Church is a who, a what, a when, a where, and why, and a how.
Who = Us in Christ glorifying God the Father together through the Holy Spirit.
What = a Formal (yes, formal, not clothing, but cause) Gathering of Us in Christ. Jettison the unscriptural notion that church can be whatever we want it to be, or that it is something we conjure up. It belongs to Christ, not us.
When = Not whenever. Not when we get done with work, shopping, sports, and everything else on our lists. Definitely not whenever we get some free time. A hundred years from now we'll have lots of free time.
Where = Definitely not wherever. Wherever do we find this idea in the Bible? All that stuff about the temple... we can't just dismiss it by misquoting the Bible and saying, "My body, me, I'm the new temple." Lame.
Why = Because of the clear mandate of Scripture not to give up meeting together. Because God loves us and has no interest in our self-styled religious innovation and resulting isolation. That's not of Him, period.
How = Get up in time. Get to worship. Be there with all those other imperfect Christians because it's the only place you and I belong this morning if we have a choice and if we belong to Him. Again, a hundred years from now how well will all our excuses hold up?
Feeling guilty? Well, if you join us for church services we can try to help you with this. :)
I feel a little guilty if I've made you feel guilty, so, if you come, you can help me too!
Yes, you guessed it, we'll point each other to the Cross.
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