I feel really sorry for some people that are so caught up in organized religion that when "something goes bad" they are blaming themselves for not being in church "every time the doors are open" even though their work schedules prohibit it. I know I struggle with asking "why" when going through a trial, but I also know that God is testing my faith, teaching me to rely wholly on Him, making me pray more. And at the end of it all, I can see where God has worked and how great He really is. People that keep analyzing their church attendance for trials they are going through are missing the whole big picture. Yes, God wants us to go to church. But church isn't the "be all end all" of Christianity. God also commands us to provide for our families - and if the only job you can get in town requires you to work every other Sunday, well, you see where I'm going with this. There's so much more to a relationship with God beyond being in church. So, I still feel really sorry for people that totally miss the opportunity to grow and sit back to watch God work! He is AWESOME!!!
Friday, September 19, 2008
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We're doing a sermon series in church right now called "Losing my religion". It's based on the book of Galations and the very idea of what organized religion does to people. For what ever reason, we make religion about rules which is typically a list of huge list of don'ts. When life happens to us, we want to believe that this is some punishment for something we've done, like missing church. We had a guest speaker today who focused on the fundamental of Christianity, that Jesus is the son of God, that he came to earth, died on the cross, and was resurrected 3 days later.
In organized religion, when we dole out our list of don'ts, we become the Pharisees that crucified Christ. By insisting that Christians show up at church on Sunday mornings and put on a false persona based on a laundry list of virtues the "saved" must exhibit, we alienate the very people Jesus came to earth and died for.
Christ died for our sins. While I do think it is important to go to church in order to stay connected to Christ, that it is more important to welcome Jesus into our lives, not just on Sunday mornings. People in and out of the church miss the WHOLE picture. Absolutely, there is so much more.
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