So we, being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:5

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

Herein lies God’s Grace
I can tell you of the love God offers
But that won’t heal your heart.
I can tell you of new beginnings
But only you can make a new start.
I can help you learn to pray,
But not how to worship God.
I can explain His amazing power,
But I can’t demonstrate its awe.
I can sing to you my praises,
But that won’t bring you blessings.
I can tell you about the Bible
But I can’t impart its lessons.
Likewise, I can tell God about you
Still, He won’t know you as a person.
I can tell Him everything I know
But God doesn’t want my version.
He wants to know what’s in your heart
For you to share it with Him freely.
He wants to earn your faith and trust
So you will share yourself completely.
There’s just no need to be afraid.
And there’s no need to hide from God.
He invites you to come just as you are
Caring nothing for your flaws.
Herein lies God’s grace, my friend,
The value of which I can’t describe,
When you and I deserve nothing
He still offers paradise
Linda Troxell © 07/04/2020

Are you content to know God only from hearing someone else tell you about Him? Are you a Christian who is satisfied to have a second hand relationship with God using your Pastor as the middle man? Is what you know about God limited to what your Pastor says on Sunday? If the answer is yes, I’m not criticizing or judging you. After all, you are probably part of the Christian majority.

I’m sure you have heard the lament that people are leaving the church in droves. That with every generation the pews are emptier and emptier. I won’t argue with the pollsters about that. However, when I see how many college students attend yearly conferences, like Passion, featuring prominent Christian speakers, such as Louie Giglio and Pricilla Shier, it seems that there are plenty of Christians in this generation.

I think that what makes it seem like Church attendance is decreasing is the way in which this generation experiences church. They don’t treat church like we did or like our parents did. For this generation going to church is less attending a service in a building and more going online for church whenever they have time.

They are used to the convenience provided by Wi Fi and see no reason it can’t be applied to church. And apart from being convenient there are a variety of pastors to choose from online. This allows for different points of view about God and the Bible. To say nothing of the ability to pick the most dynamic and entertaining speaker. This generation is used to being entertained every minute of their day.

Some Christians use online church as an adjunct to more conventional church attendance. Many churches record their services and post them online each week after live services are over. Some even live stream them in real time. So there are those who go to church online only when they are unable to attend the live event. A position we all find ourselves in now.   

So, we don’t want to overlook what a blessing, (and perhaps a plan?) it is that there were so many churches recording and live streaming their services when the virus came into our lives. If there had not been so many churches already set up to put services online it would have taken some time to gear up for it, leaving everyone without any church.

I fear, though, that when this pandemic is over there will be even fewer attending church regularly. After all, there is something very tempting about not having to get up and get dressed for church. Why is that even important, you may ask? I’m glad you did because I would like to share a few reasons why it is still important to go to real life church.

The first reason, and it should be the only one we need, is that it was Jesus’ idea and not ours. But if we need more than that then we need to remember that we were never told to go to church, we were told to be the church. The Bible tells us that we need be in relationship with other believers. We, each one of us, is part of the body of Christ and as such we have a place in the body of believers. So we, being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12:5

Church is where the body of Christ comes together to encourage one another, to be in relationship with one another as Christians. If we are going to be part of God’s final plan, it will have to be together. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

We are the church. And that means that attending church services has to be more than sitting in the back row and receiving the Word. James tells us that we are to be doers of the Word. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22. Remember, we don’t attend church, we are the church merely attending church isn’t good enough for being the church.

Being the church means that we are striving to live how Jesus lived. And how He told us to live as well. We are to demonstrate God’s love by serving others. We are to demonstrate God’s love by sharing with others. We, are to share our faith, remember the Great Commission? Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

We, who are the church should not be going to church to be served or to be consumers. We should go to church to serve others. We need to be together to grow and mature in our walk with Christ, to learn to serve, to learn to love one another, to recognize and exercise our spiritual gifts, and to learn and practice forgiveness.

 If we aren’t interested in doing these things then we might as well watch online. Really, we might as well not watch at all, because we sure aren’t listening.

There are many parts of being a Christian that cannot be done in isolation. For example, we, as Christians are directed to hold one another accountable for our sin. In Galatians 6:1-2 Paul writes, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul tells the Galatians that they, the church, are to hold each other accountable for their sin. He isn’t saying that they are to judge or condemn one another. On the contrary, he is saying they need to gently help restore them to the right path. He indicates that part of holding each other accountable is sharing each another’s burdens.

In fact, in theses verses Paul says that by holding one another accountable, restoring one another to the path of righteousness, and sharing one another’s burdens we fulfill Christ’s most important law, love your neighbor as yourself. But in order to have any chance of doing that we must be part of a community. Who will hold us, and who will we hold accountable if we are never in the presence of other believers?

I’ve heard it said that man cannot develop emotionally without someone to reflect him back to himself. I don’t know about that, but I do believe that we, as Christians, cannot progress and mature in our walk with Christ without other Christians to hold us accountable in some measure. I think we do that, to some extent, just by being together as believers. Just knowing we as Christians believe the same things I think, reminds us what being a Christian is and for whom we live our lives.

And there is another reason that being in community is so essential. God made us to be in relationship with Him and with others, yes to encourage one another, yes to serve one another and yes to hold one another accountable. But perhaps even more essentially, I think He made us to be in relationship with other believers, so we can worship Him communally.

I really enjoy my time alone with God. It restores my peace, it centers me and it makes me feel strong. But there is nothing like worshipping God in a together with other worshippers. Be it ten or 25 or more, it is exhilarating in a way that nothing else is. Communal worship has an energy of love that bring God into a space more tangibly than does anything else I’ve experienced.

And finally, being part of the body of Christ and meeting together creates a real community. And we all need the comfort that a community, especially a church community, can give us.

I know that some of us have the instinct to shut people out when we are hurting. To want to be alone in times of grief. But that isn’t healthy for us. When we are feeling down, we need to know other people care about us. No matter how dark our thoughts, no matter how much we tell ourselves we don’t care, we do on some level.

And being a member of a church community meets that need. When our church family knows we are in need they will be there whether we like it or not. They will bring casseroles we don’t like and brownies we do like. They will call us and text us and email us even if we don’t want them to. Because they know we need them to.

They know because they have been just where we are. And when they were, we brought the casseroles and we called and texted and emailed. We, as humans, and much more as Christians, have very similar needs. We may have very different likes and wants, but our needs are pretty uniform. We need to feel loved. We need to feel a part of. We need to feel needed. And we need to feel that we are obeying our God.

That brings us right back to the start. What does God want us to do? He wants us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He wants us to share our faith and to hold each other accountable. He wants more than that but for the purposes of this topic that is what He wants. And being part of a church community gives us the opportunity to do all of those things. Where are we going to do them if we are only worshipping God alone on our phone?

I think this was a problem for churches before the pandemic. I’m afraid after the pandemic it will be an even bigger problem. We should be thinking about it before it happens. I’m not suggesting we do away with all online church. I think it is very useful. But I’m saying that we need to think about what we can do to make it less likely that anyone will slip into using online church as a complete replacement for real life church.

I really believe the church community speaks to all of the problems I identified here. We need to hold our fellow believers accountable by being part of our community. As a community, we need to share our faith, and we need to as a community, love and take care of every member. What do you think, how can we do that?

Let’s Pray,
Father, we are so grateful that you arranged for us to have access to church when this virus isolated us. We have relied on the electronic support from one another. But, we all really miss live church God. We are asking you to stop this virus so that we can get back to our faith communities. And God, we are hoping you will help us to bring back every member; and more of course. But we are fearful that many will find it so comfortable watching church from home that they will forget all of the benefits of worshipping you communally. Lord, we ask that you help them to remember how comforting church is. Help them to remember the love that permeates the building when the body of Christ is present. Lord help them to remember the beautiful and exhilarating energy that comes when we all worship you together. And God, please remind them that they have a place in the church that no one else can fill. Please just bring them back, every one of them, Lord.
We pray this in the Holy name of Jesus, Amen.

Points for Pondering and for Payer
Or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

Prior to the pandemic, did you have a difficult time getting to church every Sunday? If you did, what were the difficulties? Make a list so you can see just what stood in your way.

Do you find comfort when you do go to church? Do you enjoy yourself? Are there people you look forward to seeing each week?  If the answer is no, have you tried to put these things into place?

Have you participated in church online since it became our only way? What do you think about it in comparison to live church?

What is one thing you can do to make it more likely you will go to church once we are allowed to return?