Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Reasons. . . not excuses

Pastors often decry the poor excuses people make for not attending Church. Let me take a different approach.

Which do you find more readily - reasons to go to Church or reasons not to go to Church.

All of us can work on our reasons to go to Church, even if we don't make that many excuses to skip on Sundays.

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the Hosue of the Lord."

3 comments:

Rev. Larry Beane said...

But, but...

"Pastor, it doesn't say in the Bible you have to go to church, that's the way of the law and not of the gospel, we are supposed to be motivated by the gospel, it says 'he who is baptized and believes,' I read my Bible and I pray every day, you're being judgmental, how do you know I'm not going to church somewhere else?, that's none of your business, my grandfather was an elder, my mother gave a lot of money to this church, my ancestors came here in the 1800s from the Black Forest and they were Lutherans, I made my communion here, I was baptized here, I've been a member of this church since before you were born..."

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

Actually, it does say in Scripture that we are not to forsake the gathering together of the saints (as some had become accustomed to) -- and if you think Church Attendance is "of the law" perhaps you don't know the Gospel when it is given to you every Sunday from the Pulpit and from the Altar -- and again, your own personal piety is nice, but you are still part of a body, and if a part of the body cuts itself off from the rest, that isn't healthy for it -- and if you are going somewhere you need to publicly join with them, otherwise you are stealing from them the support you owe them -- and your grandfather showed up to church and your mother supported the church well, and your ancestors were willing to sail an ocean so that they could actually show up to the very Church service you are so defensive about not attending.

Need I go on?

Rev. Larry Beane said...

Dear Eric:

I'm convinced. I better quit blowing of church. ;-)

Sadly, the devil deceives people into self-delusion, self-confidence, and self-destruction. Kyrie eleison.