors in this struggle against spiritual wickedness!
We need to sing together! We need to worship together! This strengthens us!
Church matters! We need Church!
