Why Church?

(Kids dismissed — Parents, teachers will lead children back to worship center following last song? This will hopefully make it easier to have your family together as you head into the Family Life Center for ReConnect celebration)

Introduction

How many of you grew up going to church?

How would you describe the church you attended?

Why do you go to church?

Reasons people go to church:

- Tradition

- Guilt

- Curiosity

- Get closer to God

- Salvation

Why are you here? What are you expecting from church?

At Granger MC, we’re here to be fully devoted to Christ, our neighbors, and the nations.

Why is the church important?

Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman in their book, “Rediscovering Church” say,

“A Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble.”

How can church be THAT important?

Hebrews 10:19–25 (ESV)

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

19 Así que, hermanos, teniendo libertad para entrar en el Lugar Santísimo por la sangre de Jesucristo,

20 por el camino nuevo y vivo que él nos abrió a través del velo, esto es, de su carne,

21 y teniendo un gran sacerdote sobre la casa de Dios,

22 acerquémonos con corazón sincero, en plena certidumbre de fe, purificados los corazones de mala conciencia, y lavados los cuerpos con agua pura.

23 Mantengamos firme, sin fluctuar, la profesión de nuestra esperanza, porque fiel es el que prometió.

24 Y considerémonos unos a otros para estimularnos al amor y a las buenas obras;

25 no dejando de congregarnos, como algunos tienen por costumbre, sino exhortándonos; y tanto más, cuanto veis que aquel día se acerca.

No where in this passage will we see anything about the necessity of a building or style, culture or language — It’s about Jesus.

Not that these things are NOT important, but they are to serve the church, the church does not exist through serving them.

Jesus forms the Church. (19-21)

Church forms us. (22-25)

1) The Church is formed in Christ.

La iglesia está formada en Cristo.

Jesus is the only way into the true church.

*Confidence / Authorization* to the heavenly sanctuary (19-20) - Confidence to go to God!

We can have confidence to go through to God (19) because Jesus went through first and made a way (20)

We are brought together by Christ – Jesus is the ONLY way to truly be a part of the Church – to be saved.

- Not attendance

- Not good works

- Not even membership

Church attendance is not the MEANS to salvation!

Church attendance is not the EVIDENCE of salvation!

Church attendance is the PRIVILEGE of salvation!

^^Do you have the confidence of heaven? Not the arrogance but the confidence? What a confidence!

What would change in your life if you had this confidence? Less / no fear, anxiety, etc.

This confidence can only come through the gospel.

Jesus is the foundation and the center of the church.

This means you are NOT the center of the church.

Jesus asked who Peter believed Jesus was and Peter answered , “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Matthew 16:18 (ESV)

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

On the confession that Jesus, alone, is the way of salvation, the church is built.

The Church belongs to Jesus.

Jesus is the leader of the church

not me! not you!

I will disappoint you at some point. If I haven’t already.

The church is not human in origin (not a club) and not maintained or managed by human effort

* We are not a group of people with similar backgrounds or spiritual interests

* We are CHANGED people

^^ How many of us need a place to belong?

We long for Cheers - “Where everybody knows your name. . .”

We struggle to find people who will accept us?

We feel we need to change our behavior, looks, economic status in order to fit in.

Not only is the church formed by Jesus, but. . .

2) Church reforms our hearts with the Word.

Iglesia reforma nuestros corazones con la Palabra.

The world wants to shape us – not only our minds but our hearts. It does this by capturing our imagination – by selling us a false story of the good life.

Every day the world around us and culture are forming and shaping us.

Everything around us is telling us a story about what we need, what we want.

It is trying to get us to think this, buy that, do this.

The world does this not only by speaking to us with information but by speaking to our imaginations.

It wants to capture our mind, will, and emotions.

This is what the Bible calls “the heart.”

“I think one of the most important causes of the decline in Christianity. . . is the loss of the evangelical imagination, and imagination nurtured — by which I mean discipled and disciplined — by the Bible.”

— Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Hearers & Doers”

He goes on to say that it is not that Christians today do not believe the Bible, it is that the world — through pictures and stories — have captured the Christians imagination, the heart and we end up living according to the world’s story of life and only occasionally “listening” to God’s story.

How do I know that many Christians are being formed by the world?

— I see many Christians become more emotional celebrating a touchdown than they do celebrating Jesus rising from the dead!

— I see Christians more willing to spend their money on things the world has advertised to them that will soon be out of style than they give to missions and ministries that will affect people’s souls.

— I hear Christians talk more about the latest show their binge-watching than they do about the Bible.

> ILLUST:

> When we gather for sports events we become more excited about our team - we are reminded why we spend time, energy, money, dignity for them.

– Church reshapes our imaginations by aligning us back to God’s story.

This is why the Bible is so important to us.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

* /Our week can cause us to waver!/ We need to be reminded of our hope which happens when we hold fast to our confession.

* Without a regular reorientation we tend to waver.

3) Church reminds us of eternity.

Iglesia nos recuerda la eternidad.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

What day? THE DAY — the Day of Christ’s return and final Judgment.

As we sing, study, and experience the gospel, the temporary things of the world are wiped away and we see eternity (the real) clearly

ILLUST - windshield wipers help you see in the distance so you can drive each mile safely. If you don’t have good ones, you’ll see heaven soon!

Every day we are bombarded with the “every day.” We often can’t see past this week.

Church reminds us that life is bigger than what we see, it is bigger than the “every day,” it’s about eternity.

Conclusion

There is an eternity.

There is a bigger story of which you are made to be a part.

There is a God who loves you and sent His Son to die for you so you can truly belong to His Church.

Why Church? THIS is why.

Maybe this is the reason YOU are here at church today.

God has opened your eyes...

First time you have heard His story...

It’s time to stop allowing the world to shape your heart. It’s time to give your heart to Jesus.

Commit to Jesus for the first time.

Commit to church for the next year. Guarantee Jesus will change you.