Reason #4 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  FRIENDS.  (Church is a great place to be with friends and to make new friends.  (Or, you can sit at home on Sunday morning and watch reruns of Brady Bunch on Netflix.)  Being with friends is one of the greatest gifts from God in life.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have good return for their labor.  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help him up.”  I may be a bit old fashioned, but the “friends” I have on Facebook are fun and interesting, but they don’t necessarily become my closest friends.  Our closest friends are the ones we spend time with in person.  I love to see people talking and hanging out together at church.  It’s such a good and natural meeting place.  Plus, if someone is at church like you, there is a really good chance they are seeking good things, not bad, and are the kind of people you want to spend time with.  Proverbs 13:20 warns, “Those who walk with the wise grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”  Church is a great place to find friends.  (Oh, and by the way, I met my wife at church!).

Reason #3 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD MORE FULLY.  Sometimes we get so busy with the different aspects of our lives, it seems we can’t see God or hear from God very easily.  That’s not surprising.  But when we gather together in fellowship we are better able to focus on the reality and presence of God.  I believe that’s what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 18:20… “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”  This is a very famous Bible verse with a very important concept.  God hasn’t changed his address… He’s everywhere, all the time.  But when we come together in His name, our experience of Him is greater.  And we certainly need more of God in our lives!  In Acts 2:42-43, the early church believers had this same experience… “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe…”  Why were they filled with awe?  Because when they came together they could help each other see the amazing, all-consuming glory of God.

Reason #2 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  SUNDAY IS THE LORD’S DAY.  People often wonder why Christians meet on Sunday and why we call it the LORD’S DAY.  The answer is because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.  So, when we gather together as a church, just by our very gathering, we are honoring Jesus.  Luke writes in Acts 20:7… “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.”  He’s referring to the early church.  They gathered on the first day of the week, Sunday.  Why?  In commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection.  When we honor Christ by making sure to worship Him on Sunday, we are setting our hearts and our minds on the best thing possible:  God.  Matthew 6:33 says this… “Seek ye first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”  Gathering to worship God on Sunday, the first day of the week, is a way of showing God He is first in our lives.  Everything else will fall into place after that!

Reason #1 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  YOU WILL FIND ETERNAL HOPE.  Thinking about God and the things of eternity are very important aspects of our present sense of hope and wellness.  The Bible says that "God has planted eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)  It's natural for us to want to think about things that will last forever.  When we spend more time thinking about the things that will never end, like God and heaven and God's kingdom, then we tend to be more at peace and less anxious.  Our greatest hope, of course, is found in having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  

1 John 5:11 says this... "And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son."

Pastor Marcus, West Hills Community Church