Earlier in the service I read out a story called “Where’s God?” written by Victor Kelleher. I refer to it a bit in this talk, so here’s a summary:
A boy called Peter wanted to know where God is. His sister and dad weren’t much help, but mum said God was in everything. Peter looked in a church, where he discovered that God is in lots of places at the same time, but he couldn’t see him. An old man in the park told Peter that God is in his heart, but Peter didn’t know how to look there. By the end of the story, Peter still hadn’t found God, but he would be searching again soon.
The church we are sitting in was opened on the 1st of February 1965; that’s very nearly 60 years ago. There were other buildings before that – what we now use as the church hall was the previous church. Some of you were here for the opening and have been coming ever since. Others of you have been coming for varying lengths of time – many of you weren’t even born 60 years ago! Whatever your age or background, you all share reasons for being here.
I realise there are some people who are unable to be here for various reasons, though they would like to be – they are still part of this congregation.
In the story I read earlier, the boy Peter went into a church looking for God. I guess that’s one reason some people go to church, but there are lots of others, as we’ll see. Later, Peter was told that God is in everyone’s heart.
Let’s use Peter’s style of logic. If God is in everyone’s heart, then everyone who goes to church takes God in with them. Therefore, a good place to meet someone who has found where God is, is in a church full of people.
But if they’ve already found God, why are they in church?
With the start of a new year, and with this building’s milestone, I thought we could remind ourselves of some answers to this question.
When you visit someone else’s house, you can normally work out what each room is used for by the things that are in them. The kitchen contains things connected with cooking; the laundry contains things connected with washing clothes, and so on.
Some rooms contain things that as a visitor you might want to ask questions about. Visitors to our house are often interested in the displays of minerals and historic artefacts in the lounge. Or the books everywhere – Nicky and I have rather different responses to questions about them!
These types of things reveal more about your hosts than an armchair or toaster do. All the extra stuff is evidence of accumulated personal history and memories; it can give you a sense of the unique character of the occupants.
Over its 60 years, this church building, like a house, has acquired a collection of, mostly, useful and meaningful items. These say something about the character of its users. Like a house, you can get an idea of this character by looking at the contents.
Today we’ll look at some of the physical contents of this auditorium and use them to answer that question I arrived at earlier – why do we come to church?
Sometimes when you visit a house, you only get to see one or two rooms. But you know there are other rooms with other functions. In the same way, I’m going to concentrate on this auditorium – there are other spaces where the functions of the church go on, not just in the buildings around us but wherever you are out in the world.
So, let’s examine some of the contents of this room.
You might expect me to start with the cross at the front, but my first item is actually the rows of seats. These represent you, the community of Christians who worship in this church on a Sunday morning. I wouldn’t be able to talk about some of the other items in the auditorium without mentioning the people who call this church home.
Now for the crosses. Even many non-Christians know that a cross is a symbol of the execution of Jesus. Some churches have a representation of Jesus on the cross as a reminder of his suffering and sacrifice. Others, including Baptist churches, use an empty cross, emphasising the fact that Jesus was taken down, buried and then rose from the dead.
It’s less common to see three crosses together in a church.
Jesus was crucified with a criminal on either side. One of them wanted Jesus to save him so he could escape judgement. The other was willing to accept judgement, because he knew he had done wrong, but he allowed Jesus to take up the burden of his sin. The cross on one side therefore represents the rebellion of humankind. The cross on the other side represents the repentance we all need. The central cross represents the redemption that Jesus offers.
- We don’t worship the cross, but we do worship the risen Christ it represents. That’s one of the reasons we come to church.
I’ve chosen the Bible next; it’s quite obvious here at the front. Some churches have an open Bible on display to acknowledge it as God’s Word, to show it is treasured and to indicate that it is accessible to everybody. There are copies in the pews for people to use during a service.
The Bible is a source of authority. It records how God has revealed himself to humans, and how he expects them to respond. We tend to use it as a sort of guidebook to navigate our lives. It can be quite hard to understand, and that’s where this lectern comes in. This is where someone stands to read parts of the Bible out to people, and where they place their notes if they are preaching.
I said just now that the Bible is accessible to everyone; we can read it for ourselves, so why do we need sermons? Sometimes we need help to discern some of the things God says, and we can benefit from a different way of seeing things, presented by people God has given the task and gifts to. That way, we may learn to see things clearer for ourselves. Sermons can stir up our emotions and excite us about God. Also, by being with others as God’s word is explained, we can be affected and supported by the reactions of those around us.
There are lots of inspirational sermons available online to watch at home or on the move. However, I feel that we benefit by hearing our own ministers bring messages created, under God’s guidance, especially for this congregation.
- Learning from the Bible is one of the reasons we come to church.
We can see plenty of evidence of music in this church. There’s the organ, the piano, other musical instruments and, at times during a service, singers and musicians. Over the years, music has played a large part in developing the character of this church community.
In his letter to the Ephesians, the words of Paul still urge us to be “speaking to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts.” (Ephesians 5:19).”
Psalm 33 tells us to “Give thanks to the Lord with harps, sing to him with stringed instruments. Sing a new song to him, play the harp with skill, and shout for joy!”
This collective singing, and the making of music, is not for entertainment; it’s to speak to God, to worship him and to rejoice in him. As I can attest, you don’t have to have a good voice – God hears your best attempt and takes it as praise.
When you sing collectively, you also sing to each other, joining together in worship. You sing to yourself too, soaking up and refreshing yourself with the words.
Many years ago, I used to live in Cardiff, Wales, just across the river from Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground. When the national team was playing, I’d open my window and listen to thousands of Welsh people singing together, all supporting the same side. That’s what we do in here, sing together because we’re all on the same side.
- Singing and playing to the Lord is one of the reasons we come to church.
The next thing I’ve chosen to look at is less obvious. It’s the very stylised fish symbol above the windows. I talked about the cross earlier, but it wasn’t a commonly used symbol in the early Christian church. Until Christianity became an accepted religion, Christians were persecuted, even crucified for their beliefs. So the cross was a symbol of fear for many. Instead, the image of a fish was often used, like a sort of password, to mark secret meeting places and to identify Christians to each other.
Why a fish? Many reasons have been suggested. The simplest say it was because Jesus used fish in several of his miracles (think bread and fish, filling empty nets with fish). He also called some of his earliest disciples, actual fishermen, to become ‘fishers of men.’
We don’t need a secret password anymore, but the fish is still a potent symbol. It reminds us of the hardships of early Christians, but mostly it reminds us that we too are to be ‘fishers of men’. And in church we can learn some of the attitudes, the biblical knowledge and tools necessary.
- Being encouraged to be ‘fishers of men’ is one of the reasons we come to church.
I’m going to stop my little tour of this room in our house here. There are other reasons for coming to church that don’t have an obvious object associated with them, such as prayer. Items connected with other reasons are only present sometimes – communion and baptism for instance. I encourage you to think about how these fit into your own church-based life, or how you would explain them if you were taking a visitor on a tour of the auditorium.
I’ve mentioned some reasons for coming to church that can be summed up as ‘spiritual growth’ – we can develop our spiritual life and grow closer to God through worship, Bible-based teaching, singing, prayer. Mind you, you can do these things on your own too.
Scripture doesn’t tell us that we must attend church, but it does speak about the blessing of being part of a church community. For example, in the Letter to the Hebrews we read:
Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.
Hebrews 10: 24-25
As well as worship and spiritual growth, there are reasons for gathering together which can’t always be met elsewhere.
We can meet and build friendships with people who share our beliefs and values. This helps give us a sense of belonging.
It helps us receive comfort and support when life becomes difficult.
If you have children, you are supported in giving them a Christian upbringing.
I’m sure you will think of other reasons.
So, we have lots of reasons for coming together for worship and fellowship on a Sunday, and we have accumulated a number of physical items to help us. It’s hard to imagine gathering on a Sunday without a cross, a Bible, sources of music and somewhere to sit. Some would argue that you can have all these things without having a dedicated building that is only used one morning a week. After all, such a building is expensive to build and maintain, and resources could be better used helping our wider community, our neighbours.
Different churches have found different ways to address this balance. All have advantages and disadvantages.
Here at Tawa Baptist we are blessed, because earlier congregations (including some current members) have given us facilities that include both a dedicated worship auditorium and rooms and buildings for other uses. It’s much like a house of many rooms.
And I think Peter would have found God in all of them, don’t you?
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- How would you answer the question “Where’s God”?
- When people visit your home, how do you respond when they ask questions about what they see in a room?
- When you visit someone else’s home, do you just notice the contents (without appearing to be nosy of course) or do you ask questions? What sorts of things do you like to know about?
- How important do you think it is for a faith community (a church) to have a permanent, dedicated building to meet in? Think of some advantages and disadvantages.
Tawa Baptist 