Why I Go To Church

Thursday, December 14, 2006

One reason Why We Go to Church is to "Celebrate CHRIST." Celebrate CHRIST is the first aspect of our Christ Lutheran youth ministry purpose statement. It is our way of saying "worship."

This coming Sunday, the middle school youth and I will study the Ten Commandments at our Here We Stand confirmation event. The First Commandment says "You shall have no other gods." We are to worship the LORD our God only. The verses following this commandment are also about worship: "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship the; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God. (Exodus 20:4-5a NRSV).

I think the Second Commandment also instructs us about worship: "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God." Martin Luther explained that this means "We are to fear and love God, so that we do not curse, swear, practice magic, lie or deceive using God's name, but instead use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God." Of course during worship services at church, we pray, praise and give thanks to God. But when we do these things in other places and at other times, we are also worshiping God and Celebrating CHRIST.

The Third Commandment reminds us to "Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy." For most Christians, our chief day of worship is Sunday (the first day of the week), rather than the sabbath day (the seventh day). Again Martin Luther's words are helpful as we consider what this means for us: "We are to fear and love God, so that we do not neglect God's Word or the preaching of it, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it." On Sunday mornings, we hear lessons from God's Word read, we listen to Pastor Poisel and others preach the Good News, and we Celebrate CHRIST in Holy Communion. In Sunday School we discuss how God's Word applies to our lives as teenagers. During our confirmation events, we "gladly hear and learn" what God has to say through the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostle's teachings.

We Go to Church to Celebrate CHRIST in obedience to commands given by a loving God—a God who brought his people out of the house of slavery in the land of Egypt; a God who revealed his name through a burning bush at Horeb, the mountain of God; a God who rested on the seventh day, after creating us and all that exists.

copyright Tom Pairan 2006