Spiritual Formation (Church part 1)

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Imagine that a gym puts up a sign that reads, “Exercise is good for your health.”  Is that statement falsified because the gym benefits from you paying to join it?  Imagine a restaurant putting up a sign that reads, “We serve heart-healthy soups.”  Is that statement falsified because the restaurant stands to benefit from health-conscious customers buying their soups?  In both cases, the fact that there could be benefits to the sign owners does not negate the claim made by their sign.  Perhaps you will think, of course, a Church blog is going to write about the importance of Church attendance.   In the same way, a blog focused on Spiritual Formation and pointing out the value of participation in the local Church cannot be falsified only on the grounds that the local Church benefits from that participation.

Perhaps you will think, I have the Bible and I can read; therefore, I have no need to go somewhere and have someone tell me what the Bible says.  If that is the case, then we should consider what the Bible says about believers gathering together.  You may remember a Psalmist likened his seeking for God to a deer that pants for water.  When that Psalmist pondered the question, “Where is God,” it was answered by remembering their going with crowds of people up to the House of the Lord and being with the multitude celebrating the festivals (Ps. 42).

Consider these words attributed to the fourth-century Christian philosopher Ambrose, “To Thee our morning song of praise, to Thee our evening prayer we raise” (Farrar 1822).  Notice the plural pronoun ‘our’ as opposed to any singular pronoun.  Ambrose’s words fit with Paul’s words to the Church in Corinth; the body of Christ is made of several different people.  Those different people perform different functions, just as different body parts perform different functions, so the body works.  One part cannot say to another part, I do not need you (1 Cor. 12:14-26).

With that in mind, think about how many things you do in a week where you need another person.  You cannot go waterskiing alone.  Is it fun texting yourself?  We can see the need for other people in our daily lives; moreover, as shown above, God intended His people to be in community.

Written by Pastor Ozzy 

Farrar, D. D. 1822. "Sermon at Great St. Mary's." The Cambridge Review Vol. III. NO. 62. . Cambridge Review Committee, Feb 22.

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