To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PszNRde0Q20
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. If this is your first time here, welcome! This week we are discussing the topic “Do we really need to go to church?” Since the stay-at-home order started, churches all over the world have been streaming their services online so people can still watch church from home. This has been an amazing way to keep the Church connected even though we can’t be together physically. Many are wondering though, if we stay home and watch church on our television in our pajamas, do we really need to go to church when this is all over? What is the point of church if we can watch from wherever we want? Keep reading (or listening) to find out Tim and Kimberly’s thoughts on this topic!
Kimberly points out that thanks to technology, the Church has been able to be a positive influence and gain exposure to the Gospel all over the world. It is impactful to reach people we may have never reached without the internet, but it is a different kind of impact than meeting with someone face-to-face. In-person community creates a connection that is almost impossible to recreate screen-to-screen. Though we are thankful for programs like Zoom that allow us to stay connected with our community and loved ones, it’s not the same as being together physically.
Tim explains that there is a difference between having to go to church and being motivated to go to church. Salvation is not dependent on going to church. Salvation is a free gift from God, and faith in Jesus Christ in the only way to secure your salvation. But people should go to church to serve and give. Ask yourself: “Do I go to church to give or receive?” The answer should be both. If you are only going to church to see what you can get out of it, you are missing the point. God gifted each believer with a unique gift, and church is the perfect place to serve others with our gifts and skills. Are you great with children? Serve in the nursery. Are you a photographer? Help with social media and photography. Are you excited to meet new people? Volunteer to be a greeter. There are endless ways we can serve in our local churches. Think of the talents God has given you and how you can use them to serve others.
When we gather in the name of Jesus, it means by His authority. From that moment on, Christ moves from omnipresent to effectual present. When the Church gathers in the name of Jesus Christ, it kicks off the authority of God and starts a supernatural reality. When we invoke the name of Jesus Christ and gather in His name, He gives us discernment supernaturally. To fail to meet together as the Church is to fail to experience the blessing of God effectively working among us.
To wrap up, Tim and Kimberly answer the question, “What is the value of going to church?” Tim answers by quoting 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” The church is organically connected like hands and feet are to a body, and we can't be an effective body without having close proximity to one another. When we are together in person, we can suffer together and rejoice together. When the government allows large gatherings again and we find ourselves back in church, let’s ask ourselves, “How can we serve the church with the gifts that God has given us?”
REFERENCED SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
