Expectations of the Church

Yesterday, we considered our expectations of God.

Today, I want us to consider our expectations of the church.

What do you expect from the church?

• A sermon that you can kind of remember?

• Music that fits your preferred style?

• A few people who know your name?

• Someone to reach out to you when you are in the hospital?

• A place to be spiritually refreshed?

None of the above ideas are bad. I think you should expect all of those things, but should you expect more?

Should we not expect God to move? For lives to be changed, walls to be broken, acceptance to be felt?

I ask these questions because I wonder how much we actually expect to happen when we gather together in a worship service. A few weeks ago, I taught that today is the day God wants to change your life, but how many of us were able to quiet that conviction and miss the opportunity?

Do you really expect anything to happen when you show up each Sunday other than shake some hands, sing some songs, listen to some stories, and be out by 11:15?

Trust me, I wonder the same thing about myself! It is so easy to simply show up with little to no expectation of the God of the universe doing anything consequential in the time we gather... and I think that is dangerous.

We start each Sunday saying, "This is a sacred moment. Change me in it," but how many of us mean it? How many of us truly expect to have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand God in those moments we share in a sanctuary? 

What if there are higher expectations for our service?

Shouldn’t we expect the good news to convert sinners to sons?

Shouldn’t we expect baptisms, new members, and invited guests frequently?

Shouldn’t we expect prayers requested, convictions felt, and tomorrows changed?

Yet all of us are perfectly content showing up and scooting out without any true impact being made.

Let's start expecting more.

Consider today:

What do you expect from church?

And more importantly, what should we expect from church?