WHY CHURCH?

My pastor, Pastor Exzabia Dukes, spoke on a very thought-provoking topic last Sunday morning that left me thinking of how as believers we can say things that have no merit from the word of God. He asked the question, WHY CHURCH?

When one speaks of the Church, the location of a building whether it is rustic, old, or beautiful twenty-first century, comes to mind. We make plans to GO to Church, we invite others to accompany us to Church, and we exude such excitement to be expected when we attend or arrive at Church as if something will happen there to impact us for the better. We stand in awe of the beauty of the building with our imaginations fiercely calculating the possible cost spent to erect such artifice, the workmanship, and the dedication of laboring hands and minds.

And then we enter this beautiful building with its glittering walls and polished floors, but if we just stand there that building does absolutely nothing. It doesn’t smile at us, it doesn’t call out to God, neither does it make a sound. I’m invited to Church with such excitement, but nothing happens until the visitors to that building, the people, open their mouths and sing praises to God. The building doesn’t.

So I’m reminded of the Psalmist David who said, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of His name: make His praise glorious” Psalms 66:1-2 KJV). Then He tells the Lord, “Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed” Psalms 65:1 KJV). No wonder the beautiful buildings are silent and cold until the worshippers come in and make joyful noises unto God.

We are the Church, not the buildings made with hands. We the living breathing temples are the church and as the Apostle Paul tells us, “Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands (Acts 7: 48) and reiterated this point in Acts 17:24 when he said, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” God intentionally made a special temple for Himself to dwell in and it is our bodies.

Even as we clean and beautify the inside and outside of the buildings where we gather to worship, so must we more importantly take care of the temple of God. For what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? for we are the temple of the living God, as God Himself said, I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16).

            So, WHY CHURCH? Because we are the temple of the Living God and He is building us up to become the Unbreakable Church. We become that unbreakable Church when we come together, for with unity there is strength. God has given to us KEYS, not to the buildings we have built, but keys to His Kingdom where we can walk triumphantly in the midst of a world we are in, but not a part of. It is important that we not only know the keys to apply to our lives, but we must understand them.

            Keys to being a holy Church as He, whom we worship, is Holy. Essentially, we are encouraged not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, so that we may exhort and encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). It is in our unity we gain and develop the strength to be the Unbreakable Church of God. And so, as the Church, we must have a desire to know our God for ourselves, and in so doing our trust for Him will increase. That relationship God seeks to have with each and every one of us will be deepened and enriched so much so that we become that Salt and Light of a world that Jesus spoke of.

            We are the Church., not the erected building. We are the walking Church who assembles to worship, to teach, to be encouraged, strengthened, and built up for the glory of our God.

THIS IS WHY CHURCH!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: We always say, ‘I am going to church.” But we have learned that we are the church. In light of the Word of God, what should we then say? How must we coin the reverse of the Church is going to gather, or the Church is gathering or assembling?

SUGGESTIONS:  

• I am going to the Gathering for worship? 

• Come with me to the Gathering?
• We are gathering at the Family of Faith Ministry building today will you come with me?
• The Church is gathering at the Family of Faith Ministry on 414 N Front Street. Murfreesboro, TN?
• I know, I know, it all sounds so weird, but isn’t it the truth? What do you think?

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1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop app
2. Open the Live Streaming app under the Apps tab ,
3. Configure your YouTube live streaming settings before the meeting
4. When you're ready to start streaming, join the meeting and click "Start Livestream to Zoom Events Lobby"
5. This will start streaming your Zoom meeting to the event lobby, and you can then stream it to YouTube ,

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