Saint Paul's Lutheran Church
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What is Worship?
Worship is the highest privilege of mankind. It is during worship that mortal, sinful man is allowed to stand safely before the holy and immortal God. In fact, it is God Himself who arranges this face to face meeting with sinful people in order to rescue them from death, while purifying sinful people of their guilt, then escorting these new children of the Father into God's Holy Habitation. During worship, God does all of the work. He brings people into His presence. He serves these people by washing them in Baptism, by speaking eternal life into them through His spoken word, and by feeding these new creations with the real body and blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ, through holy communion. Though these events take place on earthly soil in a man-made sanctuary, the reality is that at the moment of worship both God and His people are standing on heavenly ground amidst all the company of heaven. Throughout all of this, man's response is one of humble awe, of urgent repentance from his sin, and of great praise and thanksgiving for all which God has done and continues to do for him freely out of God's Fatherly Divine goodness. Worship was never intended by God to be a tool which man uses to earn a place in heaven. Instead, worship has always been used by God as the time when and place where God Himself saves man through His holy Word connected with His miraculous Sacraments. Worship truly occurs at the very Gate of Heaven! Must a person go to church to be saved? The better question is, Why would any Christian choose to miss this privileged encounter with God inside the Gate of heaven, standing upon heavenly ground in front of God's throne, surrounded by all of the company of heaven while God removes that person's sin and makes him or her holy and immortal? May you be counted among the children of God. May you be found abiding at His Throne and eating at His table now, as well as throughout eternity. Join us at Saint Paul's Lutheran Church in Winside anytime.
Why do Christians go to church?
Individual Christians offer many answers to the question, "Why do Christians go to church?". One of the simplest answers is to compare public worship to the family supper table in one's home. The family gathers at that table to eat. While eating, the parents and children get to speak to each other, learn more about each other, and enjoy each other's company. The primary purpose of family dinning is not to manipulate the children into thanking their parents for their gifts, though children may want to give them thanks. Nor does eating at that table make one a family member. One becomes a member of the family through birth or through adoption. Similarly, one does not need to eat at that family table just to prove that he or she is a member of the family. After birth or adoption, one is always a family member in every place at every time, even when away from that family table. However, those who consistently refuse to eat cannot remain alive very long and would thereby remove themselves from the family through death. Public worship resembles these basic facts of life. One becomes a member of God's family miraculously (and passively) as God gives birth to him or her in holy Baptism. One remains God's dear child at all times and in all places including those times when he or she is away from the church building. However, these children are gathered by the heavenly Father on a regular basis to eat at His table (public worship). Eating with God is not simply intended to prove to the community that one is a Christian, nor is it merely a time to thank God for His salvation, though both of these actions can and do occur during public worship. Eating with God is intended to do two essential things; to keep the Christian alive forever through heavenly food, and, to allow the child to speak with the Father and the other family members. Missing this encounter on occasion does not destroy a person's faith. However, refusing to eat with God in the context of worship over a long period of time will eventually destroy a person's faith, either by starving the faith or by over exposing the faith to demonic beasts without divine protection and preservation. So, Christians go to church as often as they can, not out of coersion nor out of moralistic pride, but out of a desire to be with the Father and His Son in a unique way which He himself has ordained. During public worship, God unites His family, preserves His family, and increases His family. He desires you as His child and is currently working toward you joining Him at His heavenly table in His earthly sanctuary.
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