GO TO CHURCH!

I am sure that you will be at work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, working 40+ hours next week, regardless of how tired or sick you are. And for those that need to mow or go fishing or whatever it is you need to do ... call your employer Monday morning and don't go to work. Do your chores on a work day, not the Lord's day. Take your kids to Sunday School, they need that far more than the bounce house. Teach them that God is your priority.

Being a part of a church isn't just about being entertained and "getting a blessing". It's about being a part of a community. It's about supporting each other. It's about hearing the Word of the Lord. It's about spiritual growth. It's about worshiping together. It's about reaching the least, the last, and the lost.

I hear some of the dumbest claims from carnally minded people. For example:

1. I CAN LIVE JUST AS GOOD AT HOME AS I CAN AT CHURCH! 

Really? That sounds like an intelligent argument to you? That's equivalent to saying you can live just as good at Walmart as you can Kroger. Let me share a secret with you ... you're supposed live holy every where you are.

2. I DON'T NEED A PREACHER. I CAN READ THE WORD OF GOD AT HOME.

Again, does that really sound logical to you? First of all, those that say those type of things hardly ever pray or read the Word of God. They never witness to the lost. I'm not sure what they mean by "serving the Lord".

Secondly, the Apostle Paul wrote, saying:

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

You cannot be perfected (matured) in Christ without apostles, prophets, evangelists and teaching pastors. Do you have your own personal pastor at home? Do you have an evangelist scheduled to show up at your house tomorrow?

3. THE CHURCH ISN'T A BUILDING, IT'S THE PEOPLE. 

Ok. Did you know that words can have more than one meaning? For example, the word fly. The fly is buzzing around my head. Zip up your fly. The plane can fly. My wife is fly. Etc.

The word church does refer to the body of Christ, but it also refers to the place the saints go to worship. How about these Scriptures?

Re 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

How many bodies does Jesus have? One or seven?

1Ti 3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Ro 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house.
 
Going to church isn't about LIVING right, it's about SERVING right. You may be able to live just as good at home by yourself, but you will not serve as good by yourself. So don't say you are SERVING God if you're not actively engaged in ministry. Don't say you're serving God if you don't care enough about the body of Christ to fellowship it Sunday and mid-week.

We must stop with the empty, lame excuses for not loving God and His house. The truth is those that don't have a desire for God, His Church, and reaching the lost are simply preoccupied with their own interests.

Go to church tomorrow! Your pastor is studying and praying for the message God wants you to hear. Go to church tomorrow. Go with something in your heart to bless someone else with.