THE PURPOSE OF COMING TO CHURCH. “Purpose “ -Is the reason or intention behind an action or something. It is what an action is meant to or supposed to achieve. It is an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides one’s planned actions. It could be an intention, objective or goal intended to be attained. It can simply be defined as “the reason behind what you are doing or what you intend to do. “Coming”-Moving by any means towards something or a place. In this context, you are moving towards the church. One can say you set out to get to the church and that is your destination. “Church”- In this context is referred to as a place of worship.Jn4:23. A house of prayer.Matt21:13. His (Jesus) Father’s house.Jn 2:16. GOD’s dwelling place.Ex25:8. A place where the word of GOD is taught.Lk13:10. It is a place where believers, the elect of GOD gather to meet, praise and worship Jesus Christ, the head of the church. It is the natural habitation of divine presence and as such you come in with awe and reverence. The purpose of coming to church is multidimensional. The scriptures say”Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”Heb10:25. Coming to the church should be a thing of joy as David mentioned “And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”Ps 23:1. “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my GOD, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”Ps84:10.”I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”Ps122:1.” In thy presence is fullness of joy.”Ps16:11. Even from David’s writing, one can see that coming to the church is loaded with many reasons. Therefore we should come with expectations and with the belief that we won’t go back without being blessed. Let us consider some of the reasons behind our coming to church. To meet Jesus and offer praise and worship to him.Heb13:15. To encounter and glorify GOD together .Jn4:23, Ps95:6. To learn the word of GOD. Acts2:42,2 Tim3:16. For prayer.Matt21:13 To testify to the goodness of the LORD through testimonies.Rev12:11. To fellowship with others.Heb10:25. Let us consider the points listed above one by one. *To praise and worship the LORD. The Father expects us to worship him in the spirit and in truth and this is confirmed when Jesus said in Jn4:23-24. So he is worthy of worship and in humble awe we come to worship him. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in the spirit and in truth.” And the psalmist says Come,”let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.“ Ps95:6. We are coming to church to worship and as we sing, praise and worship, our praise goes up and GOD inhabits it and rain blessings upon us. Through praise and worship we receive blessings from above. *To learn the word. The word of GOD is our spiritual food that we feed on when we come to church and even when out of church just like the body needs food daily. Matt4:4, 1Peter2:2. It is our light, when life is dark and confusing , the word illuminates and lights up our path.Ps119:105. It is our mirror, whenever we hear or read it, it tells us the truth about ourselves.James 1:23-25. The word is for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. As we listen to the word, and apply it, it transforms and trains us in righteousness.2Tim 3:16-17. The word not only corrects, reproves, trains, it also helps our faith to wax stronger. And it is only by hearing it, that we can build up our faith. Rom 10:11. You can not buy or manufacture or transfer faith, so coming to church to hear the word enhances one’s faith and spiritual growth. The word you hear can not be taken away from you and a life built on the word will stand when storms of life come. The word carries life and power to heal. “They are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” Prov 4:22. When Jesus sent out the word to the centurion’s servant, he was healed. Matt8:8,16. As we hear the word, let us not harden our hearts but open them instead so that GOD can transform us into his righteousness. *To pray One of the reasons we come to church is to pray and through that we communicate with GOD . For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matt 18:20. When believers pray in unity, with the same heart and same word, GOD moves. He honours the prayer of agreement and there is power in it. When Peter was imprisoned, the ceaseless corporate prayer made by the church unto GOD availed much and He moved on behalf of Peter and set him free. Acts 12:5. As we pray and also intercedes for one another GOD moves in our midst and we experience him and see the manifestation. A consistent prayer life is essential to sustain a church and to keep the church members committed. Iron sharpens Iron, as you come together to pray, you sharpen one another and push each other further to pray more.Prov 27:17. *To share testimonies. Testimony is telling others about what the LORD has done for one; it is a form of witness and we learn from each other. Jesus encourages us to be testifying to the goodness of the LORD. He told the demon possessed that he healed, ”Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. So the man went and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”Mark5:19-20. When we share testimonies of what GOD has done, it is an evidence of victory and proof that GOD is working in the life of the testifier. Testimonies reassure believers of the faithfulness of GOD encourage them to put their confidence in him. When ever you come to church to testify or to listen, either way you are being blessed, you receive more of God’s goodness and mercy, and it helps building up faith. Apart from all the above listed, we also come to serve in the church and not only to be served. Not everyone can mount the pulpit to preach, but there are many other activities in the church that need hands. Activities such as ushering, cleaning, follow up, teaching in Sunday school classes evangelising and so on. In all these we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to function very well. As you get involved in such activities, your hidden gifts will begin to surface. Just like Stephen and the other six men who were appointed as deacons to serve the widows. Acts6:1-6. On this note, I admonish you serve in any of the departments in the church so that your hidden gift can be discovered and utilized and you will become a vessel unto honour in the household of GOD. It is through serving that your gift can be unmasked and begin to manifest. So don’t just come to be served - to hear the sermon, to pray and to depart. Let us join the team of workers and use the gifts GOD gave us to be a blessing to others , serving wholeheartedly and with love.”Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve”Mk10:45. We also come to church to give through our tithe and offering. The scriptures says “No one should appear before the LORD empty handed. “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.” Deu 16:16b-17. You give to meet the need of the church, support the projects and the programs of the church and also give to the needy in your midst. *To fellowship. Above all we come to fellowship with GOD and with one another for GOD created us for fellowship.1Cor1:9,1Jn1:3. We fellowship with GOD through praise and worship, communicating with him through prayer and thanksgiving, and we express the fellowship through dinning on the bread which is a symbol of Jesus’ body broken for us and drinking the wine which is also a symbol of his blood during the Holy communion. We get closer to GOD and grow spiritually when we fellowship with him. When we gather, we get stronger, grow together spiritually, we encourage each other and experience God’s presence. Gal 6:1a. As we fellowship together in love, our relationship is strengthened, we become our brother’s keeper, we see ourselves as members of the same family and relate as such with the love of Christ binding us together. Behold,how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.Ps 133:1. Brethren, coming to church is always a blessing, because no one leaves without being touched by GOD. Having said much about the purpose of coming to church, it is instructive to also know what coming to to church is Not for and should Not be for. Since the church is the habitation of divine presence, we must enter with humility and honour and come with awe before GOD whom we have come to meet. Brethren, *The church is not for gossip and backbiting. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”Eph 4:29. Never sow discord among brethren and avoid saying or doing what will cause disunity . *The church is not a market where buying and selling takes place. “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. He said to them, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘ a den of robbers’. “Matt21 :12-13. Jesus actually scattered the coins of the money changers at the temple courts and told those who sold doves to stop turning his Father’s house into a market. Jn2:16. This simply means that buying and selling should not be part of what we come to church for and should not be encouraged or entertained at all. *It is not a fashion house. “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes.”1Tim2:9. Dress to cover your nakedness, but not to distract others. Distraction also comes from moving around, side discussions, scrolling on phones, and making calls during worship or the sermon. And be aware that “The LORD is in the holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”Hab 2:20. *Finally, you don’t come to church to sleep, doze off or jest but to listen with rapt attention to the sermon and participate actively in the church programs.” We shall not miss our day of visitation or our miracle in Jesus’ name. The church is the habitation of divine presence, the LORD is in his temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Therefore come with awe and enter with humility and honour and be expectant. Prayer. Father, Help us to live out fully the purpose of coming to church. Enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth . Teach us to serve with love and willing hearts, to give with cheerful hearts, to walk in love and in true fellowship with one another. And above all, help us to seek you more and relate with you more. In Jesus’ name. Amen.