When you think of "church goers" what comes to mind? I imagine the quintessential goody-two-shoes who has never broken a rule in his or her life. Isn't that how most church goers try to come off when they're around other "church people"? We put on our Sunday best and tell everyone how much we love God, and then we go home to our regular lives and leave Jesus for next service. Well, this view of church is totally warped from the entire point of the church!
The people who most would turn away from a church, are those who need it most. Jesus didn't come here and hang out with the people who made it look like they had it all together. He spent His time with the lowliest of sinners and evildoers around! Who of us can say that we have never struggled with sin or turned away from Jesus at some point in our life? We all know what it's like to be on the other side. Wouldn't you have wanted to know Jesus at those points?
The church was never meant for the people who have it all together-- it was created as a home for the broken. We go to church not to brag about how holy and together we are, but to draw strength from one another as we all continue on our journey with Christ. Never look at someone and think that they are too broken for church because there is no such thing. Instead, reach out with compassion to those who are caught in the trap of sin and introduce them to the real Jesus Christ.
Matthew 9:11-12 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:8-11 We know that the law is good when used correctly. For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. (NLT)
The people who most would turn away from a church, are those who need it most. Jesus didn't come here and hang out with the people who made it look like they had it all together. He spent His time with the lowliest of sinners and evildoers around! Who of us can say that we have never struggled with sin or turned away from Jesus at some point in our life? We all know what it's like to be on the other side. Wouldn't you have wanted to know Jesus at those points?
The church was never meant for the people who have it all together-- it was created as a home for the broken. We go to church not to brag about how holy and together we are, but to draw strength from one another as we all continue on our journey with Christ. Never look at someone and think that they are too broken for church because there is no such thing. Instead, reach out with compassion to those who are caught in the trap of sin and introduce them to the real Jesus Christ.
Matthew 9:11-12 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:8-11 We know that the law is good when used correctly. For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. (NLT)
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