When I was growing up, everyone that I knew burned wood or coal for heating in the winter. Naturally we did too. When I'd play in the snow, I would come in, take off the wet clothes, and stand right next to that stove. I would get real hot on one side. My hands might even hurt a little bit from the quick relief from the cold. Then I'd turn around and get the other side real hot. I'd continue this turning until I would feel good all over then I'd go about my business. The church is like that, it generates all this heat. If you want to warm up, it's good to get next to the fire. Sometimes it stings a little bit but after a while it feels real good and cozy.

Why go to church?

Family is a part of life like no other. Since I had 30 first cousins on each side of my family, going to my grandparents' home was fun. There were lots of people to play with. We had a bond that didn't need explanation. That bond would always be there. We could play, fight, or whatever but we would always have that bond. Church is like that. As saved people we have an eternal bond and going to church is like going to our father's home.

Why go to church?

The Bible says, "where two or three are gathered, there I will be also." God has promised us a special blessing when we gather for His purpose. I don't know about you but I know about me; I like being treated special. I like being with people in special times. Special times are not always the glamorous things of life. As a matter of fact, it is usually the non-glamorous times. In our society, going to church is not thought of as fun or constructive or a good use of time. The truth is that our society is wrong. The gathering can be fun, constructive, and a good use of time. We have to make it that way with God's leadership. Our problem is that we fall into ruts and rituals and when this happens we have become a religion not a spiritual family.

Why go to church?

When you go out into the dark at night, you carry a flashlight. Unless you're stupid, you point the light in the direction that you are going. That's why you have the flashlight. In the center of the flashlight is the strongest focus of this beam of light. If you want to really spot something, you shine the focus to that area. There is room on either side of that focus that you can see but the farther away from the focus the less light is available. If you study the Bible, you can see where originally the Hebrew people were given the truth so that world would know. In Jesus' time this responsibility was given to the church which Jesus put together. It holds the focus of the truth. The farther away from this focus you get, the less able you are to see the whole truth. Many times people will say I can feel God without the church. They are right. The problem is that they will not feel many aspects of God without the church. At least, that's what the Bible says. The biggest problem is that people do not want the whole truth. They are afraid of it. The truth should be embraced, so that it will set you free.

- 1997