Operation Christmas Child – Shoebox Collection Week is Here!

10 Reasons Making it to Church Will Improve Your Week

10 Reasons Making it to Church Will Improve Your Week

It used to be seen as the right thing to do. So you did it. You made the effort. Walked barefoot through rain, hail, sleet, snow, or shine. You dressed in hats and your Sunday best because that was what you did. You went to church. Every week.

But society has changed. Life runs at lightning speed and church is more of an afterthought. It has to be convenient. And frankly, loading up a carload of screaming kids and donning fake smiles is hardly convenient. Who can bother with the trouble of going to church when you can just as easily have a worship experience at home?

But you can't have church at home because church is more than you and a screen.

Church is living breathing people assembled in one place for one purpose - to worship our Savior. Of all people, Jesus didn't need to go to church. He's heard angels worship - what can top that? Yet Jesus made it his custom to attend church.

“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 NLT)

Church is more than a good idea or the right thing to do. For too long, society has neglected church. You need to find yourself in church this Sunday, and for many after. Here's a few reasons why.

Photo credit: ©Thinkstock/FredFokkelman

  • 1. Church is good for you.

    1. Church is good for you.

    You eat fresh fruit and vegetables, drink water, and contort your body in Pilates. Why? Because it's good for you. 

    “Now I say to you that you are Peter which means ‘rock’, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18)

    Church is good for you. God is building it and nothing will stand in its way. Find one. Commit to attending and forging relationships with the people there. Because it's good for you.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock

  • 2. You feel God's presence in the worship experience.

    2. You feel God's presence in the worship experience.

    You can't experience worship on a screen or via a podcast. Sure you can sing along with Hillsong United but nothing beats corporate worship. Even if it's an out of tune guitar and off-key voices. 

    “But You are holy, O You who are enthroned in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered.” (Psalm 22:3 AMP)

    God inhabits where His praises are offered. Actively participating in a worship experience is like nothing else on the planet. It is where His tangible presence is promised to invade. And the presence of God always makes your week better.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/DesignPics

  • 3. You will receive revelation.

    3. You will receive revelation.

    “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT)

    As a pastor, Sunday morning is the biggest moment of my week. And if I'm bringing the word, I labor and pray and soak myself in Jesus so I declare fresh revelation. I do not take it lightly, but handle the responsibility I have been given with care. I believe every pastor is the same. We desire to bring heaven's finest in church.

    God has revelation for you that He will deliver through your pastor's sermon this week. But you'll never know, if you never go.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/Rawpixel

  • 4. You will get connected.

    4. You will get connected.

    Church is more than three or four songs, communion, and a nice message. It is a point of connection - connection with God and connection with others. It is not good for man to be alone, and a big part of church fulfils the basic need of human connection.

    “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals including the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42 NLT)

    Commit yourself to sharing, loving, growing and connecting in church.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/vadimguzhva

  • 5. Church is an opportunity to look outside yourself and serve.

    5. Church is an opportunity to look outside yourself and serve.

    As much as I'm writing about what church will do for you, I believe church is not about you. You don't go to church to get your "bless me" fix. You go to church to serve others. 

    “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25 NLT)

    In church we refresh one another, and walk out the door finding ourselves refreshed. If you get to the end of the week exhausted, Sunday morning is not for sleeping in. The ultimate refreshing is found in refreshing others through a smile, kindness and servanthood.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/Rawpixel

  • 6. Church helps you through life's big questions.

    6. Church helps you through life's big questions.

    “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” (Romans 10:17 NLT)

    Life, even Christian life, is not always rosy. Everyone is looking for answers. Church is where you can find them. It may not be the pastor, but perhaps a fellow congregant who has walked a similar journey, who will lead you to the answers. When we rightly study the Word of God, trials and life's big questions begin to make sense.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/SIphotography

  • 7. Church provides a moral compass.

    7. Church provides a moral compass.

    Once kids had manners. Once kids had respect. Once kids stood up for an elderly person on a bus instead of looking at their phone.

    Society is missing a moral compass. But true north still exists. Truth is not relative. Truth is the Word.  

    “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” (John 17:17 NLT)

    When you go to church, you and your family hear truth and become people who live by truth. 

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/B-C-Designs

  • 8. Studies say church might help you live longer.

    8. Studies say church might help you live longer.

    According to the New York Times, "One of the most striking scientific discoveries about religion in recent years is that going to church weekly is good for you." 

    The article continues to say it boosts immunity and decreases blood pressure. Church attendance may even add years to your life. But we all knew that, right?

    “I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16 NLT)

    Photo Credit: ©Thinsktock

  • 9. Church keeps your priorities in order.

    9. Church keeps your priorities in order.

    “At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” (Ephesians 1:22 MSG)

    When you put first things first, everything else falls into place. When you make it a priority to honor God's house and place church in the center of your life, God will order your week. God will speak and act in your week when He is not peripheral, but central.

    Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/Rawpixel Ltd

  • 10. Church puts you in an atmosphere of faith.

    10. Church puts you in an atmosphere of faith.

    I was going to leave this reason out, until I sat in church and received an answer to prayer. It was how my mother was healed of a life-threatening disease 30 years ago. It is how countless others have received the miraculous.

    “So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift.” (Romans 4:16 NLT) 

    Nowhere in the world can generate an atmosphere of faith except church. The world is full of doubt, unbelief, and fear. Faith and hope reside nowhere else but in the hearts of the children of God. Gather hearts of faith together and watch what happens.

    Sarah Coleman is an Australian wife, mother and Senior Pastor. Download her free eBook, Be Amazing: You Know You Want To and read  more of her thoughts at sarahcoleman.com.au.

    Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Stockbyte