purpose of church?

I attended a church today. All in all it was pretty good. I think having the mindset that this is for me helped a lot. It also helped to know that God was with me. I met some kind people and ran into a friend from high school. That was very cool. If you are reading this Cory, thanks so much for making me feel welcome!

As I'm driving to my moms house after the service I'm thinking to myself - church isn't for God. God is everything. God needs nothing. Church is for us. It's for you, it's for me. Most of all it's for us. I've not read a ton of scripture and plan on doing some reading about the purpose of church, but that aside I think I've got some basic concepts down.

As a friend has taught me recently - it's not until your church reaches out and supports you that you really realize how much it means. Thank you Ryan! Having time to worship is great, having time to study is great, but both of those things can be done (and perhaps should be done) anytime. Having a sense of community with people who share the same belief - that Jesus is Lord and Savior - is an awesome thing. All that you have to do is reach out and connect with those people. They are EVERYWHERE!

The church I went to accepted me with open arms. People were friendly, and most of all I felt God's love. Casey had me watch a video on worship recently, and it was with this in mind that I attended these services. I'm not big on loud contemporary Christian music - but with an open heart and mind it wasn't so bad. I sang along with the songs where I could, and I felt good about it.

God loves everyone of us without any reciprocation. That means you don't have to go to church, you don't have to worship, you don't have to tithe. You simply have to accept Him. There is no other deal on earth like it. I'd encourage everyone to pick up the bible and give it a shot - with an open heart and an open mind. It has opened up an entirely new world to me.