Why church?

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are [children] of one religion, and it is the spirit. –Khalil Gibran


There are a whole lot of other things happening on Sunday morning besides church. If your place of worship offers services on other days and times—well, there are certainly plenty of other options then, as well. So why do this? What is it about this time together that keeps us (you) coming back, week after week? Stop for a minute and really think about this.

Is it the music? Whether it’s Switchfoot or Chopin, Haydn or Hillsong, music is a vital part of worship for many. But let’s face it: Sirius® can offer all this music and more—plus news, sports. . . . There must be another reason.

Maybe you’re drawn by the dynamic message of the spoken word, inspiring and potentially life-changing. Again—so many other places to get a “Jesus fix” (including “90-second Sermons” when you’re short on time).

From the outside, there doesn’t seem to be anything “special” about church. Music, silence, speech, friends—even food can all be found elsewhere. And yet. We keep coming back because there’s something here we just can’t explain (or deny). Some Presence, inviting us, wooing us and pursuing us in love. And like the air we breathe, this Presence is life-giving, life-sustaining, life-changing—and beyond our understanding.

Why church? There are as many reasons as there are tired, hungry, lonely souls drawn to the loving peace of God.



(How do we believe? This week, a few suggestions.)

Monday Believe in your power to transform indifference into love. How will you show the world you care? Psalm 8:4

Tuesday Believe you have an amazing gift to keep hope alive in the face of despair. Offer a prayer today for someone who is struggling. Isaiah 40:30-31

Wednesday Believe you have the remarkable skill of deleting bitterness from your life. Pray today for the courage to forgive someone who has hurt you. Thank God for the peace that will follow. Exodus 34:6-7

Thursday Believe in your budding potential to live with a nonviolent heart. Is there a human rights issue about which you are passionate? Consider contacting your congressional representative and making your passion known. James 3:17-18

Friday Believe in your passion to speak the truth, even when it isn’t popular. Sometimes as Christians we fall silent. Today, pray for conviction to speak truth—in love. Zechariah 8:16-17

Saturday Believe you have the strength of will to be peace in a world of violence. Offer words of peace. Matthew 5:9

Sunday Believe in your miraculous capacity to give—and receive—unconditional love. Greet someone with reckless abandon this morning. Luke 10:25-37


The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will make you an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is waiting for you. –Werner Heisenberg

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