10. "Too many hypocrites in the church." Amazingly, hypocrites don't keep them from going anywhere they really want to go. There are hypocrites at the ball game, the hunting store, in the beer joint, at the department stores, in the restaurants. Fact is, there are hypocrites anywhere there are fallen human beings. You may be the worst hypocrite of all, claiming to follow Jesus but disobeying His word and His example in not attending church. Stop this nonsense. Go to church.

9. "The services are boring." If you really had a relationship with Jesus, you'd never say this. Nothing is boring to a Jesus-lover where His name is being sung about and proclaimed. How selfish to say church is boring. Stop thinking about yourself. Deny yourself and focus on Jesus. Go to church.

8. "The music is bad." Maybe to your ears, but church is not a performance for you to judge like you were Simon Cowell. You are singing to Jesus. Go to a church where the emphasis is on participation, not performance. The church needs song leaders that get the church singing. The performers need to go to Nashville. God wants all His people singing and when they do, it is "music to His ears." Sing to Jesus. Go to a church where the congregation sings to God and not where the emphasis is on performance. There are plenty of them. Go to church.

7. "The preacher is boring." You should never go to a church where the preacher preaches pop psychology, a "prosperity gospel" or some other such nonsense. Go somewhere where the Bible is the message. If the Bible is being preached, and you think that is boring, you don't like the Bible. That says a lot. If you love Jesus, you love the Bible. Case closed. And the Bible is never boring to people who love it. Change your heart and go to church.

6. "The people are unfriendly." Easily solved. Find a friendly church. I know one. But usually this means you aren't friendly. People aren't friendly to unfriendly people. Be friendly. People will generally be friendly back. If they genuinely aren't friendly, be a light for Jesus and show them how. This is a pathetic excuse for not going to church. Go to church.

5. "I'm tired on Sunday." Translation: I spent Saturday or Saturday night doing what I really wanted to do so now I don't feel like doing what I don't really want to do. This is easily solved: start loving Jesus and the people of Jesus and then going to church will be what you really want to do. And you always do what you really want to do. Get your heart right and go to church. If you worked all night Saturday, get some sleep. Then go to the evening service. Thats what they're for. Go to church.

4. "Going to church doesn't get you to heaven." Translation: "I have never studied the Bible enough to know how important the church is in God's plan. I'm biblically ignorant." This is easily solved: stop making up your own imaginary theology and accept what the Bible teaches. Going to church BY ITSELF will not get you to heaven, but you're not going to heaven without going to church. To get to the Father's house (heaven, John 14:1-3) you've got to go through the Son's house (the church, Heb. 3:1-5). Go to church.

3. "I can't find a church that meets my needs." Easily solved. Stop thinking about your needs and think about serving others. Your needs will be met when your focus is on meeting the needs of others. That's what Christianity is: service to others in the name of Christ. That's the greatest need you have. When you are doing that, you are meeting the need you have within you. If you are a real Christian, that is. So go to church.

2. "I can love and serve Jesus without the church. I don't have to go to church to be a Christian." This is a lie straight from the devil's mouth. And you believe it. There is NO truth to this statement. Even if you were in a place where there wasn't a church, your orders would be to start one. There is no following Jesus "all by yourself." He died for the church. He set up the church. Weekly meetings were His idea. Obey Him. And the New Testament makes it very clear that our attitude toward God's church--His people--is our attitude toward Him. Stop this nonsense. Go to church.

1. The truthful answer: "I don't really love God's people, so I don't really love God." This is the only reason you don't go to church. You got offended by someone so you gave up on the church? Yet you don't want God to give up on you when you offend Him. Jesus never gave up on the disciples even though they were weak and stupid at times. You claim to follow Jesus. But you have given up on His people. Repent of your selfishness. Start being a real disciple of Christ who thinks about others more than yourself. Go to church. Or at least stop lying to yourself and admit that you aren't really a disciple of Jesus. Disciples of Jesus go to church.

"Do not forsake the assemblies of the church" (Heb. 10:25)

Author: Unknown

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