To be a Christian means to be a member of a church. Belief in Christ doesn't just come by confessing sins, or praying to God on the golf course. It means saying I will be a part of the body of Christ. Even hermits who practice their faith in solitude realize that they must have a supporting group of brothers and sisters around them. Perhaps a mistake of American Christianity is that all we need to get through the tough places in life is just God.
I think not. While it is true that Moses did encounter God alone on the mountaintop, he came down from the mountain to meet, to talk and to live with all the other children of God assembled there.
As we follow Christ, we must do it together as Christ's body, or as Paul tells us, the Bride of Christ. Together, we are God's Kingdom.
Let us pray...
Lord Jesus, you are the head of the church, and we give thanks for the blessings you have brought into our lives through brothers and sisters in the church. I ask a blessing on our own church, (name of church) and pray for my brothers and sisters I have come to love there. I pray for the children that I see every Sunday, who laugh, joke and run under my legs. I pray for the elders who complain about their pain or tell me about stories from their youth. I pray for the leaders who bless me every day with care, their prayers and their words of goodness and hope. I pray for my pastor. Give her (him) the wisdom to preach the word and lead the church through its time of crisis and guide us into joy and the garden of peace.
Bless all of us as we worship and do the mission together of your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus, the Christ who is our Lord and Savior, I pray, Amen.
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