By Thom S. Rainer
I think I’ve heard most of the excuses.
“You don’t need to attend church to be a good Christian.”
“We give our family priority when we miss church to do sports on Sunday.”
“My church really doesn’t meet my needs.”
“I’m not getting fed at my church.”
“Sunday is really the only day we have off.”
“My church has a bunch of hypocrites.”
I will deal with these and other lame excuses later. For now, I want to focus on the positive. Why is it important for us to attend church services regularly, usually weekly? Allow me to share nine reasons.
- The local church was God’s plan in the New Testament. From the founding of the first local church in Jerusalem to the growth of new congregations throughout the Roman Empire, the New Testament is clear. God wanted His people gathering regularly and faithfully. And lest we forget, all of these congregations had problems. All of these churches had problem people. Hypocrisy was real and pervasive, but it was not a valid excuse to give up the local church.
- The Bible speaks clearly about the priority of local congregations. If you read the New Testament from Acts to Revelation, you will see that a gathered church was not just one important factor for the Christian, it was one of the highest priorities. After the ascension of Jesus, the local church was truly “the body of Christ.”
- We are commanded and designed to enjoy worshipping the one true God as a gathered community. What if…
… Read More
—
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.