One of the privileges of membership in a Church of Christ, Scientist, is consistent attendance at church services. In these busy times, regular attendance might seem more of a duty than a privilege! However, going to church can be much more than a routine commitment.
As our love for God, our love for one another and for the community grows deeper, our reasons for going to church become less personally and more spiritually motivated. Consequently, we attend services to help support the fundamental purpose of church, which is to bring healing. Our presence at services is needed because our spiritual inspiration is needed. It is our contribution to church. And it helps to open the way for healing to occur at church services.
Healing in churches has precedent. While teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, Christ Jesus, by demonstrating the unlimited power and grace of God, healed a man of "an unclean spirit." At another time, and applying the same divine Principle, Jesus healed a woman in the synagogue who could not stand up straight. Such healing was something Jesus expected of his followers. Not surprisingly, one of the acts of Peter and John was to heal a man lame from birth as they were heading into the temple at the hour of prayer. Healing was very much part of the new church Jesus established.
