Do Churches Matter? ...
Jesus creates the church. Jesus tells Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).”
Several New Testament letters, what we call Epistles, are written to churches in different cities or regions: Romans, Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians. Other letters are written to leaders in churches: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, even Philemon. Revelation is written to seven churches.
Hebrews 10: 25 talks about,”not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.”
You can often measure a person’s spiritual temperature by church attendance, or more correctly by their desire to attend church. Growing Christians want to go to church. They prioritize hearing God’s word and receiving the Lord’s Supper.
Those who choose other paths often choose the good over the better. The Devil uses this devotion to the good over the better as a way to weaken their connection to God and His people. A way to keep them from being spiritually fed. A way to draw them away from receiving the Lord’s Supper, a Supper in which God Himself comes to us for the forgiveness of sins. A way to keep children from instruction in the true faith.
Why does the church matter? Here we are fed and sustained by the Gospel, as the word is preached and as we receive the body and blood of Christ. Here, God comes to us in an ordinary and accessible way by words, as well as in bread and wine. Here God claims us as His people in baptism. How can we not want to come? To hear God’s word, to think upon it and reflect upon it, is a great joy.
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)