CHURCH

As I sat in church today and listened to John preach, I kept thinking of Pastor Ken. Ken was the person who God used to really make me embrace my longing to serve others. I'm learning that God is going to use John to help me to continue in that direction. John has been doing a really good sermon series on "If The Church Were Christian...."! Today he talked about if the church were christian, we would be the church not just do church. He said there are roughly 80,000 people a day who are converting to christianity. Many of these people are from other countries and worship in a very different way aka place than I do. His sermon was mainly about how, we the congregation, are the church....it's not the building or where we meet....but the people who attend that make the church. As the church, we need to be doing....not just attending. Everytime we reach out to serve someone else, we are being the hands and feet of Christ. It shouldn't matter where we gather to worship and serve. Do you think Jesus would have told people they couldn't worship under a tree? Do you think He would have told them they couldn't worship in a school gymnasium? Do you think He would have told them they couldn't worship in a tent? Do you think He would have told them they had to have a big building with pews, stained glass, and a steeple to make worship meaningful? Of course He wouldn't! The church serves as a place for Christians to gather, but it does not define what it means to be Christian. Going to church is a good thing....going each week is something I look forward to. I enjoy gathering together with my church family to worship, and yes we do use our church building for more than worship. But I have to admit that if it stopped there, I would not be nearly as blessed. I often hear Jesus through the sermon or my Sunday School lesson. I often see His face in the face of a baby being baptized on Sunday morning. I often hear His voice in the voice of my children singing in the choir, but still those things are not enough for me. I long be His hands and feet. I long to build relationships with others through where God is leading me. Sometimes those things do happen in our church....like when we serve the monthly meal to the people in our community, or when we pack thousands of shoe boxes full of gifts for Operation Christmas Child, or when NPayne and Addi sleep on the gym floor while doing a mission work over Thanksgiving break. The Bible says we are to do good works, but it doesn't say good works are what get us to heaven. God's grace is what gets us to heaven, but I believe that doing good works brings us closer to Jesus. Having a realtionship with Christ is what makes me want to serve others. I want to please Him, and I want to do what He has told me to do.....LOVE! When I googled LOVE, this is what popped up on wikipedia....

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.^[1] In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels.^[2] Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion, or as actions towards others based on affection.^[3]

That pretty much sums it up for me....the sermon, the service, what we are called to do, and the greatest commandment of all.....LOVE! I am blessed by His love and by sharing His love!