Church Expecatations

Dear Victorious,

What, in your opinion, are the right expectations for a Christian to have when they go to church?

Nadine M. - Plano, TX

Dear Nadine,

There are a number of them. Based on the whole direction of the Bible regarding corporate worship and assembly, here's what I go to church expecting.

1. Worship - standing in awe of who God is and praising Him for who He is. Giving God glory and honor and celebrating Him and all His attributes, as well as celebrating my relationship with Him.

2. Sermon - an anointed word from God Himself, given to us through the preacher, who serves as a Biblical prophet to the listeners. This is no different than when Moses came down off the mountain to tell the Israelites what God said to him. The pastor comes down off the proverbial mountain on Sunday mornings to tell the people what God has to say to them.

3. Fellowship - greeting and meeting my peers in Christ. Celebrating those relationships and being thankful for those relationships. Encouraging each other, and connecting with each other.

4. Tithes and offerings - obediently bringing the first 10% of my income to the temple and to the Lord. Bringing other offerings (above my 10%) because of my gratefulness to the Lord, to be used to care for the poor and needy through my church.

There may be other things that we should expect when we go to church, but for me, these are the basics.