The Heart of Religion

As we continue to deal with COVID pandemic restrictions and finding our new normal, we need our faith more now than ever. God is Essential and it is about time that the world realizes what Christians already know. That God is real and he is alive; He lives in you and me everyday. A successful life is not the stuff we have, but rather is found in the way that we experience God in our lives. To experience life at its fullest, we need to live the Love that God has given to us. This Love has to start at home; we need to love and respect ourselves and our families. The special people that God has placed in our lives to teach us about love. These are the very people who are going to be with us throughout life so that we can grow in Love together. We also have our Church family, the family that we join to grow in our faith. Our church family is a lot like our birth family. These special people are there for each other as we journey in faith through this thing called life. Our faith family is who we join together with to worship this wonderful God.

When you look at the history of religion and what is at the heart of religion, it has always been to Worship God. The best thing that we do in this world is to Worship the Creator of the world. To worship this Good God who has created us and given us everything that we have and everything that we enjoy. At the heart of Worship is Sacrifice. Worshipping God requires that I do something. It is not about getting stuff, but rather what can I do for God. He wants us to Worship and praise him. Jesus spent his whole life worshiping the Father. He spent his life honoring and praising him. God has given us the faith that we enjoy and he wants us to use it to worship HIM. We have been called to share that faith with others; we are being called into action. When we go to church on Sunday we come together as a family to worship our God together. So, when we go to church and participate in the service, we are giving back to God the worship that he desires. It is with one mind and one heart that we pray together. Our attendance at Church on Sunday makes a difference in our lives. It is not a chore that we have to do, but rather it is the opportunity that God has given to us to worship him in the manner that he wants. The heart of Worship is sacrifice, so we come to church not to just sit and listen, but rather to sacrifice –to give back to God some of the gifts that he has given to us. Our time, our attention, our presence, our sacrifice. God wants us to worship together as a family and to become the Body of Christ that He has called us to be. Becoming this Body of Christ counts on our attendance and participation. Each of us are important to the Body. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

May we realize that we have been gifted with the ability to let the world know about this awesome God who loves them. See You at church this Sunday.

Prayerfully,
Pastor Steve