Church Is Worth It

Intro

What dominates the headlines doesn't have to dominate our hearts. There’s only one name that can bring the world together, and you won’t find it on a ballot. Are you ready to discover the hope and freedom we’ve been given Under God?

Read

Psalm 84:1–7 NKJV

1 How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:10–12 NKJV

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Pray

Election is here - Our faith is not in the person or government - its in the one who sits above all others. We need to fight for the Biblical truth that this nation was founded on.

Opening

What an amazing gift we have in our church home. We get to gather together to worship the Lord every week---what a gift! So many in the world do not have this, and we who have it should be thankful for it.

The Book of Psalms

Is like Gods top 150

Ps. 51 - Forgiveness

Ps. 91 - Protection

Ps. 84 - The Pearl

Psalm 84

This is speaking to the people who are making the pilgrimage (3x-7x) to The Temple of God.

***Road trip to church*** {Jesus got lost}

Jerusalem is up hill from everywhere

Is the center of the world

Required effort

WE USE THIS EFFORT AS AN EXCUSE - ‘mask - it’s not the same’

Church Is Worth The Trip

It may be more difficult, but it is an essential part of the Christian life. When you get up and bring your family to church, you are giving them something that money can’t buy.

Psalm 48:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, On the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

The church is beautiful for every situation

No matter what your struggles are, the Holy Spirit can change everything in one moment when the Spirit is moving at church. Hope, faith, and miracles take place when the church gathers together. Even if all is well and you are grateful for your situation, church is perfect for praising God and declaring what a good God He has been to you.

The Road

Psalm 84:2 NKJV

2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

***Deborah***

Judges 5:6–7 NIV

6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths. 7 Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.

You have to eliminate the roadblocks that are keeping you from coming back to church. [fear holding you back - Sunday no one is going to church | not talking about those who need to stay home]

WE WERE NOT MADE FOR ONLINE SERVICES - (Acts 2)

“I Was Glad When They Said...”

The New King James Version Psalm 84:title

the Sons of Korah

Korah was one of the people who came against Mosses. For 7 generations her family was not allowed to go to God’s temple. When they were able to go back to church they wrote Psalm 84

Psalm 84:1–2 NKJV

1 How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Do not take this gift for granted.

There are many throughout the world that would give anything to freely attend a church today. It is by the great favor of God that we get to go to

church without fear.

If you have developed the habit of staying home and not going to church---you are missing out on one of God’s greatest gifts to us. Eliminate the obstacles.

***David said “I was glad when they said unto me “let us go to the house of the Lord - Ps 122”

2 Samuel 15:25 NLT

25 Then the king instructed Zadok to take the Ark of God back into the city. “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again.

I WANT YOU AT HOME TO KNOW

WE ARE BACK

GOD IS STILL ON THE THROWN

Get up!

Some people have to be made to come to church ***Bells***

Sunday isn’t just any other day. Never before have kids, teens, young couples and singles needed church more than they do today. That bell is ringing for you and YOUR family every Sunday.

You must develop a strong habit on Sundays for going to church.

66 days is what it takes to develop a strong habit and some of you have been out of church for nearly six months (180 days).

Psalm 73:2–3 NLT

2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.

Psalm 73:17 NKJV

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.

Come HOME

It’s time to break the habit of comfort and ease that you have developed when there was only online church. Come back to church and allow the Lord to do what He

does every week in His House.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Psalm 84:3 NKJV

3 Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God.

Psalm 84:10 NLT

10 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

Better is just ONE day in His courts---His church---than a thousand elsewhere. That bell is ringing, calling you back to church. Don’t take the easy way out on the Lord’s

day. It may take extra effort and sacrifice but it will be worth it.