WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE CHURCH?
A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"
I'm sure that's probably how some people feel about most preachers and the church. "All they want is money!"
ILL.- The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mic, and as he preached, he moved around the platform, jerking the mic cord as he moved around.
Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"
No, he won't hurt you. Although when I was kid I thought preachers were strange and didn't have much to do with them. And they are still strange!
What's so important about the church? What's the big deal about having a church and going to church? That's probably what many people outside the church think.
ILL.- In a door-to-door survey conducted by one church in a city the question was asked: if you don't go to church, why? The five biggest reasons: 1) Boring, 2) Irrelevant, 3) Asking for money all the time, 4) I'm too busy already, 5) I feel awkward at church.
From Steve Shepherd's Sermon "What's So Important About the Church?"