How to Enjoy Your Church
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I. Recognize What the Church Is
The word ἐκκλησία means “assembly”—a gathering of believers in a real place, not some mystical body floating in the ether.
Enjoyment begins by taking the church for what it is: a place for Bible learning and fellowship with other believers.
It is not a social services agency, not a political action group, not a therapy house, not a comedy club.
When the church tries to become those things, it loses its biblical purpose and its members lose the ability to truly enjoy it.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:2 – “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth…” A real group, in a real place, meeting around God’s Word.
II. Value the Gathering
Paul never commanded church attendance as a legal obligation. Under grace, you don’t “have to”—you “get to.”
The assembly is voluntary, but it is valuable.
It is where believers can encourage, comfort, and edify one another in Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:26 – “When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
A church is not a building or a program. It is people, gathering with people.
III. Keep the Church in Its Right Dispensation
Don’t demand from your church what God never required of it. (see Acts 15:10)
We are not Israel; the church is not a kingdom outpost.
When we bring “kingdom” into church, we bring confusion.
Kingdom passages tie blessings to obedience and curses to failure: (Matthew 5:20, 24:13, James 2:24)
We gather for Pauline instruction, edification, and the ministry of reconciliation, not to usher in a kingdom. If the church’s mission is “build the kingdom,” we saddle ourselves with pressure God never put on us, chasing rewards that aren’t even promised to us.
IV. Keep the Church Simple and Steady
A church doesn’t have to chase programs, visions, and gimmicks.
Modern churches act like they’re in competition—to outdo the church down the street or even to outdo themselves with the “next big thing.”
It’s the same spirit that drove P. T. Barnum and his so-called “Greatest Show on Earth.” He packed crowds in with outlandish attractions.
Sadly, many churches have adopted Barnum’s playbook: sell a spectacle, keep people amused, but never keep them grounded.
The church doesn’t need a “next big thing” every month. “Pizzaz” can be a drug…addictive, and always needs “one up-ed”
Faithful preaching and teaching may look “plain” in the moment, but over the years it builds a depth that no program can match. It is the slow investment that pays lifelong dividends.
The joy of a church is found in decade after decade of growing understanding of Scripture. (Acts 20:27)
V. Participate Rather than Spectate
A church is not entertainment or a program; it is a fellowship. If you treat church like a concert, a show, or a podcast, you’ll eventually be disappointed.
Participation is built into the New Testament pattern:
Singing – Colossians 3:16 – “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”
Giving – 1 Corinthians 16:2 – “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store…”
Learning – Acts 20:7 – “the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them…”
Praying – 1 Thessalonians 5:25 – “Brethren, pray for us.”
Most important: get to know the people, the pastor, and even the rooms in the building.
Church is not just sermons and songs; it is a family.
Learn names, shake hands, walk the halls, sit down for coffee.
Enjoying church comes from knowing and being known.
VII. Rejoice in the Mission You Share
The local church is entrusted with the gospel of grace. 2 Corinthians 5:19–20 – God has “committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
That stewardship is not given to the state, the academy, or the parachurch—it is given to assemblies like this one.
The local church can be a partner in helping you grow in the knowledge of the Word. 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God…” is addressed to the individual, but study is multiplied when done shoulder-to-shoulder with others who hunger for the same truth.
Nothing is more enjoyable than standing side by side, laboring for truth in a world drowning in error. Philippians 1:27 – “that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
[The Church Today: From Fosdick to Osteen](https://www.notion.so/The-Church-Today-From-Fosdick-to-Osteen-26eb35a87d638099b556ecb635fe3b6f?pvs=21)
