Why go to Church? 1 John 1:3 1-4-04

Hebrew 10 1-4-04
Why go to church? there are churches I don't want to go to either

Common complaints
Too much guild
Organized religion is less that perfect/Churches have hurt many people
The pastor isn't perfect
The church is full of hypocrites

The church can be a problem
What they had to say had nothing to do with the real world."
"The used weird talk, lots of words I never heard before."
"They didn't really use the Bible, and I didn't learn anything new."
"They seemed more interested in my money than anything else."
"The music was pretty bad."
"They asked the new folds to stand up and introduce themselves."
"Frankly, the people I met there seemed a little odd.
The obvious result: few new people return for more.

Actually, church should be:
Practical and relevant to today's world.
Use normal language.
Follow the Bible
Have good music
Allow people to visit the church without putting them "under a spotlight" or have them do some
thing they would not normally do in public.
Portray the Delicate balance of reality with spirituality

Reasons to attend church
God asks us/we made a commitment...Worst reason
When you become a Christian, you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9) But 1 John 1:3 makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other Christians.

Faith is a personal, but not a private matter...
Community Benefits
Institutions keep us from error
It provides fellowship with other Christians.
A safe refuge/A place of refuge?encouragement
To build one up/To help one another
A classroom for spiritual development
At church, we learn to celebrate life

Mission
3 strands make a strong cord, many can do what one cannot

(1) Church tell the world about Jesus
(2) Our children need the values based education/or raise them as in Russia
(3) Help others

Personal Purpose
It reminds us that our life is not about us

Mark Stanton....me and God have our own things
It's illogical to say that you are merely part of the worldwide, universal church, yet refuse to gather with the segment of that universal church that exists in your geographical area. It would be like claiming you have a car, when the right fender is in Phoenix, the engine is in Tucson, and the wheels are in Paradise Valley! You don't have a car; you have the beginning of the inventory for a junkyard. It just won't function until the pieces are put together

It is is great to be alive to the best in life. To be alive only to material possessions and goals is to live in the shallows. Launch out into the deep of each human soul in Church where the treasures are! Enter God's palace.

Helps provide purpose
It is great to stand for something. Men of principle are the principal men,
Character is the bedrock of true greatness. Stand and be counted!

Spirituality
We worship
helps our spiritual well being
It brings a special visitation of the Lord's Presence.
We are connected to the mysterious God

Communion