Our Fall series, WHY?, is answering some of the questions people often think or ask as they consider the Bible and the Christian faith.

Today's question: Why Do I Need to Go to Church?

Before we can fully understand the question, "Why do I need to go to Church?" it would be helpful to understand how the church began and what it looked like.
The word "church" never appears in the Old Testament and only appears in the Gospels 3 times...all in the book of Matthew actually.
The first time we see the term "church" is in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus announces that Peter will be the rock upon which He will build His church.
The second and third times we see the term "church" is in Matthew 18:15-17 where we see how a brother should handle when another brother sins against them.

We must understand that when Jesus establishes His church in Matthew 16 and 18 He understood He was dealing with sinful people and He needed to show them how to handle conflict between each other. The early Christians came from backgrounds different than their new lives as believers.
So let's look at how their lives looked before Jesus...

Before Christianity existed, people were identified by their ethnicity or nationality. Your religion was determined by the location you lived, the tribe you belonged to, or your family history. Your identity was set at birth and you were not given the freedom to choose.

To identify as a believer meant you were breaking from tradition which literally meant becoming a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You would walk away from your previous life and leave behind all that came with it. Your family would stop providing for you and maybe even break contact. You were pushed away from those who were not believers.

Since God did not create us to be alone (Genesis 2:18), you would start to rebuild your life by being welcomed into your new Christian family. You would associate with fellow believers. You would re-establish business relationships, find new jobs, and attend worship service in the homes of those who brought you to Christ.

There was both a physical and spiritual care provided by the early church. We see this in the 2nd chapter of Acts.
Acts 2:42-47

We can see a clear pattern in Acts 2 of how the early church functioned and the draw of being a part of it.
Verse 46 says that they worshipped in the temple and met in homes for the Lord's Supper. There were two places that they met; a larger group setting of the temple and the smaller group setting in homes.
We saw this pattern in Jesus' life as well. He was always with people.
After Jesus, we see Paul carry on in the same way. He would travel from city to city raising up churches. Paul's travels were in obedience to God calling him to bring the Good News to the Gentiles.
In Colossians 4:15, we read that Paul is sending his greetings to the larger church at Laodicea and also to the smaller church that meets at the house of Nympha. We also see from Paul's writings that the smaller churches always looked for guidance and clarification from the larger church in Jerusalem. There was always a focus on the larger church that Jesus spoke of.

Hebrews 10:24-25
There are many lessons we could take away from this verse but the one that goes back to our question for today, "why do we need to go to church", is this, OBEDIENCE.

The book of Hebrews was written at a time when the early Christians were suffering a great persecution. Their faith was waivering. The book was a reminder to remain steady in their obedience to God. Can we relate to this today? We are under attack all the time and being a believer is not an easy task. The only thing God has asked of us is to be obedient.
1 Samuel 15:22a

Obedience is God's love language! Obedience to God means gathering as the body so we can encourage and support one another.

Nowhere in the early church do we see new believers being forced to go it alone. It may have been isolating to become a believer but it was never about continuing to do it that way. When you identified with Christ, you were brought into both the larger church and smaller church where you would learn and participate with other believers.

God views the church as a family and body. We all belong and are indwelt by the same spirit, having different personalities, gifts, and skills we are to work together to represent Him and help each other become what God saved us to become. The church exists as a body with many parts and we each play a role as a part of the body.

A person should belong to and regularly attend a church for at least 3 reasons:

1. BEGIN a relationship with God.

The church will show you the ropes and model what it looks like to live out your faith.

2. GROW your relationship with God.

Mentoring
Grace U Classes
H.O.M.E. Groups

3. SHARE your relationship with God with others.

Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20

Let's go back to when Jesus said, "Follow Me." He called people into a relationship with Him and the others who were already following Him.
Following Him involves closeness, commitment, and consistency; not casualness.
His call to "follow me" meant that people had to re-order their lives around Him and the cause for which He lived His life.
The reality of our Christian life is seen in how our lives have submitted to the priorities of Jesus...our obedience to His call.
This is why Christians are called out of the world to be the church, His church!

Birthdays and Anniversaries!

Sunday, October 2nd - Tony & Nichole Hansen
Wednesday, October 5th - Ellie Mann
Thursday, October 6th - James Yenger, Randy & Kathy Sears, Mike & Heidi Mater
Friday, October 7th - Brett & Cass Ramey