Why bother with church?
That’s our question for this morning.
I meet people from time to time who tell me that they are keen Christian people, they just don’t go to church much.
Nationally, church attendance is declining.
“The real benefit comes as you stick with it.”
That’s true in so many walks of life. It’s true in marathon running – at least, so I’m told. Keep going, and you get the satisfaction of finishing the race. If you get a stitch, run it out. It’s true in any friendship, and it’s true in a marriage – as you stick with it over many years, the friendship becomes a greater and greater blessing. It’s true for being a vicar – the longer you’ve been around, the more you’ve got to know people, the more use you can be.
And it’s true of being a Christian.
This morning’s sermon is about prayer.
And the chances are that makes your heart sink.
If you’re anything like me, you already know that Christians are supposed to pray. You don’t need a Bible passage that commands us to pray. You don’t need a sermon that tells you to pray. You know that. We know that prayer is important. And yet there’s this gulf between what we know and what we do, so Bible passages and sermons on prayer just make us feel guilty.
There is no greater privilege in the world than being a Christian.
That is no over-statement.
Many people think that you are best off if you manage to own you own home, or if you have a good job, or if you have a good family. The reality is that none of those things comes a patch on being a follower of Jesus Christ.
