What Church Attendance Cannot Do

     ​I want to remind you of a few things that church attendance, or public worship, in itself cannot do. Have you considered that church attendance alone cannot assure that you really worship God? Jeremiah Chapter 7 tells us some Jews were coming to worship God. God wanted them to worship and acknowledge His greatness, but the people were only going through the rituals of worship. Though the acts of New Testament worship may be correct, if we in our hearts do not really bow before the Lord of the Heaven and Earth, the acts we perform are hollow.
     Church attendance alone cannot take the place of preparation of heart and life (Jeremiah 7:3). The Israelites thought they would dwell in the Jerusalem of God regardless of their lifestyle, but God clarifies that was conditional. Church attendance a day or two a week cannot bless our lives if we are not living right on the other days. Church attendance alone cannot guarantee forgiveness. And church attendance alone cannot remove the consequences of disobedience. Church attendance is very valuable when we have the right heart.

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Clark Tatum