I Love My Church Devotional Day 7 We live in a culture dominated by entertainment. If a movie is good, people will go. If it isn’t, people will stay away. If a television show is good, people will watch. If it isn’t, it will be canceled. And if church is good, people will go. If not, people will stay away. God communicates creatively and His church should as well: • When God wanted to communicate to Balaam, He spoke to Balaam through a donkey. • When God wanted to communicate to Jonah, He used a big fish. • When God wanted Peter to learn not to worry about money, He sent Peter fishing and told him there would be money in the mouth of the fish. Given Gods example, why shouldnt we do our best to make our church services the most creative, entertaining environment of the week? The population is increasing while church attendance is decreasing. I’ve read the statistics that over 90 percent of churches in America are either stagnant or declining. Maybe it’s because people find no value in going to church. Maybe nothing in the church seems to hold their attention. You can scream at people for embracing this mindset, but the people who are embracing it are lost. And if we are not willing to do what it takes to reach them, they are going to go to hell. When people walk into church, something has to catch their attention if we want them to come back. We should talk about sin and repentance, but we should do it in a way people can understand and apply that information. And I’m not saying this to just church leaders, I’m saying this to everyone who knows Jesus and goes to church! You, as the greeter or children’s ministry volunteer or usher, have the opportunity to make people feel loved and welcomed. People will come to church to experience it. People will come BACK to church because of a relationship. If the church was as serious as Hollywood is, about reaching people, we would be reaching more people. Hollywood has discovered something the church runs from: It takes work to create an experience people will remember. The people walking through our doors are worth our time and effort. People should look forward to church more than they look forward to watching a new sitcom or blockbuster hit. Yes, God is in charge. He is ultimately responsible for everything. But we have to understand that God works through people who work. He is honored when people plan, pray and work, rather then sit back and watch Him make up the difference. Numbers 22:21-24 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. Matthew 17:24-27 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ” “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” This devotional used by permission.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 11:30:27 +0000