Skip to main content

The purpose of church

My husband and I have been pondering lately what the purpose of church is. It hasn't been an easy question to answer. But, I found this on the web and I thought it very succinctly answered the question of what the purpose of the church is...

http://www.gotquestions.org/purpose-church.html

Comments

Melissa said…
This is a question that Patrick and I have discussed frequently over the years as we've served in student ministries. We struggled to get students to attend service. They often claim "I get nothing out of it," "It's boring," etc.
We tried to get them to realize one major truth...It's NOT about THEM or US. It's about GOD. He is worthy of worship and if don't, the rocks will (Luke 19:40). I love the picture that Psalm 95 paints. We should consider it a privilege to approach the God of the Universe in worship...not obligated. Although it's important to root your family in a Bible-believing and teaching church, it's not about the quality of music or preaching. We actually believe that Sunday mornings is not the specified place for spiritual growth. We take our children to worship because we believe it's important to worship as a family (covenant theology). If we are a little distracted from the sermon, that's ok. We can always pick up a CD. Ultimately, we don't rely on Sunday mornings for teaching. We make sure we're plugged into good small group and individual studies. Anyway...just some more food for thought :)
September 2, 2009 at 2:23 PM
Anne said…
I can see why you commented that way--I actually didn't mean my post that way. We very much believe in going to church and don't struggle with the reasons why to go, but we wanted to be able to articulate it succinctly what the church is called to be and do. I realized a while ago that I have so much information stuffed in my brain =) that I forget things that I've learned and have stored away, so I have to refresh my memory. =)
September 2, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...
1 comment
Read more

Listening to the Bible

The Word of Promise (Bible on CD) I have been reading the Bible for as long as I can remember. I remember being given a Good News Bible when I was in third grade. When I was 14, my great grandmother gave me a copy of the Living Bible. When I went to college, I began to read the NIV and held onto a thin paperback copy for 4 years that I wrote all over. After I graduated from college, I really wanted a nice NIV study Bible and I saved up to buy one. I have held onto it ever since. Last year, I found a tiny ESV leatherbound Bible on clearance and it is now the one I carry with me in my purse. Interestingly enough, after all these years of reading the Bible, I have never listened to it on CD. I've often considered it. I've listened to lots of teaching on CD from Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, and others, but I've never actually listened to the Word on CD. Two weeks ago, I received a copy of the Word of Promise Bible on CD. I opened it up with excitement ...
Post a Comment
Read more