Life as God Planned It

One of the phrases often heard repeated is, ‘You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian’. It used to be that only the unchurched would say such things, and often as a justification for their poor to non-existent attendance. But increasingly so we are beginning to hear bible-believing, Christ-following people say the same thing. What’s that about? 

Life as God Planned It takes you back to Genesis, the great book of beginnings, and also the great but of intentions. Genesis, perhaps more than any other book in scripture, tells you not only how God started a thing, but how he intended it continue. It was in the garden that God made that emphatic statement, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’ (Gen.2:18), thereby cementing the conviction that nobody was originally created to live solo. 

In Acts 20 Paul reminds us that it was the church (collective), and not simply a random bunch of disconnected individuals who happen to believe in him (singular), for whom God shed his blood (v28).  

Church was never meant to be an optional extra. It was not offered as a growth accessory that could be utilized if one wished, alongside bible study, prayer, solitude or communion. 

Church was God’s idea! From the call of Abraham and the formation of the first community, God has consistently come down on the side of connection and togetherness. We have become so accustomed to our ‘personalized faith’, Jesus and ME (personal salvation, personal saviour, personal quiet timers, personal walk with God, etc), that we have lost the imperative of Jesus and US. Being a Christian and not wanting to attend church, is like being a son or daughter and not wanting to live in the family home. 

Life as God Planned It takes a closer look at the power and priority of community by examining the opening chapters of Genesis. It highlights the need, the loss, the model, the privilege and the obligation scripture places on each of us to engage community. 

Enjoy the challenge of this mini-series. We guarantee you’ll never see church in quite the same way again...

Recommeded Book

A book that Pete Goulding recomends for use along side this series is: Community 101. It is available on Amazon, either in book form or for a Kindle.