Church: Is it an Obligation or a Celebration?

Why do you go to church? Is it an obligation or is it a celebration?

We've begun a series on the topic of "Worship" and this is a key question for us. What motivates you to come to church on Sunday mornings? Habit? Tradition? Maybe you come to please someone you love? Maybe some come to church to find someone to date, to marry? Maybe you just need a friend?

Worship. What is that anyway? What does it mean to those who drive by and see that word on our sign?

What does "Worship" signify to those who see the sign? Obligation or Celebration?

One of the greatest questions I've heard came from an 18 year old woman who visited our church a few months ago. Before going into the worship service, she said she had a few questions. Her first question was about our upcoming worship service. She asked, "What goes on in there anyway?" She had never been to any kind of church service in her life. Never. Sadly, her lack of church experience is more common than regular church-goers would even like to imagine.

So, what does go on "in there" anyway? Is it a gathering of a bunch of people who are coming out of a motivation of obligation or are they coming to celebrate something?

The answer to that question is vital for us to know and it's not simply an answer to gather theologically or doctrinally - it's something personal. The answer for each of us matters because it is core to our entire church ethos. I'll write more about that in the days to come. However, our goal is to make sure that for each one of us, we know we are coming together to celebrate.

So, what do we celebrate? On Sunday, I gave you 11 reasons to celebrate in our worship time together. In case you missed them, here they are:

1 Peter 1:3-6: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice...

We celebrate and Worship God because:

1. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 3)
2. He has shown us great mercy (vv. 3)
3. He has given us new birth [Jesus called it being "born again" in John 3] (vv. 3)
4. The result is a living hope (vv. 3)
5. Our security of this living hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (vv. 3)
6. The object of this living hope is an inheritance (vv. 4)
7. This inheritance cannot be destroyed or reduced in any way - it is eternal and permanent (vv. 4)
8. It is kept in heaven for us (vv. 4)
9. We are being shielded for it by the very power of God (vv. 5)
10. God gives us faith that is the means for this shield and by which we hold on to the promises of God (vv. 5)
11. And the hope rests in a salvation which God will reveal in the last days (vv. 5)

That is quite a lot to celebrate - but there is so much more!

Blessings,

Pastor Scott