"I believe in God, but I don't like the church."
Have you ever heard someone say that before?
Have you ever said something like that before?
At my home church, Pastor Jack recent preached the sermon series I <3 My Church. In it he expressed that one of the reasons he believes the church has been on the decline in America is that there is a misunderstanding about the church. People don't like church because it is full of a bunch of hypocrites. The truth is that they are right. Even the most virtuous of Christians has told people to follow the Bible and in some way or another every Christian has failed to practice what they preach. The church is messed up because the people in it are messed up.
Now picture this: You are sitting in a wedding ceremony. The entire bridal party is standing at the front of the church except for the most important member The processional music has just stopped abruptly and the wedding march begins to plan. Everyone stands up. Out walks a beautiful woman all dressed in white. At that moment the person sitting next to you begins to boo at the bride. What do you do?
The Bible says that the church is the bride of Jesus. And as Pastor Jack puts it, "you don't boo a man's bride." The church isn't perfect, but God has place a high value in it.
I must confess that I've screwed this one up just this past week. I was talking with some guys from work when they said "I believe in God, but I don't like the church." Without thinking much about it I said, "Well that church is horrible, but that would never happen at my church." It is tempting to go with the flow when people begin criticizing the church, but we need to stand up for what God values. God values the church. And not just yours. All of His churches worldwide.
If you knock out a bride-heckler in one punch:
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