Someone once said,
“When a fellow claims he can worship as well out in the open country, or at the beach as he can at church, it seems that he probably feels no particular urge to worship at all.”
Several years ago, I invited an older gentleman to come back to worship with us on the next Lord’s Day and his reply was, “I do my praying at home!” I guess by “praying” he meant worship.
Can one worship in his home or on the beach? Absolutely! But it must be asked, is that where the rest of the assembly is too? Many have resolved to keep their family at home to worship full time, and churches have made it convenient with live streaming. That might work for a little while, but it will spiritually catch up to your family. It is not what is spiritually best for your family to thrive. The long-term effects will not be what you want as your children get older. They will likely grow independent of the church of Jesus and probably leave it altogether.
God did not create worship to be done alone.
The church is the assembly of the saints – that’s you, Christian. We go, not only to praise our creator, but to edify one another (Hebrews 10:24-25). Your family needs the edification of the church!
Not only are we instructed to assemble to worship God every week, but our family NEEDS to be there! In this chaotic world we live in, we as Christians need the spiritual boost of being together as often as possible. Your family needs the love, connection, wisdom, and unity of the body. Consider these important reasons why your family needs to be faithfully connected to the body of Christ:
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We need to be there because God is there, and He is worthy of our time, our adoration, and our praise.
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We need to be there because the Word of God is being taught and God’s word encourages us, pricks our hearts, changes us, and fills our cup.
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We need to be there because we have work to do there. A class needs to be taught, a prayer needs to be said, someone needs our encouragement, or a precious older widow/widower needs our hugs.
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We need to be there because the Bible study subject is likely just the lesson we need to cope with a situation in our family.
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We need to be there because a visitor came that knows us and now plans on attending again.
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We need to be there because we are missed by others when our pew is empty.
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We need to be there because fellowshipping with other saints brings us great encouragement.
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We need to be there because our children will do what we (as parents) will do because, “the best way to train up a child in the way he should go is to travel that way yourself.”
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We need to be there because we are members of God’s great family!
Worship is, indeed, primarily for God. But, as we can see, coming to worship does a great deal for the worshipper. May we have the attitude about worship like that of David when he said,
“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God”…Psalm 84:1-2
We need to be there!
