Why I Don't Go to Church

I don't go to church to meet my friends.
I don't go to church to sing the songs I like
I don't go to church so the neighbors think I'm respectable
I don't go to church to increase my self esteem
I don't go to church to learn more about the Bible
I don't go to church to drink coffee and eat donuts
I don't go to church to have an emotional experience
I don't go to church to plan how to change the world
I don't go to church to "have fellowship"
I don't go to church to learn more about God and Jesus
I don't go to church to be a good example to my children
I don't go to church to please my mother
I don't go to church to avoid hell
I don't go to church to achieve heaven
I don't go to church to cheer on my team
I don't go to church to feel spiritual
I don't go to church to be better than everyone else
I don't go to church to boost moral
I don't go to church to launch an agenda


I don't make the church. The church makes me. 




Look not on my sins, but the faith of your church.




The church is the four men who took paralyzed me on a long journey to meet the Lord.




The church is the four men who took apart the roof--everything that separated me from my Lord and God. 




The church is the four men who brought me-- paralyzed by sin-- and lowered me down to where I ought to be--at the feet of Jesus.




The church is the four men who brought me to receive forgiveness and healing.




The church is my mother. Within the church I was spiritually conceived, gestated, brought to life, given birth, nursed and nurtured.





It's simple:




The Church is the Body of Christ and so I go to church so that the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ might preserve my body and soul unto everlasting life.