Be the Church
Stop going to church. Start being the church.
I want to ask you to change the way you think about Church. This is not just something you do, that you are obligated to and need to tick off on the to do list. Gathering together as the church is a deep, spiritual expression of who you really are. You see, when you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit entered you and united you with Jesus and Ephesians 2:6 tells us we are seated now in the heavenly church with Christ. And we are called to live out that heavenly reality in earthly time and space. We are a visible outpost of the heavenly church and because you are constantly a part of that church and because you are headed in eternity to the permanent physical reality of that heavenly church we must give absolute personal priority to being that church here.
This is not something you just do, this is an expression of your present and your future and so we ought to give it absolute priority to be here and to be the church. We don’t just go to church. We are the church. And we express our present and future reality by gathering. So, why do you gather with others on a Sunday? Because you are the church and you are just giving physical expression to your deepest reality.
So let’s get practical. What is this going to look like?
Well here is a list of items worth pursuing.
Diarise this time as immovable.
Come early. Stay late.
Plan your Saturday night so you arrive fresh and ready to go.
Come as you are without pretending so you can love and be loved, comfort and be comforted, weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. Leave your north shore mask at home and let’s be real together.
There are lots of good reasons to be online, if you can’t physically gather - if they apply to you, be online.
Invite a friend.
Love the people around you.
Pray with each other.
Be a committed contributor rather than a casual consumer.
Jesus is worth it.
Friends, Stop going to church. Start being the church.
