“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8
Have you ever asked yourself why we are a church? Why do we attend church services? I shared in my Reformation Sunday sermon that I recently heard a statistic of a number of church youth who were surveyed. These young people were asked if they thought they would come to church later on, that is, as adults. 66% said no…they had no plans of returning.
Why not? Why would they not return? This brings up a related question. Why come to church in the first place? It seems that to many attending a church is simply not important. Many do not see any good reason to be there. Then why do we attend? The slogan in our Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod for this 500th anniversary of the Reformation is, “It’s still all about Jesus!”
It is indeed! Worship is all about Jesus! Since we are people of Jesus we gather to commemorate, to celebrate and be reminded of why we are here! Worship and life itself is all about Jesus for God’s people who have been saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. This is a gift and one that never changes! The writer to the Hebrews says that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Yes! He certainly is! Jesus, the Son of God is your unchanging Lord who keeps commitment to his own. We are strengthened and refreshed in faith as we celebrate together these promises! It is the gift of God for the people of God! It’s still all about Jesus for you and for me!