I read an article recently attempting to answer the question, “Why go to church?” Summarized the article basically stated that we go to church because the Bible tells us to. This wasn’t good enough for me. Why did God tell me to go to church? What am I supposed to do at church?

I asked my friends. They answered: I go to worship God; I like the music; I go to learn from the sermon; I go to pray. None of these answers are wrong, but for me, none of them were right.

I gave up on opinions, and went to Scriptures. Hebrews 10:24-25 says And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

From the above Scripture I ascertained that the church is to stimulate one to love and good deeds, and to encourage one another. How can the church possibly do this in one hour on a Sunday morning? Simply put, it can’t.

Alistair Begg said “Although we are brought to God individually, we do not live in Him solitarily...Part of God’s provision for us is in the company of each other.”

I’m now noticing the emphasis is on meeting together. Hmm, didn’t I start by saying the Bible tells us to meet together, but there has to be something more? Where and when do we meet? Some go to Bible study, others get involved in music, or maybe you get involved in a prayer group. Perhaps you prefer maintenance around the church building, or office work, or... There’s far more opportunities to get together than just Sunday morning. For me though, there is another very important and intense form of meeting together, and that is the small group.

Small groups are exactly that: small and personal. They are groups where you can let your hair down and share your innermost thoughts with fellow Christians who will support and encourage you. You laugh together, and you cry together, but when you belong to a small group you are never alone. You are even held accountable if you start to go astray. Good friendships are established. I must emphasize here though that small groups are not a replacement for Sunday worship.

Sunday worship is a time for all of us to come together. We bring our multitude of personalities and talents together, and we come before our creator with reverence and praise. Then we go out into the world encouraged by the teaching of his Word and the corporate prayers and worship, but church should not end here.

We need feeding spiritually on a daily basis throughout the week. You have your own individual needs, likes, and dislikes and will determine your own routines but when you are a part of a small group, there is always someone to spur you on. The particular group I belong to is interdenominational. As I write this I am approximately 1800 miles away from the group, yet someone has been in touch with me every day, and tomorrow we are looking forward to a video phone call during the weekly group meeting. At the meeting we catch up with each other, we study God’s word together, and we share our concerns and prayer requests. We eat and have fun. It’s a celebration of being together with fellow Christians and good friends, and when we go to church on Sunday we join with the larger group of believers. We don’t know them as well, but our common desire to worship God and serve Him unites us into one church
family, with all its parts functioning together.

I urge you to seek out a small group where you feel comfortable enough to share yourself and encourage fellow believers into a relationship with God that produces the love and good deeds that God desires of us.

In the words, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried (The Apostles’ Creed), we see the centrality of cross.  Start anywhere in the Bible and the result is the same; all roads lead to the cross!
It’s at the cross that we are reminded a sacrifice was made, once and for all.  Jesus Christ laid down His life, He suffered, was crucified, died and was buried to atone for our sins and provide for us a righteous standing before the Father.
 
The crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history; everything before it, leads to it, everything after it, looks back on it.  Nothing that has ever happened in human history has had the impact of the cross of Jesus Christ.  But, we need to understand, His death was not the end of the story…on the third day He rose from the dead.  (The Apostles’ Creed)
 
The Apostle Paul is very clear on this point:  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  Let there be no confusion on this point; the Gospels, the book of Acts, the letters of Paul and Peter stand in perfect harmony on this point—Jesus Christ died and then was raised from the dead.
 
The implications of this truth are more than just theological in nature, there are profound implications regarding our understanding of life and death and the afterlife.  When we stand at the graveside of a loved one, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed; it is not unusual to wonder if we will ever see them again.  In the early church some believers faced this very human struggle. 
 
Paul addresses this concern in I Corinthians 15 by reminding his readers that their confidence, their hope rested on whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead.  As you read the text, what is interesting is that Paul does not rebuke these believers for their doubts and fears, nor does offer any ‘proof’ of the resurrection.  He simply states it as a fact…that Christ died…that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day… (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  He points them back to the empty tomb and says, ‘remember, God raised His Son from the grave; everything hinges on whether or not it’s true, on whether or not you believe it to be true.
 
To drive home his point, he argues, what if Jesus has not been raised from the dead?  If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  (1 Corinthians 15:17-19)  The word futile means useless, empty, of no value.  If Jesus was not raised from the dead, the Christian faith completely collapses.  We would still be lost in our sin and there would be no hope of life eternal.  If Jesus is still in the grave, it’s all meaningless. Death wins, and our worst fears are realized as we lay a loved one to rest.
 
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!  (1 Corinthians 15:20)   And because of that, our faith does have meaning, we do have forgiveness and the sure hope of life beyond the grave. We can be certain about our own future, about all who die in Christ.
 
I have stood at the graveside, more times than I can remember, I’ve seen more death than I care to experience—it never gets easier.  Where do we find hope in the face of death?  We find it in the truth of God’s Word, in the certainty of the resurrection:  In Christ all will be made alive.  (1 Corinthians 15:22)
 
If the Lord Jesus did rise from the grave, and I believe to the core of my being He did, then we’re going to be okay. We can have our questions, our doubts, our fears; even as we drive away from the graveside, we can feel overwhelmed.  That’s not what matters.  Our faith is not determined by the strength of our belief; our faith rests on what happened at the tomb 2,000 years ago.  If Jesus was raised the dead, then death has been swallowed up in victory (I Corinthians 15:54).  We’re going to be okay!  Therefore, we can triumphantly proclaim:  Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (1 Corinthians 15:57)