“Going to church” is not really conceptually correct as it pertains to the Christ centered purpose of what is commonly done on Sunday mornings. People “go to church” like it is a duty they have to perform in order to justify their claims of being a Christian.
It is an awful precedent so many families have set, simply because of the habits formed by an institutionalized church.
You might go to church because that seems like a “good” thing to do. In reality you can take it or leave it. If it wasn’t for your mom or dad, or your believing spouse, or to be being actively involved with some volunteerism, you may not find the motivation to “attend church”. Maybe you’re going to church for social opportunities.
Most people do associate the “church’ as being a building where worship services are held and where Christian’s meet, that is incorrectly referred to as the church. That’s because most people incorrectly believe that the church is where a building is and that’s where it stays. When it’s not Sunday, it is out of mind.
You may be a member of a congregation sitting through a Sunday service where the ancient words spoken, the liturgy, the sermon, roll in one ear and out the other, in some kind of theological mumbo jumbo that you know makes sense to the person preaching, but somehow you never have taken it to heart or are really satisfied with what it all means. What does it mean? Do you care? What difference does it make? What’s the purpose?
The messages at church often seem so complicated or detached from real life, it’s hard to even know how it’s related to life. Some speakers know how to keep your attention with some personal anecdote, or use a practical object for a lesson, just so you can make a connection between your life and something spiritually important – its just that you cannot remember what the spiritual truth was that you were supposed to apply to your life to bring you closer to God.
Whatever. You feel it is a religious thing going to church. There’s not much difference otherwise your “faith” doesn’t impact the rest of your life.
You’ve received the Benediction, now It’s time to get back home to watch the game, something you know with intimate detail. Isn’t it just too bad that someone in their infinite wisdom scheduled ball games and church at the same time. Or maybe you need to go to work on your home project to make your life more comfortable or work extra hours because that’s what you do.
It’s called a “worship service”
What is a Sunday Church service intended to be for?
In the beginning, it was the time that the early believers gathered together to be in community because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. The deeply entrenched tradition of the Jewish people has been to meet on the Sabbath, which is Saturday; however, the recognition of Jesus as the Messiah and the Risen Lord convinced thousands of believing Jewish people, to suddenly break the time honored tradition and to gather on Sunday in reverence to God through God’s Son and the Holy Spirit.
The reason believers, including the rapidly growing Gentile population, got together on Sunday was that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ made such an impact, they gathered together in a natural commemoration of the miraculous event which was followed by Jesus’s appearance to over 500 people over a 40 day period after His resurrection. It was during this time that He still taught His disciples so that they would be prepared for when He would ascend back to heaven.
The new believers in Jesus Christ would come together to worship the one who they knew was the Son of God, the Messiah, their Lord and their God.
Jesus taught that He was the Way, the Resurrection and the Life and that everyone who believes would have everlasting life in HIs name. The forgiveness of sins has been God’s offer of Grace for a contrite heart and a response of genuine faith in the redeeming work of Christ for the redemption of the sins for the people.
New believers including the apostles who were gifted with special powers of healing and of teaching were evidence of the transforming nature of the Holy Spirit.
Despite the ongoing threat of persecution, the Church, the Body of Christ, spread like crazy and people wanted to be together with other like minded-believers to worship the true and living God and to support each other as new community of brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we go to church, as a believer in Christ, the intention is that you go to worship God and with a growing knowledge of the glory of God, the Creator who is Holy, Righteous and Just and yet merciful and full of loving kindness. There’s a reason it’s called a worship service, that is its main purpose. The worship service is predicated upon those attending having accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and everything that that entails having surrendered one’s life to the Lord.
If you are not sure about your church, Jesus did teach His disciples to scrutinize for false teachers. Faith is a precious thing that should be nurtured and protected from the wolves. Jesus taught, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
When you attend church with a born again heart for God, you strive to do everything for the love of God and not so much for your own personal needs. When you realize the truth that God has blessed you in many ways, the minor variations you may not appreciate at a worship service fade. There can be a wide variance in the outward appearance between different denominations or congregations: The venue, the style of dress, the music and the people may be different but the words of worship are important, because the words should reflect the truth of God’s glory and grace found in Scripture and the Good News (the Gospel).
If you attend church you must know what the gospel is and why it is needed, if not, either your church is not doing a good job in their first priority or you are not listening, Personally, I like the gospel message to be clear, unmistakable, and reinforced by expository teaching from all parts of the Bible to inform the congregants how God has revealed Himself and of the depths of sin found in human nature.You owe it to yourself to understand what the gospel means and why an event 2000 years ago, the Resurrection of Christ, is as critical, relevant, and transforming now as it was then.
When you have it figured out, you’ll realize that “going to church” on Sundays is actually “going to worship God” in the community of other believers.
For a detailed explanation of who Jesus Christ is from the Bible’s perspective go to the video in this website , “Who is Jesus Christ?”
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
CKY
P.S. Typos and all, I do not use AI.
Sunset photo in Hawaii (Maui) is from my personal stock.
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