PUT YOUR FACE WHERE YOUR FAITH GROWS

Three forces are conspiring to defeat the church.  One force is behind them all!

1. COVID19   Brought to America from Communist China the virus has touched both great and small.  Millions have been infected (millions more have yet to be), and thousands have died.  What's worse, the fear of the virus is greater than the actual virus.  

Fear has kept millions from the Houses of Worship--some have been ordered to stay away by governments, others have been ordered to stay away by concerned family and friends, and then there are those who have calculated that church is not actually essential so it's not worth the risk attending.

2. SECULARISM  An increasing number of Americans identify as "NONES" when it comes to religious conviction or preference.  Militant atheists have aggressively pursued every Christian symbol or expression of faith in the public square.  Before the virus hit weekly church attendance had fallen from 40% of Americans to barely 18%.  Weekly is now weakly attendance.

3. POWERLESS CHURCHES.  Desperate to increase their attendances, many congregations and pastors re-envisioned and re-invented their churches to fit the lifestyles and preferences of the people.  The result has been a night-club atmosphere with driving drum beats, dancing "saints," and messages that use the Word of God to prove what the people want to hear.  All of that has left the church powerless, and pointless.  It is no wonder so many young people have abandoned the church.  The Church has abandoned God and them!  

This is the world in which we are doing Church.  Even some of our most faithful Christians have not been immune to the pull of the enemy to separate them from praise and worship in the House of God.  

YET GOD'S PEOPLE MUST RESIST THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE AND DETERMINE TO PUT THEMSELVES IN GOD'S HOUSE!  HERE ARE A FEW REASONS:

1. The Apostle said that we should NOT FORSAKE THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER AS WE SEE THE TIME APPROACHING ( Hebrews 10:25).   The closer we are to Christ's return, the closer we need to be with Christ's people.

2. YOU ARE A BLESSING WHEN YOU ARE HERE.  Your coming encourages others around you.  Your praying draws others to the Lord.  Your giving enables others to hear the Gospel.  Your singing evidences your love for God.  Your thoughtful listening shows others--young and old--that God's Word has top priority in your life.

3. YOU ARE A WITNESS WHEN YOU COME.  Your friends and family know if you are a faithful church attender.  They measure our faith by our faithfulness.  People who drive past the church while we are meeting often look to see the cars in the lot.  When your car is here, when your smile is being shared, and when you pray with other seeking the Lord, you are witnessing THE CHURCH IS IMPORTANT, THE CHURCH IS A PRIORITY IN MY LIFE.

4. YOU ARE STRENGTHENING THE BODY OF CHRIST.   You may suppose that you are not missed, but in the body of Christ, everyone is important. Everyone has a place.  Everyone has a role to play.  They may not be the same roles.  Just as the  body of our Lord Jesus had Eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, so His Body the Church needs eyes (who will see the needs), mouth that will speak the truth in love, hands that are willing to help those in need, and feet that are willing to carry the Gospel to others.

5. LONE RANGER CHRISTIANS WANDER AWAY from the joy of relationships with other believers, and often from the truth that sets us free.  The give and take of conversations with God's people, the helping hand extended to the hurting, the privilege of praying with and for one another, are blessings unknown to the lone ranger types.  It is not spiritually healthy for the ranger and it leaves the church--the body of Christ--weak.

THIS SUNDAY IS PICTURE TAKING DAY!

IF YOU EVER WANT TO REALLY PROVE YOU WERE SOMEWHERE, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A PICTURE!  

PROVE YOUR FAITH, BY PUTTING YOUR FACE IN THIS SUNDAY'S PICTURE AT FCC!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!

PR