Why Go to Church 

I recently spoke with a man who had not attended a church in decades. He believed in Jesus but was annoyed by the faults of the Church. He correctly pointed out that there is no command to attend church anywhere in the Bible. Why did Paul encourage us to continue to meet with other Christians when for some people that meeting causes pain and heartache? Perhaps we have forgotten an important ingredient of the church meeting. Many passages speak of God's people being united and together, but there is only one New Testament verse that directly encourages assembly. A Catholic author once said that the purpose of Christian gathering was the Eucharist and not fellowship. Some say that the main purpose is for worship. However, in Hebrews 10:25 Paul says that a main purpose for Christian assembly is encouragement. Let's go looking for encouragement and also remembering to give it.