Reasons to Go to Church, pt. 1

I’ll start with a confession.  I’ve only been to church once in the last month.  Of the four Sundays I was off in July, I only made it to church once.  It wasn’t by design, but missing church taught and reminded me of some important reasons that I go to church.  (Yes, I know, it’s my job to go to church, but beyond that…)  Over the next few weeks, I’d like to share some important reasons to gather with other Christians regularly.  Here’s the first: We need to be reminded of who God is.  It’s remarkable how easily we can forget the character of God.  As we go through our weeks and months, God can grow more and more distant.  As the rigors and challenges of life happen to us and around us, God begins to shrink into a distant deity who maybe keeps an eye on things, but isn’t all that involved.  We start believing that we’re alone in this endeavor called life.

Gathering with others who are in Christ is a critical reminder that God is not far off or disinterested.  God is near.  He is with us and among us.  He is directing history and our lives and working all things together for our good.  A worship service is designed to remind us of this.  It recalibrates our understanding of how the world works.  It is God’s world.  He is over all.  He is present in our lives with his love and providential care.  Going to church helps us see this.  It reminds us that we’re not alone in this.  The sovereign God of the universe is with us.