Sermon Cloud

Who will you stand with? In this REAL world that we live in, we as Christ followers are really caught between two worlds. The one we currently live in and the one that we will live in for eternity. We are called to be in the world (this world), but not of it. I don't know about you, but I have not always done a great job of living out that balancing act. There have been many times that I have gotten caught up in this world and I haven't valued gathering with other believers. It is during these times that I have stood with those who don't know Jesus Christ and don't value the same things that I should as a follower of Christ. The longest period was during my high school years. I don't know if it was the lure of popularity or pleasure, but I decided to walk away from church and to do life on my own. Over time my value of God and of other people became less and less. I didn't plan it that way, but you become what you do. And for me, I was spending the bulk of my time with people who didn't value God. Slowly, I began to look more like I didn't before I trusted in Christ.

I'm sure that you have had this experience at some point in your walk with Christ. You find yourself putting distance between you and the church. Again, you may not have planned it that way, but that was the end result. There are several reasons that lead people to drift from gathering with other Christ followers. Time. Interest. Guilt. Fear. No matter what the reason is, as we neglect to gather with other believers our actions devalue God and others. The challenge for us today is to DRAW NEAR to God and each other as we GATHER corporately for celebration and teaching.