Preached by Pastor King on Wed. 8/29/2007. The main points are his. Some of the individual thoughts are my own which I have added.

I Timothy 3:14-15

'These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:

'But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.'

1. The House of God is a Holy place.

Because the church is a holy place we need to treat it with the proper respect. Decades ago there was no need to lock a church's doors because everyone, including the world, had respect for the Lord's house. However, the world has no respect for the church at all today. I believe this is a direct result of how Christians themselves view the house of God. Christians today no longer see it as a holy place. This is very evident in the way that many parents allow their children to run rampant through the church. They allow their children to even deface the property without any consequence. We need to get back to showing the house of God the proper respect it deserves.

2. The House of God is a Hearing place.

When we come to church we are not coming to catch up with our latest clique on the newest gossip going around. Instead, we should be coming to hear the singing, the prayers, and the preaching of the Word of God. Sadly, some Christians come and will listen to everything but the preaching. During the service is not the time to be talking to our neighbors sitting around us. If we want to fellowship then let us do it either before or after the service, not during it. It is highly disrespectful to the man of God to be talking or disrupting the service, but more importantly it is disrespectful towards God and His Word. When we come to church let us make sure that we get rid of any distractions which may take away from the sermon God has for us.

3. The House of God is a Hiding place.

Our church should be a place for us to get away from all the troubles of the world. When we come to church it should be a rest for our weary soul. We have been out in the world all week long having to deal with the sin that goes on around us, when we come to church then we should be able to put all of that behind us. We should never dread going to church instead we should look forward to it as much as we would any R&R. If we dread going to the house of God then there is either unrepentant sin in our life or we are going to the wrong church. Whenever the storms of life are beating around us then let us take refuge in the house of God.

4. The House of God is a Happy place.

A Christian should be his happiest when he is at church. If we love Christ then we should be ecstatic about going to the house of God to learn from His Word. It should thrill our soul and put a smile on our face whenever a song is sung, a prayer is prayed, or a passage is preached. The happiest person in the world will be the one who is happy at home, at work, and at church. If there is no happiness for us in going to church then something is wrong. Just like in the last point it will either be from unrepentant sin in our own lives or, perhaps, something with the church itself. Let us be glad and excited whenever it comes times to go to another church service.

5. The House of God is a Hospitable place.

Our church should be a friendly place. When people come to visit our church they should feel welcomed and at home. Every member who is capable ought to be up shaking hands especially of any visitors who may be in our presence that service. If they feel unwelcomed then they probably will not come back to our church and who knows but that they may miss out on believing the Gospel all because we did not show them the love of Christ. The church service should not feel like a funeral or a cemetary, nor should the people be cold like they have been in an icebox. If your church is a happy place as we mentioned in the last point then put a smile on your face and show it.

In Christ,

PreacherE

Excellent. I know of many churches who would do well to have this sermon preached from the pulpit...

Thank you PreacherE, excellent post.

Love in Christ,

Jim

Preacher E, thank you for another wonderful message. The time I am happiest in Church is when the sermon convicts me of something. Some are sad when a part of their life is under fire. However a convicting sermon brings great joy in my life because I know The Lord is working on me so that I can more and more be conformed to the image of His
Son.

In Christ,
George

Amen! This is a message which needs to be preached in every pulpit Also placed in every heart on the pew
Jim Norman
Northside Baptist Church

I was thinking on this again over 1 Timothy 3, and was thinking of how many people use the excuse that we, as christians, are the temple (1 Cor. 3:16), and christians use this as an excuse that the local church, as a facility does not hold the same requirements of respect as does our body( kind of hypocritical isn't it?).

But 1 Timothy 3:15 debunks this:

"...in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

the house of God(local church facility) is the church of the living God, facility for the gathering together of the universal church, bride of Christ. And it is referred to as the "pillar" and "ground" of the truth.

Pillar here means: a post, representing a solid base anchoring to something, further reinforced by the term "ground".

Now we know that our rock is Jesus Christ, and he is the anchor of our faith. Why cannot the facility in which we gather be a representation of who we are?

The Word of God, the bible, Jesus Christ, is the establishment of our faith.

The facility in which we gather is a house, and we are commanded here to behave ourselves in it. If one cannot understand how to behave themselves in the house of God, I am sure there are some good fundamental bible-believing christians out there that can help illuminate to you what that means.

I can quickly tell you that it does NOT mean wearing jeans, flip-flops, and a t-shirt, yanking out an electric guitar, and playing rock music, saying that you are worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

Love in Christ,

Jim

Jim

I have seen someone in a church wearing a sleeveless T shirt, when at the sametime a public house (bar) in London had sign saying that such wear was forbidden.

Amazing isn't it? When the world has a better view over modesty and taste than some proclaiming "christians"?