People Don't Reject Jesus, They Reject The Church.

So, I delivered this message a couple months ago but found it fitting to share.

 Mainline denominations have been losing membership for decades in the U.S.  At the present rate of change, most Americans would identify themselves as non-religious or non-Christian by the year 2035.  The numbers of "unchurched" people has increased rapidly in the U.S.  These are individuals who have not attended church in recent months, according to religoutolerance.org
 Has anybody noticed the declining numbers of Christians in America?  Has anybody stopped to try to understand why these numbers have been declining?  I will try to shine a light on one possibility as to why these numbers are steadily declining.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOJW4Uwy3c
 As we seen in the video the people around the young lady when she is thinking about going to that church are definitely not very welcoming.  How can we expect anyone to even think about coming to a church functioned event if we are going to be giving people looks like that just because we don't appreciate the way they decided to dress?  People will remember how you treated them in their greatest time of need and if you, being Christian, happen to treat someone in an unchristian like manner, they will remember that and will more than likely not want to be a Christian because of how they were treated.  I can personally relate to that in a way.  I had already decided to be a Christian before I had started experiencing any problems.  As some of you may know I struggle with depression and I had went to the Pastor of the Church I was attending to hopefully get some guidance and inspiration to get through the hard and dark days I was experiencing.  What I got instead was criticism.  I'm majoring in Youth Ministry and my Pastor at the time was aware of this and I had just had knee surgery so I wasn't able to help out at the vacation bible school.  So the pastor instead of being encouraging asked me why I wanted to be a youth minister if I wouldn't help out at VBS.  With depression of the symptoms I experience is having an unusual sleeping habit.  I would stay up until four in the morning and wouldn't wake up until that time in the afternoon and I was criticized for missing a lot of church.  I have also heard from a friend how other churches in his hometown are acting in the time of need of others.  He's told me about all of the deaths, most suicides, in his hometown and what are the churches doing? Nothing.  Even the counselors have stopped going to the school for the kids.  What bothered me most from what he told me is the churches had after school programs set up but they set them up at times where the people who needed God the most could not come.  Why did they set the times up this way?  They were afraid of the influence that they might have on the other kids who had already given their life to Christ.  Again with this we see judgment coming from church leaders.  If this is how our pastors and church leaders respond to these kinds of situations then how are we responding to them if we respond at all?
 Christ was just here not too long ago.  Something that always gets missed are the faithful shepherds.  The church leaders of the time looked down on shepherds because they were religious lawbreakers.  You see, a shepherd couldn't live up to the rules and regulations of the temple.  For instance, a shepherd is out in the field and regulations of the temple say you've got to wash your hands before every meal.  How could a shepherd do that?  He's out there in the field.  They did not keep the handwashings.  The shepherds in our text here in Luke just happen to be keeping their flocks in the fields that were very close to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  They were between these two towns and they were just about a mile out of Bethlehem.  Not far from the town limits.  That was no accident because they were hired by the priests in Jerusalem.  In fact, this very flock of sheep were destined to be killed in the temple.  All the lambs were out there to provide a continuous supply of perfect lambs for the temple.  That's why this particular group of shepherd and sheep were there.  The spotless lambs would be killed in the temple, but not until the priests had gotten their wealth from selling them.  They often sold them right there in church. Right in the temple, in the courtyard, to supply the lambs for the slaughter. Life was hard for shepherds.  Undoubtedly they were underpaid, cold, didn't take a bath very often, they didn't smell good. They didn't have the privilege of sleeping like the priests did in the warm homes.  The priests made all the money. They shepherds got very little.  But they did not harbor a grudge against these people. They were not interested in criticizing the church or the priests. Luke 2:8 says, "they were out in the field keeping watch by night."  Think about being a shepherd, what would you do in the silent hours of the night?  Now this is not in Scripture but hear me out.  They weren't just out there watching the sheep.  I am sure they had conversation.  I am sure they prayed.  The angel Gabriel appears to this group because they were the only one's awake.  And I also believe it makes a statement that Christ came for even the lowly.  Which we learn through his ministry recorded in the New Testament is absolutely true. So maybe there is a dynamic here. With one group they are praying and fellowshipping and the other group, the religious leaders were sleeping and snoring.  God does not reveal Himself to a snoring church.  We need to be wide awake.  They were among the small faithful number mentioned by Luke 2:25 who were waiting for the Consummation of Israel.  For the Deliverer to come. The Messiah.  So no wonder they saw the Angels, and no wonder the Pharisees missed it.
 Matthew 7:1-5 tells us "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye' while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."
 One of the main things Jesus told us to do was to love one another.  How are we loving each other if we are judging how others dress or how they act, stereotyping, and not caring to get to know one another like we know our family members?  The reason I had this video shown was to demonstrate how we are judging others that come to church. I'd like to share a story now from a book called Walking the Tightrope of Life by Blake Porter. "One Sunday morning a pregnant teen entered a church just before services were to begin.  It was very evident she was pregnant and there was no one with her. Her clothes were very worn and ragged. In her hand she carried a worn out Bible. The church she entered had the people of the congregation dressed to impress.  As she took a seat, others moved away from her. No one greeted, spoke to, or even welcomed her.  They were all appalled evidently that this teen was pregnant.  The preacher gave a long sermon about character and integrity.  As the young girl was leaving the church, the preacher approached her and asked her to do him a favor. 'Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask Him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship.' The girl although she was pregnant assured the preacher she would. The next Sunday, she showed back up for the services wearing the same maternity clothes. Once again she was completely ignored by the congregation. The preacher approached the young pregnant girl and said "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church." "I did," replied the girl. "If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for a young woman like yourself to worship in here?" asked the preacher. "Well, sir, God told me that He didn't have a clue what I should wear." "He said He'd never been in this church before."
 So let me ask this, Do you think God attends your church? Do you think God is a part of your community? Are we being welcoming and not judging others and being our complete self with others? Jesus hung around prostitutes, tax collectors, and other people that were of sinful nature and looked down upon by the public without caring what they have done or how they're dressed but seeing the good that is within them. Are we looking past how people look and seeing the good within them? Now I am not saying that we can't correct each other in a loving manner. That is a whole different level as to what I have talked about.
 We have great potential to be leaders in our future fields of work, our communities, and our church families. If we are going to turn around this steady decline we must start by loving one another in the manner that God had intended for us to from the beginning. No more judging, just unconditional love. A traveler is far away from home, He sheds his coat, and quietly sinks into the back row. The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances are better out on the road. But if WE are the BODY why aren't His arms REACHING? Why aren't His hands HEALING? Why aren't His words TEACHING? And if we are the body, why aren't His FEET GOING? Why is His LOVE not SHOWING THEM THERE IS A WAY? Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come.

Oh the first blog. a monumental step.

So yeah, this is my first blog and I intend to try to keep a regular routine of posting blogs.  Most of my blogs will contain challenging material but if something doesn't challenge us then we don't grow.  For all of you willing to grow follow me and I will take you on a journey led by a higher power that is the One God and Father of Everything. He rules everything, and is everywhere, and is in everything.  It is through Jesus Christ that we can have a relationship with God.  The next blog will likely be in the next couple weeks if not sooner. Have a Blessed week.


William
A Light Bringer