Church Attendance VS. a Movie

The average movie is about 2 hours long, sometimes longer these days (look at each movie in the Lord of Rings Trilogy- about 3 hours each!). Our service on Sunday morning is the same - 2 hours. We break it up into hymns and worship, prayer for needs during worship one on one, contemporary music and worship, announcements and offering, and then sermon. Youth go off with a pastor for their own group at the time of the sermon. It works very well. Today was longer by about a half hour due to fellowship lunch! Yummy! We have fellowship lunch on the last Sunday of every month. When one is in the Spirit, time becomes a servant to God, and NOT your master. Jesus is the Master! 

Unlike a movie, church family is interactive, powerful in the Holy Ghost, involving every part of us in worship, study of the Word, and growth as individuals. At a Holy Spirit-centered Church you will know love and know to love in return.

Yet the reason we use to escape church ("it's too long") is often no longer applied when we go to watch a movie, a sport, or type on a social media website.
Now, there is nothing wrong with any of these activities in moderation, but there is a problem when we as born-again Christians habitually miss fellowship. 

You must have the Saviour in you before you can discern His body in the Local church. If church has no presence of the Holy Spirit, then we might as well all go home. We NEED His Spirit in order to make the faith and fellowship come alive when we gather and when we disperse.
It is not a religious activity. Church attendance is a relational activity!

We as human beings always seem to have lots of time to watch movies and to spend time in relationship to family... but do we have time for the Spiritual family of God? Do we have time for the One who made time?

It boils down to this: we have time for the things that matter to us.
Does Christ and His Vine matter to you? Do you want to thrive or shrivel as a branch? 
We must push ourselves to obey the Spirit and join in at least weekly!
Now, of course there are circumstances that make physical attendance difficult or not workable such as being bed ridden or being on-call as a nurse, etc. We don't make a legalistic rule about attendance, but we encourage people to make a positive habit! In most circumstances, there is a church for each believer which will have a service during a time you are available!

 I am involved with 4 services a week at our church. 2 services on each Sunday, 1 each Tuesday, and 1 on Thursdays. And I love every second of it! It is HOME. Never do I want to go back to those dark days in my college years where I tried to follow the Lord WITHOUT being grafted into a local church. I ended up in misery over my own failings. Never again. I will always pour my time into the One who invented time: JESUS. And I will pour my fellowship into His saints. Because going to church highlights something very important and fundamental about the Christian faith: it is NOT about you, it is about JESUS and His Church! Yes we come to be restored and refreshed each week. But is Jesus worshiped? Did you thank Him this day? Did you pay attention to that lonely looking person in the pew next to you? Show God's Love! 

Once we realize that the church is a family not a religious institute, we come to terms with one truth that I discovered in college: Christians are not meant to be alone. We need each other and fellowship with the other saints! Jesus built us together in a holy living building (Eph 2) in which you and I are the building blocks! He is the Chief Corner Stone!  He built us into a Divine Vine. (John 15) Branches like you and I cannot produce anything unless we stay in contact with the Vine, Jesus, and one of His local churches.

Hebrews 10:25
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
25 Not forsaking the fellowship that we have among ourselves, as the manner of some is: but let us exhort one another, and that so much the more, because ye see that the day draweth near.

 Don't go to church in the flesh, go to church in the Spirit. He gives you the discipline you need to overcome worldly distractions and lame excuses not to attend. Even plausible-sounding excuses are not enough to stop the man or woman of God from making time for fellowship with Christ's family. 

Bless you and be encouraged! Church is family! You were designed for worshiping Jesus and for fellowship with your siblings in Christ! And if you come for healing, the church is told to lay hands on the sick see them recover in Jesus's Name. (James 5:14-15) There is healing and fellowship for you today! 

- Pastor Curtis
Sun. May 25, 2014 1:24PM EST