Hebrews 10:24-25, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Why is it that most Christians, most of the people in our nation who claim they have embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have not in quite some time, have not, and this coming Sunday, will not attend Church?  I’ve met many Christians who only feel obligated to attend Church on the for special days, such as Easter and Christmas!  And then, even for those who do attend Church regularly, they tell me they feel obligated to do so!  And what bothers me about that, is that Church is more an obligation or burden!  It is a blessing, even a privilege to attend Church, to worship and praise God together with other believers, our brothers, and sisters in Christ!  We shouldn’t be attending out of a sense of obligation!  No!  We should be excited about attending out of a sense of gratitude and appreciation for what God has done for us!  And if you cannot think of reasons why you should be excited about attending Church, I would strongly suggest you come, and I can guarantee two things!  First, if you come, the Lord will reveal to you why this is exactly the place where you need to be come Sunday morning.  And secondly, if you do not feel something, do not fret!  It is probably just God’s way of telling you to try a different congregation!  You need to understand, if we get it right, praising God the way God instructs us to praise God, praising and worshipping God with all our heart and mind, and through Jesus Christ, who is God’s Truth, we will feel something!  We will hear something that God is trying to tell us!  We will receive something that will make us better, be physically, spiritually, or mentally!  Thankfully, some of you, I will see this Sunday at Church.  And for the rest of you, I can give you so many reasons why attending Church is a blessing.  Matthew 18:20, Jesus proclaimed, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”  The Apostle Paul, talking about the body of Christ, which is the church, Ephesians 2:20-22, Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.  Consider what the church gives us the opportunity to do together, Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And of course, today’s scripture, Hebrews 10:24-25, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  Gathering in person, physically, together as brothers and sisters in Christ is a blessing.  We go to work, and we are surrounded by the world and all its troubles.  We go to the Mall, shopping, school, even visiting family and friends, and perhaps we might say something about the Lord, or think about the Lord, and allow ourselves to hear what the Lord is striving to say to us, but that is not the focus of all these secular, or non-faith things that we do!  But when we come to church, it is the only opportunity where prayerfully Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is front and center!  God is the focus!  Where else is that happening in your life?  Where better for us to build up our faith by receiving God’s Word and celebrating the presence of the Holy Spirit!  How better to position ourselves to be blessed and to be a blessing to others!  Please do not deceive yourself!  What God is offering us at the Church you will not find anywhere else, not at work, the mall, with family and friends, or any of the others things we do, and places we go!  And online services is nice!  Watching and listening to TV sermons is nice!  Or YouTube videos, can be nice, even though all this stuff could be dangerous as well with so much false teaching in the world.  But even if this electronic internet stuff is good, there is nothing better than physically coming together, if we are able to do so, to experience the Lord and all of God’s blessings together, live and in person! But just considering the odds, for most of you, I can ask you a question.  Why aren’t you coming to Church?  What is keeping you away?  I suspect some of you believe that you have good reasons.  And unfortunately, a big one is your prior experience with the Church, which might have been less than what God wanted, or what you expected!  Churches and Christians are not perfect, and unfortunately, even in the Church, things have happened that might keep folks from coming back!  For some of us, in the past, the bad outweighed the good!  But if that is what happened to you, and is keeping you from attend church now, you are possibly missing out on something good that God has for you today!  We should not underestimate the importance of Christian fellowship, and this includes attending Church.  Certainly not perfection, and still full of problems, but so is the rest of world!  But problems do not keep us from engaging the rest of the world.  But unBut the big difference is what the Church is supposed to be, which is the Lord’s house, and where we are supposed to come to embrace God’s Word together, so we can do better, and make the world better!  This is an imperfect world, and the church is not different.  But do not be fooled, the Church is still a gift from God, and as evidenced even by the work we do in the world today, the Church, with God’s blessings, and your presence, can do some great things in the world and in your life!  This Sunday, if you haven’t attended in quite a while, give it another try!  Come on back to Church and see how God has working.  Despite all the imperfection, and there are still many, come and embrace the good that God has for you.