Why do you want to go to church? As a parish pastor, every year I would have a “Help the Pastor Write His Sermon” week in eighth-grade religion class. Matthew 21:16 reads, “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise.” And that’s precisely what happened time and again through this activity. 

One year, as a part of the project, I had the class give their own “top ten reasons to go to church.” Look at what they wrote: #10—To sing praises to the Lord; #9—To hear God’s Word; #8—To strengthen our faith; #7—When we go to church, it helps others grow in faith; #6—To learn about what God has done for us; #5—to hear the law and see our sins; #4—To see Jesus’ love in the gospel; #3—So that we learn new things about the Bible; #2—To join with fellow Christians in worship; #1—Church is awesome!

Wow! If that’s what goes on every week in worship, it’s going to be a great week! Who could need more reason than that?

“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children” (Psalm 78:4,6).