Why do you go to church?

I am a very blessed individual. This past Sunday, I was able to be present at my younger sister's baptizm. I was so happy that I could not restrain the tears. It felt a little nostalgic being in the church that I grew up in. I had not visited that church in years. It felt good to see some old friends as well. At my own church, we have had a few new visitors recently. This led me to think about the reasons that people go to church. What is the motivation? Some come looking for hope, some come to learn, some only come for special occasions, and sadly, some come just to be seen. My case in point for my sister's baptizm was a very special occasion. However, we need to look at the driving force for going to church. Why should we go to church? We should go for the sole purpose of self centered reasons. I know this may sound bad but hear me out. We need to go to church with the mindset of spending time with our Lord. Now, it is nice to spend time with brothers and sisters in the Lord. This time can be uplifting, a chance to encourage one another, and to prepare for the week. But, our major motivation should be to receive a blessing and preparation for self. When we go for our own personal selves, all of the others just seem to go along with that. When we attend church for ourselves, we expect to be blessed by what we hear. When we go with a mindset of self, we pay more attention to the message, we enjoy the fellowship more, we enjoy those special moments, like my sister's baptizm, more. When we go to church for the wrong reasons, we miss out on those blessings. When we go to church so we can see so and so, we get just that. We got to spend time with that person and we missed out on that blessing. When we go just for special occasions, we are just going to be seen. If we went to seek the Lord, it would be more likely that we go more than just a couple times a year. Some people go to church for their kids. How does this help your kids? Kids are real smart these days. They see that we are not serious, and probably will not take it as seriously too. We must keep the attitude of strengthening ourselves when we go to church. Contrary to popular beliefs, the purpose of the church is for Christians. I have debated many people that say that church is for the lost. I do not agree. When you look at the letters of Paul to the different churches, he addresses the letter to the church. This reference is to those individuals at that assembly that are saved. We go to learn as much as we can, to gain encouragement from other believers to go out and be a good witness to this world. It is our job to bring a saving knowledge of Jesus to the lost. Then we bring them to the church so they can learn as well. Why do I go to church? I go for "me." I go, to strengthen "myself." I go to serve "my" Lord. Everything else, is just enjoyed so much more when I do.

Thanks and God Bless You all this week!