Church Attendance and the Modern Day Christian
Introduction
Hebrews 10:25 KJV - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
"Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man."
Written by D.L. Moody
I – The Expectations of Church Attendance
1Ti 3:15 KJV - But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
A) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Gathering
Col 4:15 KJV - Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Col 4:16 KJV - And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
B) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Teaching
Act 11:26 KJV - And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
C) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Healing
Jam 5:14 KJV - Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
D) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Assisting
3Jo 1:6 KJV - Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:
E) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Disciplining
3Jo 1:9 KJV - I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
3Jo 1:10 KJV - Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.
F) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Warning
Col 4:16 KJV - And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Col 4:17 KJV - And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
G) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Appointing
Act 14:23 KJV - And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
H) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Sending
Act 15:22 KJV - Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
I) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Feeding
Act 20:28 KJV - Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
J) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Serving
Rom 16:1 KJV - I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
K) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Reminding
1Cr 4:17 KJV - For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
L) Church Attendance is Mandatory for Mediating
1Cr 6:1 KJV - Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
1Cr 6:2 KJV - Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Cr 6:3 KJV - Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
1Cr 6:4 KJV - If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
1Cr 6:5 KJV - I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
II – The Excuses of Church Attendance
To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday":
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in." There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard. Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church." Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can't go to church and cook dinner, too. We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them. We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he's too loud!
Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Go to Church
1. Boring or unfulfilling church services 42%
2. Beliefs of the church 35%
3. Church’s moral views 35%
4. No need to 34%
5. Prefer to do other things 31%
6. “My beliefs are too weak” 27%
7. The way churches are organized 24%
8. Other commitments 21%
9. Bad experience among church people 16%
10. Not enough time because of work 15%
Source: Why People Don’t Go to Church, 1998 Australian Community Survey
Symbols of our faith - While teaching children about world religions, a teacher asked her students to bring a symbol of their family's faith to class. The next day, she asked each student to come forward and share the symbol with the class.
The 1st child said, "I'm Muslim, and this is my prayer rug."
The 2nd child said, "I'm Jewish, and this is my family's menorah."
The 3rd child said, "I'm Roman Catholic, and this is my Mom's rosary."
The 4th child said, "I'm Greek Orthodox, and this is an icon of my patron saint."
The 5th child said, "I'm a Baptist, and this is my casserole dish."
A) We live in the age of Consumerism
“What can the church do for me – Not what can I do for the church?”
B) We live in the age of Commercialism
“We want the church to appeal to our flesh, make me feel good. The church can’t point out my faults, failures, my sins.”
C) We live in the age of Cynicism
“Many have abandoned the church because they were hurt by the church or by another Christian. The cynicism may be rooted in a prayer that went unanswered. Something bad may have happened and the church has taken the brunt of their hurt and their attack on God. The cynics feel that they are correct and warranted in their disbelief in God and in his church.”
D) We live in an age of Charlatanism
“This church age is full of frauds, people that act like they are something they aren’t. The fact of the matter is many are fake, many are frauds, and the only way to know the facts is to be aware of what the bible says. This comes by being grounded in the church. The best way to identify a counterfeit is to handle the real thing.”
E) We live in an age of Conformism
“The bible warns us to not be conformed to this world, but honestly the church has become worldly and the world has become churchy. The fact of the matter is there has to be a line of division. We can’t be conformed to the world and win the world.
Rom 12:1 KJV - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 KJV - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The modern day church has lowered our values to raise our numbers. We have allowed the world to conform us in our moral standards, our music, our dress, our family values. When one church in the community decides to conform to the world’s standards and they begin to grow, then many churches decide to follow them.”
F) We live in an age of Capitalism
“The church has delved into the capitalism deception, by thinking we can grow bigger, be better, and do it quicker through our own ingenuity. We have abandoned walking by faith and instead chosen to walk by sight. We have forsaken prayer for programs. In growing bigger can most say they are honestly better? We brag on the beauty of our outward buildings but the filthiness on the inside of many so called believers.”
G) We live in an age of Criticism
“The church is full of critics. This crowd enjoys criticizing the music, the message, the minister, the membership, the money, the methods, and the misgivings of the church. The sad thing about many churches is that it is being abandoned by those on the outside and attacked by many on the inside.”
Mat 12:36 KJV - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Hbr 13:17 KJV - Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
H) We live in an age of Cultism
“We have cults in every community, it is their goal to infiltrate the church and devour those that are seeking to follow God. If you are ever approached by someone that offers you an outlet to serve God that doesn’t operate through the church, you better run.”
Gal 1:6 KJV - I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 KJV - Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
I don't know why some people change churches - what difference does it make which one you stay home from? [Rev. Denny Brake]
III – The Erosion of Church Attendance
A) Those That Fall Away
B) Those That Fall Out
C) Those That Find other Interests
“A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is ready to shake hands.
The Pastor grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside and said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!"
My friend replied, "I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor." The Pastor questioned, "How come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?"
He whispered back, "I’m in the secret service.”
However, Obama's rare appearances at church during his past five years in office aren't out of step with the rest of country, according to a Gallup poll. (18 times since 2008)
According to surveys taken in May and December of more than 2,500 Americans, just 39 percent said they attended their church, synagogue or mosque in the past seven days.
That's about the same rate of church attendance among Americans in the 1940s, wrote Gallup's Frank Newport, while self-reported attendance hit its highest levels (46-49 percent) in the late 1950s.
"Since the early 1960s, weekly church attendance has settled down, generally to a range between 40 percent and 45 percent. But self-reported church attendance has been marked by year-to-year fluctuations," Newport wrote. "For example, less than 40 percent of Americans reported attending church in 1996 and in 2008. But church attendance was as high as 44 percent in 2000 and 2004. Americans' self-reported church attendance since 2008 has averaged 39 percent, down slightly from the overall average of 42 percent since 1939."
IV – The Excitement of Church Attendance
“Morbus Sabbaticus” or Sunday Sickness, is a disease peculiar to church members.
The attack comes on suddenly on Sundays. No symptoms are felt on Saturday night; the patient sleeps well and awakes feeling well; eats a hearty breakfast, but about church time the attack comes on and continues until services are over for the morning. The patient feels easy and eats a hearty dinner.
In the afternoon he feels much better and is able to take a walk, automobile ride, go visiting, talk politics and reads the papers; he eats a hearty supper but about church time he has another attack and stays home. He retires early, sleeps well, and awakes on Monday morning refreshed and able to go to work, He does not feel any of the returned symptoms until the next Sunday.
The peculiar features are as follows--
1. It attacks only members of a church.
2. It never makes its appearance except on Sunday.
3. Its symptoms vary, but never interfere with appetite and sleep.
4. It never lasts more than 24 hours.
5. It generally attacks the head of the family and continues to spread until every member is affected.
6. No physician is ever called.
7. It always proves fatal in the end to the soul.
8. No remedy is known for it except repentance and prayer.
9. Real heart-felt salvation is the only antidote.
Big or small? Can you tell me why a $10 bill looks so small at the grocery store but so big at church?
The following are scriptural reasons for attendance in a NT church:
A) It is a divine requirement which must not be forsaken:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:25).
B) The NT assembly is the divine institution for truth:
“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15).
C) The local church is the exclusive institution for sanctification through the Word of God:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Jn. 17:17).
D) The primary reason for attendance is to learn doctrine; fellowship, the Lord’s Supper and prayers are secondary, based on sound doctrine:
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). 5. The gathering of the assembly is the only practical means by which the believer can meet corporately with the Lord and worship Him in the ordinances: “When ye come together therefore into one place…For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (I Cor. 11:20, 26), “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41), and “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (I Pet. 4:10).
E) The gathering of the assembly is the only practical means by which the believer can meet corporately with the Lord and worship Him in the ordinances:
“When ye come together therefore into one place…For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (I Cor. 11:20, 26), “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41), and “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (I Pet. 4:10).
F) The local church is the only institution, which has divinely-given men for her benefit:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11).
G) The gathered assembly is the only place where saints can receive divinely authorized feeding and spiritual care:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
H) The NT assembly is the only means by which one can exercise financial stewardship in this dispensation:
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come”
(1Corinthians 16:1-2).