Do I Really Need Church? | Acts 2:42-47

We don't have to feel insecure about them or their success or lack thereof.

So when we use the word church, though, it carries a meaning.

We have words because they have to have meaning.

And so we don't just use the word, the church... willy-nilly.

So church is not a building.

It's actually a collection of people.

And in the book of Acts and all throughout the New Testament, when the word church is mentioned, it's a word in Greek.

You may have heard pronounced ekklesia or ekklesia.

And what that means is a gathering of people, an assembly.

It means a called out people for a purpose.

In fact, the ancient Greeks not only used it for church, but they also used it for political gatherings, committees that needed to accomplish something to minister to the needs of the people.

So a church can't be one person.

It really can't be two or three.

It was meant to be a group of people, a called-out assembly for a certain purpose.

So when I say fake church, let me give you a couple examples of what I see in our culture.

And as I say this, please understand, if you've said something like this, I have too.

I'm not here to throw stones at you, but we can leave ways of thinking in our past where they belong, and we can take on new ways of looking at things.

So here's one that I've heard of.

You've probably heard it too.

I think I've even said this one, which is really kind of embarrassing.

You see, my church is me out in the woods talking to God by myself.

You know, I'm out in the forest.

I'm in the cathedral, audience of one.

Sounds real nice.

And please understand, I commune with God in nature.