Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

The term “church” is mentioned 103 times in Scripture. It is used to convey one simple thought, one simple meaning. This is the church.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, NIV)

After I graduated from high school, I moved 400 miles from my parents house in the East Bay of San Francisco to a college dormitory on the east side of San Diego. As a part of my college tour / move-in, my parents took me to visit a local church that was a few miles away from my campus. They introduced me to the Senior Minister and the church leaders and we arranged for me to have a ride to church every Sunday as I wouldn’t be enjoying the pleasure of a vehicle for my Freshman year. At first, everything was great. I was in front of my dorm every Sunday at 8:00 for my ride from the variously scheduled people that would pick me up and we would go to church, sometimes on to lunch, and then back to my dorm. As the school year wore on however, I fell in with the wrong crowd. I began to refuse rides to church and ignore messages on my phone. I started sleeping in on Sunday mornings and staying up late on Saturday nights, not caring about church because after all, “What did I need the church for?” I had God in my life. Who needed the church?

My line of thinking began to lead to other questions: Why should I go to church at all? What did those people ever do for me? Why should I obey rules just to please other people? Why should I obey God? Do I really need God?

I began to fade downhill fast. I experimented with alcohol and binge drank until one evening I got so sick, that God got my attention. I walked back into my dorm room from my fifth trip down the hall to the bathroom and I hit my knees in front of an open window with tears streaming down my face and I cried out for God.

And you know the funny thing, God showed up, but not in the way I expected. The next day, I had a message on my answering machine from a man who attended the church. He wasn’t a leader, or on the staff, he just attended and he said this on the machine: Brian, its Bob Sampson from Granite Hills Christian Church. I just noticed that you haven’t been at church for a couple of months and I wanted to know if there was anything you needed. If it’s a ride, call me. If it’s money, call me. Just let me know, I want to help.

Now, let me take a minute to describe Bob for you. Bob was the spitting image of Jerry Garcia. He had white hair in a ponytail knot down to his lower back. Bob drove a Large Chevy Pickup truck, or his other vehicle of choice, a Harley Davidson every time I saw him, and Bob played a very mean Bass Guitar. Bob and I had hit it off when we first met each other and even though for his age, he could have been my great grandfather, he was understanding and compassionate.

I called back the minute I finished listening to the message and I reached Bob’s wife Cindy who said she would relay the message to him when he got back in. The next Sunday, Bob was out front of my dorm at 8:00 in the morning and when I wasn’t right out front, he hit the car horn on his truck. For those who don’t know, 8:00am on a Sunday morning is a sacred hour to the college student because it’s the one hour a week when everyone is quiet. Bob didn’t seem to care because he hit the horn and I got up and running.

As soon as I climbed in the truck, Bob greeted me with a smile and drove us off to church. Over the next few months, I developed a relationship with Bob and his church friends and family. We hung out, we ate together, we played games, attended events, and worshipped together.

We were together and we did everything together. Bob and Cindy Sampson gave me things, even when I didn’t have need for them. I continued to meet him at the curbside of my dorm every Sunday so we could worship at Church together. We would go to his and other’s houses after church and break bread and eat together with joy and laughter, and we continually thanked and praised God who was making it all possible.

God answered my questions. He showed me that I did need the church. That the reason he gave us the church was so that we could survive together. Bob Sampson modeled an Acts 2 church for me and I Loved My Church again.

I’ve recently seen a couple of signs around the area for churches advertising different things: One church’s sign says this: “A church for people who don’t like church” and while I get what they’re saying, they could have said it like this, A church for people who’ve had a bad experience with another church, or a church for people who don’t understand church.

Then, I was driving and passed by another sign, apparently to counter the first one, which read, “a church for people who like church.” Somebody’s starting a culture war here.

The problem is that their focus is all wrong. The church is not about the church. The church is about Jesus. This church gets it. We get Acts 2. We get that it’s all about Jesus. It’s all about being Jesus and bringing Jesus to a dying world.

Jesus said this in John 13:34-35 – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Love, church. It’s all about love. Did you hear that dripping in the videos this morning? Did you hear Michelle Bigamon’s testimony about how she was loved? Did you hear the Saylor’s testimonies about the people and their love? Did you hear about the McDonald's Christmas and the anonymous gift that someone gave to Marty at the door. That’s ACTS 2!!!!! I have no idea who gave him that check, but that is awesome. That is the church being the church.

Jesus said that everyone will know we are his disciples by our love. Not by our t-shirts or bumper stickers. Not by listening to Christian music or watching Christian television. Not by our political leanings. So many Christians focus on this stuff, but it's not what defines us as Christ-followers. People will know we follow Jesus because of one thing – our love.

The McDonalds were changed because of the love they experience at ACC. Other than God, our biggest strength is our people. Our biggest strength is not the preaching, the music, the kids ministry, or even our new vision. The thing that makes ACC so special is the genuine love that our people have for one another and for those who are outside of Christ.

So what if you’re here today and you’ve heard these stories about this church and what it did for these families, but you’re a person with an issue against someone else here at this church. Or, you’ve got some dislikes about the way some families parent their kids, or dress, or smile at you when they come in the door. What do you do with feelings like that?

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."

Don’t stop loving. Don’t stop being the church. I’m here today because of what the church did in the name of Jesus. The Bingamons, The Saylors, and the McDonalds are all here today because of what this church did in the name of Jesus. We followed his command to love one another and in so doing, we proved, that this is a church for people who love Jesus.

Brian Morrissey

Tags:love, church, Jesus, generosity, help, ACC, I Love My Church