Why Do I Go to Church?

Over the past year or so I have felt my concept of what church attendance is go through subtle but significant transformation. Because of the prominence that the sermon has on Sunday morning I have long felt that my chief aim in attending church was to be taught. While I still hold this to be true I feel that it has taken a place of secondary importance, and it is becoming clear to me that when the body of Christ gathers together once a week it should be for the ultimate purpose of worshiping God. In this way the focus is shifted from me onto God. Instead of thinking about how good the teaching will be, how dynamic the speaker will be, or how I will like the sermon, I am now thinking about what I am offering to God with my presence and participation in the Sunday morning worship service. I am still focused on learning on Sundays, but I learn because it is an act of worship to hear God's word explained, and whether it is done well or it is explained poorly, as long as the preaching is still true to the word of God, it is also my act of worship to take what I've learned and to use it to conform my life to Christ.

Worship, then, is the key, and the ways that I see the people of God worshiping in scripture have great value in informing my own worship. Too often I give too little attention to the preparation of my heart to enter the presence of God to worship. The high priest of Israel was the only person allowed to enter into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, and he was only allowed to do that once a year. Before he could go past the thick curtain that hung at the entrance he first had to make a sacrifice for his own sins. This demonstrates the fact that sin is what will prevent us from truly entering into God's presence. It becomes even more serious when we find that the high priest hung bells on himself and also had a rope tied to him that lead out of the Holy of Holies so that in the event that his sin had not been completely atoned for, and God struck him down, and the bells went silent, then his colleagues at the temple could pull his body out without danger to themselves. If this is how people in the Old Testament approached God, what makes me think that I can arrive at church on Sunday morning with little or no preparation? Consequently, this is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:23, 24 that we must first be reconciled to our brother before coming to to worship. Sin disconnects us from God and makes it impossible for us to worship him.

With that in mind I would like to end with the main purposes of church outlined in three w's. This is not an exhaustive list but I think it highlights the points that are highlighted in scripture about what the church is and what it is to be doing.

1) Worshiping - Ultimately when we gather together it should be to worship the almighty God, the creator and sustainer of all that is, the only one worthy to receive glory and honor and praise. In fact our very lives are to be in pursuit of this end. This is the upward focus of the church.

2) Working - Because the church is the body of Christ it has to function symbiotically with its various parts. We are given commands in scripture to love, serve, edify, encourage, teach, and even rebuke one another. This is the inward focus of the church.

3) Witnessing - The life of a follower of Christ should testify to his greatness and mercy, and should be striving to fulfill the commands of Christ to make disciples of all the nations. The church is the agent to which God has given the task of expanding his kingdom. This is the outward focus of the church.