I love my church. I have been going to this church for about 10 years now. My church feels like home to me. Many others that attend there will tell you they feel the same way. When I was little this is where my family came. They stopped attending church after a while though. I made my way back to this church when I was about 16 years old and I have not thought of leaving once. First Apostolic Church of Maryville is home to me. Almost every person who attends church though will tell you they love their church. If you don’t love your church, it is very likely you will be switching churches or stop attending church.
There are several things that can make a person love their church. It can be the people, the message, the service times, the music. All are great reason to like your church. I want to take some time today and share with you the reasons I love my church specifically.
God’s Presence
When I walk into my church, I feel God’s presence. There is a peace and warmth that washes over me when I step through those doors. Like I said earlier, it feels like home to me. You could survey everyone that attends church with us and most of them will tell you that is the first thing they noticed on their first visit. That warm embrace and peacefulness that washes over you as you enter the building are why so many first time guests end up coming back to our services. There have been times that I’ve walked into a church and not felt that same warm embrace.
I believe the reason I, and so many others, feel God’s presence the moment we step in the doors is due to Pastor making sure that the leaders and workers at the church have prayed and are in the right mindset for church. If this wasn’t done, we would have greeters who are not focused on being a smiling face to everyone who walks into the building. We would not have a worship team who is focused on helping people get their minds on God. If our staff did prepare themselves through prayer then all the work they put in during practice or in their studies, would be all in vain. If we haven’t focused our minds and hearts on God and asked Him to fill us and to fill our church, then how can we expect for those who don’t know God to feel His presence?
The Music
Music is a powerful thing. Each and every song you listen to has the power to control your thoughts. I know that seems like a crazy thing to say but it’s true. If you are listening to “Old McDonald” then you are thinking about a farmer and all his animals. You have no choice but to think of that. That’s what is playing in your mind because that is what you are listening to. The music that is played in church services is meant to help focus you on God. To help you think of the goodness of God. It should help you remember all of the wonderful things God has done for you. The songs should help encourage you in your times of trouble. To remind you of how great and mighty God is.
I know that there are some people who are biased towards a certain style of music. They aren’t happy if the music played at church doesn’t fit that style. But the point of song service at church is not to please your flesh. It is to get your mind on God so that when the Word is preached you are ready to receive the Word of God. If we aren’t focused on God before the Word is preached then we are most likely are not going to be focused on what is being preached. When we are not focused on what is being preached, we have no chance to retain what is being said so that we can allow it to change our lives.
Truth
So many times we find that people want to pick and choose what they teach from the Bible. They like one thing so they preach it but not another so they pretend it doesn’t exist. One of the things that I love about my church is that we teach the whole Bible. There is nothing in it that we take for granted. We believe there is a lot we can learn from the Old Testament. Just because we aren’t under the Law anymore does not mean that there are not lessons we can learn from the days of the Law. The Old Testament teaches us of our history just like the New Testament. If we were to exclude one then it would be like someone saying the Holocaust didn’t happen. We have to remember where we came from in order to not repeat past mistakes.
If you are interested in learning more about our church, please visit their website www.firstapostolic.org. We’d be happy to try and answer any questions you have about our beliefs. If you attend church with us, we’d love to hear some of the reasons you love our church so much. Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this don’t forget to check out our other posts! Click here to read last Monday’s post, Why I Go To Church. We hope you have a blessed day! Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Youtube! Than you again and God bless!
