Reason #12 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  GOD DESERVES IT!  Really, this is the most important reason of all.  God deserves to get the glory always.  When we give Him glory on Sundays, it’s just a reflection of how we are to give Him His due glory all the time.  Psalm 96:7-8 says, “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.”  We can give God glory in many different ways:  By giving Him thanks in prayer, by singing worship songs, by focusing our attention when we study the Bible, by confessing our sin, etc., etc.  There are so many ways to give God the glory.  Basically, anytime we increase the reputation of God, we are glorifying Him… anytime we identify great attributes about Him, we are glorifying Him.  There are two sides to this:  One side is our joy in talking about God’s greatness.  The other side is that God deserves it, or is due it.  Psalm 115:1 declares, “It does not belong to us, LORD. The glory belongs to you because of your love and loyalty.”  God created us for the specific purpose of bringing Him glory.  And this, by the way, is not selfish on God’s part because He knows that when we praise Him, it is the best thing for us.  There is no other activity that will bring us as much fulfillment, joy and blessing than giving God the glory due His name.  Commanding us to glorify Him is the most loving thing God can do.

Reason #11 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  IT WILL HELP YOU RAISE YOU KIDS.  Raising kids is hard.  Being with like-minded people of faith gives you support and fresh ideas.  Teaching kids wholesome values like respect, honesty, kindness, compassion, patience, self-assurance, and peace are very important.  Those values need to be reinforced by a community of people who agree with you about their significance.  When your kids come to church they will learn the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23… “… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”  They will learn the Two Greatest Commandments from Matthew 22:37-40… “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  They will learn what it means to be born again from John 3:7 and what it means to have the Holy Spirit in their hearts from Romans 5:5.  They will learn Jesus’ Golden Rule from Luke 6:31… “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”  PLUS, as your kids are learning, you will meet other parents who are striving to raise their kids with the same faith and values. 

Reason #10 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  TO GROW SPIRITUALLY BY LEARNING FROM THE WORD OF GOD.  If you attend a Bible teaching church, then a significant portion of the church service should be dedicated to teaching from the Bible, the written revelation from God.  We grow spiritually when we dig in and learn the Word of God.  A Christian will desire to learn the Bible, a non-Christian won’t.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18… “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  Also, in 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul said, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  As believers in God, there is something inside us that makes us yearn to know more about God and grow.  That “something” is the Holy Spirit.  It’s the Holy Spirit that is impressing it upon you to go and listen and learn and then put your faith into action.  If you have that yearning, that’s a good sign!  Now, listen to it and respond.  Go and learn and grow in God’s Word.

Reason #9 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  TO BEAR EACH OTHER’S BURDENS.  Life can be hard, right?!  In a moment everything can change.  Just when things are going great, a phone call, a diagnosis, or a host of other mishaps can leave you feeling afraid and alone.  But those who are a part of a church should never feel alone.  The Apostle Paul said to the church at Galatia in Galatians 6:2:  “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Notice it’s a two-way street.  When you’re feeling down and out, you can come and be lifted up.  Conversely, if you’re feeling great one Sunday, that’s not the time to skip church.  That’s the time to be there for someone else.  Your smile, your simple conversation, your presence may be the thing that encourages someone else that day.  The word in the New Testament for this is “fellowship.”  That’s the English word for the Greek word “koinonia.”  It means participating in community.  Being active in the group.  There’s something very special and encouraging about being present with other people in church.

Reason #9 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  IT WILL HELP YOU CONFESS YOUR SIN.  Of course you should confess your sins every day.  And when you do, God will forgive you.  1 John 1:9 promises “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  But too often we are so busy, we forget to examine ourselves and lay our sins before God in repentance.  When we come together in corporate worship something wonderful happens:  we are humbled.  When we hear the praise music, when we listen to the teaching of God’s Word, when we see others praying, we are humbled before God.  Suddenly we are more apt to confess our sins before God in the quietness of our hearts.  It doesn’t need to be out loud or verbally to another person – though this is profitable also (James 5:16).  Just the very act of coming to church is the beginning of softening your heart to the Lord.  So when you are there, it is more likely that you will ask God to cleanse you and forgive you.  Psalm 139:23-24 says this… “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  And after we have confessed we are assured that God’s forgiveness is real because of the shed blood of Jesus.  Ephesians 1:7 declares… “In Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

Reason #8 why going to church this Sunday is the best plan:  TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO LOVE GOD.  I am so blessed by the young families of our church.  They are my heroes!  In a culture where so many people are walking away from God and walking towards selfishness and narcissism, the young families that bring their kids to church are wise beyond their years.  Kids watch what their parents really do.  Kids know what their parents really believe by watching their actions.  Josh McDowell wrote, “You can con a con, you can fool a fool, but you can’t kid a kid.”  So true.  Kids will most often become like their parents.  Jesus said in Luke 6:40 that a student will become like his teacher.  It doesn’t say that a student will become what the teacher teaches him;  he will become what his teacher is.  Kids will become like their parents.  When parents love God by participating in a church family, the kids will more likely do the same.  Christian author, Julie Rupp, wrote: “Our children will learn more about faith from watching us live out our own faith journey… than from us telling them about God.”