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Church

I am going to church this morning. I am tired and don't feel like it really. It will more of the same, music, prayer, same people, sermon etc. Christmas is looming, more of the same, carols (who is Carol?) etc. Why bother?

I will go because it is the call of God to gather. I am not really into the unchurch faith thing and struggle to grasp the attitude of those who participate in it. For me, the notion of the body of Christ rules this out. We are called to be one as is a body, many parts, held together by the Spirit. This involves commitment, a determination to keep gathering.

I have plenty of reasons to leave church. I was really hurt in a church a few years ago, trashed by a few people. I could have walked away. But that would have been the wrong thing to do in Christ. For me, commitment to Christ is commitment to the things he loves and is concerned about, including his people.

There is no excuse to give up on church and claim faith in Christ. There are churches galore out there and there is one for us if we are determined. In fact, surely we should be attending a church near us, simplifying our lives. If we go with an attitude of giving and serving and not of "will this place meet my needs?" we will find that almost any church, as long as it upholds the truth of the gospel in the Word, will be good.

To me this rejection of church is another example of our pampered consumerist weak Christianity that wants it all on a plate and is as shallow as a paddling pool.

So, I will go to church this morning refusing to yield to my tiredness and potential boredom. I will go and serve and play my guitar and praise God and hang out with his people. Some I get on with, others are rather strange (like me); but I will be there. Actually, I can't wait.
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