Why I Love the Local Church

Bethany, John, and I are just getting back into the swing of things after being away for 3 weeks visiting family out west. While we enjoyed our time away with friends and family, when we came back to church this past Lord’s Day, I felt a sense of joy that I can’t feel anywhere else. Being with our church family every week is special, and I love our local church for a few reasons.

It’s Edifying

Firstly, I love the local church because it is edifying. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians that God has uniquely gifted believers to serve one another in various capacities, “ for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).” When we gather together and serve one another, we build each other up. We strive to help each other conform to the image of Christ. The local church is designed by God to build believers up. This happens through encouragement, exhortation, admonishment, teaching, comforting, and all the one anothers found in Scripture. I love the local church because it is edifying.

It’s Restful

Secondly, I love the local church because it is restful. I don’t experience this much anymore now that I am pastoring full-time, but when I worked in construction, I was in a very harsh secular environment. Being a Christian meant I was the odd one out. It made certain aspects of my job uncomfortable when interacting with the other guys. Maybe you’ve felt that way in your own job. As someone who strives to please God with how you live, it can make you stick out like a sore thumb when you’re in a secular work environment. Maybe your boss asks you to do some questionable things to benefit the company; maybe its coworkers are their crude jokes. Whatever it is, being surrounded by unbelievers can be tiring. That doesn’t mean we should avoid it; in fact, we are to go IN to the world, not run from it. This makes Sunday mornings vital. You can come to church and be surrounded by like-minded people who share the same faith, values, and morals. You no longer stick out; you become a member of the body of Christ, joining together to worship the same God. That can be an extremely restful thing. I love the local church because it is restful.

It’s a Foretaste of Heaven

Finally, I love the local church because it is a foretaste of heaven. One thing I love about our church is the diversity we enjoy. People from around the world are gathered together in our sanctuary Sunday mornings and evenings to praise the same God. We come from all over but are united by our faith in Christ. What a glorious picture of what is to come! 

John wrote, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen (Rev. 7:9-12).”

The local church is a picture of what we will enjoy in heaven when we stand with all the saints from every tribe and every tongue to sing praises to the Lamb who has redeemed us from our sins. When we gather on Sundays, we ought to have that in our minds. Don’t let the song choice, or the temperature, or whatever it may be distract you from the beauty of the local church. I love the local church because it’s a foretaste of heaven.

These are just a few components of the local church that are beautiful and beneficial for the Christian. Books could be written (and they have been!) on this subject. All of that to say is we need to value the local church. Don’t treat Sundays as optional; get involved, serve, be a part of what God is doing in the local body. We all need to subscribe to what the author of Hebrews wrote when he said, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (Heb. 10:23-25).” 

SDG

For the Master,

Pastor Matt Shields