WHY BOTHER GOING TO CHURCH?
SOURCES
The following verses in the New Testament contain the phrase “one another” and are used to illustrate the emphasis on building up the Body of Christ and being a blessing to one another. We focused on verses with positive statements such as “encourage one another” and “love one another”. There are numerous additional verses with negative statements such as “don’t lie to one another” and “don’t speak evil against one another”.
John 13:14, 34, 34; 15:12, 17
Romans 12:5, 10, 16; 13:8; 14:19; 15:5, 7, 14; 16:16
1 Corinthians 11:33; 12:25; 16:20
2 Corinthians 13:12
Galatians 5:13; 6:2
Ephesians 4:2, 25, 32; 5:19, 21
Philippians 2:3
Colossians 3:13, 16
1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9, 18; 5:11, 13, 15
2 Thessalonians 1:3
Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25
James 5:16
1 Peter 1:22; 4:8-10; 5:5, 14
1 John 1:7; 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12
2 John 1:5
The primary verse used to encourage us to not neglect meeting together is found in Hebrews 10:25:
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:25 New Living Translation
WHY BOTHER GOING TO CHURCH?
TRANSCRIPT
We live in a day and age where not only do most Christians have access to multiple translations of the Bible in their language as well as numerous commentaries and study tools and an abundance of Christian literature written over the past 2,000 years, but now we have this ever-increasing volume of podcasts, videos, and other forms of online preaching and teaching designed to help us grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
With all of this Christian content available at our fingertips, it does beg the question: “Why Bother Going to Church?”
Welcome to another Christianity Engaged video. We share the Gospel and encourage believers all over the world and we invite you to subscribe and click the bell to be notified when we release new videos. And if you would like more encouraging content throughout the week, follow us on social media.
Many Christians have somewhat of a consumer mentality when it comes to church and their focus is primarily on themselves. Teach me. Encourage me. Bless me. Pray for me. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with entering God’s presence and going to church with open hands ready to receive, I think one of the more important reasons for continuing to meet together is the opportunity to build up the Body and be a blessing to others.
Look at all of Bible verses in the New Testament with the phrase “one another”. We simply can’t love one another, encourage one another, or serve one another in our living rooms by ourselves.
One of the first times we see this phrase in the New Testament is in Romans 12:5, where the Apostle Paul writes, “we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.”
Friends, the Church is not a building. We are the Church. And the Bible says we are all one Body, the Body of Christ. The basic idea is that just like the human body is made up of many parts with different functions but they all work together and they’re all important. In the same way, the Church is made up of many people with different gifts and abilities but we’re all united by one Spirit and they all have a purpose in building up the Body.
Think of the Body of Christ as a team. You wouldn’t compete in a team sport with one person no matter how talented you were. In the same way, one person can’t do all of the work to build up the Body. We need evangelists to be our recruiters. We need pastors, teachers and discipleship leaders to be our coaches. We need people with various administrative abilities to be our management team. And of course, we need a full roster of players, people with different gifts and abilities working together for the mission of the team.
Some of you are extremely gifted teachers and we need you to teach. Some of you have an incredible ability to show mercy and compassion when its needed most. Some of you probably don’t realize just how much you encourage the people around you. Some of you give generously. Others serve cheerfully. Some of you have this faith that rises to the occasion and in certain life moments and there’s no one else I’d rather have in my corner and on my team praying with me than you. There are many other ways to build up the Body which we didn’t cover but my point is that we can’t do this by ourselves. The Church needs you and you need the Church.
God instituted the Church just like He instituted marriage and family. It’s part of His design, and it’s meant to be a blessing. The Christian Life isn’t meant to be lived out alone. We need each other for accountability, discipleship, and fellowship. Your team needs you and you need the team.
So, whether you attend a big church or a small church… Whether you meet in a permanent building, a temporary building or a house… Whether you gather on Saturday, Sunday, or a weeknight… Whether you call it a church, a Bible Study or a Life Group… I encourage you to get involved and be a part of the team, and as much as you are able, to not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but let us encourage one another, and do so all the more until the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I hope video is an encouragement and blessing to you. God bless you all!
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