I am going to be doing a sermon series on Why Church. The focus is going to be on why do we choose to go to church or not go to church as the case may be. I will be using the lectionary and the ideas came from suggestions from Homiletics. The first sermon will focus on Luke 15:1-10. The topics we will be covering are community, real people, money matters, and mentors. With all the effort with the Re-Think church, I thought it might be important to discuss church not just the building but also the people.
What struck me as I am preparing for this Sunday was the context of the scripture of the lost sheep and the lost coin. The preface was the grumblings from the Pharisees that Jesus was eating and inviting to eat with him sinners and tax collectors. For one was not to associate with sinners because that would make you impure and a sinner yourself. As I was contemplating this, I was struck by how I felt when I was young about the church and the hypocrisy of the people that went to church. I felt in my self-righteousness that I was better than that. What is interesting is that recent surveys that is often the number one reason young adults do not go to church. Little has changed in 40 years and it seems that this was an issue even in Jesus' time. For I came to the realization that I was the Pharisee of this story and as much a hypocrite as those I accused. If I sat in judgment of others I needed to sit in judgment regarding my own self.
Needless to say, when I had that insight, I decided that maybe church was a place to help me grow in ways that I did not have to continue with my self-righteousness but instead focus on getting right with God. I don't believe I would have done that without being surrounded by loving, caring, committed Christians who were also growing in their faith. I did not find it in a book, on TV, or even today on the Internet.
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