The Electric Gospel
An invitation to church
by Candace Hoefert
Dear members of the church, called to be faithful to the
Lord,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16).
Isn’t that joyous news? God has forgiven us of our sins
through his Son Jesus! This is something we want to share to one another and remind
each other daily. Unfortunately we don’t have somewhere we can get together
every single day to remind ourselves of this joyous news, but we do have
somewhere we can gather at least once a week to praise our Lord for this gift
he has given to all of us!
I know, you think that I’m here to preach to you about how
you should attend church every Sunday and it is a sin to not be in church … but
that’s not why I’m writing you this. It
is not for me to question someone’s faith based solely on their church
attendance. There are some circumstances
that don’t allow for regular attendance and no one should automatically assume
that because someone isn’t in church it’s because they don’t believe Christ’s
word. But the benefit of having a close
community with your church is immeasurable – a family of believers who all look
out for one another in love, strengthening and supporting each other in their
faith and building each other up. These are things that are hard to find on
your own outside the church. I encourage everyone to attend church because of
that sense of family, the sense of belonging.
Christ promised us, “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them” (Matthew 18:20). The opportunity to worship together with other
believers surrounded by God is an incalculable sense of comfort.
You never know who in your congregation may need your faith
and your smile to help them have a better day, to perhaps strengthen them in their
own faith. The lives that I could change by sharing my faith among a community
of believers is of great motivation to me. You don’t have to be a minister in
order to be a worker of the gospel. Christ gave the command to all of us to “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). This wasn’t just for your pastors or teachers,
but the whole nation of believers, for me and for you.
Therefore I urge you in the brotherly love of our Savior to
come and share your faith with one another in the Word. You have something to
offer that no one else does, your own faith and your person and your unique
experiences with God’s love in your life. Rejoice with those who will joyfully say to
you, “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).
Beautiful, Candace. Amen! Gospel motivation to obey the law which will always reap spiritual benefits and blessings. I hope many in our synod will read your Spirit-filled exhortation and be Spirit-driven to encourage each other likewise. I attend worship service every week because the Bible exhorts me to join my fellow believers in worship and praise and to eat and drink together our Savior's body and blood - testifying to His death and resurrection until He comes again. Christian fellowship is for the encouragement and edification of believers whom we know will endure trial and persecution in these Last Days. In other words - I agree! - I do not attend church because of the scoldings I have heard (in the past) from a few of our pulpits to be in church every single Sunday. Thank you, Lord, for Candace's testimony to your unconditional love and grace. Very encouraging!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment, Karen. I'm hoping eventually we'll see more people adding comments on this blog, so it's nice of you to get things going in that direction!
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